Fire Door Wedged Open

All doors in hazardous areas are required to be self closing regardless if the door is fire rated or just smoke resistant.

Fire door wedged open.

If you see a wedged open fire door close it. A smoke barrier door that is wedged open will not close by itself. We want fire doors open as they are a nuisance in everyday life. Leaving fire doors wedged or propped open disregards the safety of others.

We are aware that some building users are wedging open self closing fire doors as a coronavirus covid 19 control measure to reduce the need to touch locks and door handles etc. It is also against the law. Your room door is a fire door too but it might not have the blue sign. Physically sure you can.

Blocking a fire door is a very very stupid thing to do. Recently the fire brigade have told us that they are making checks and may take photographs for possible prosecution. We strongly advise against wedging open fire doors and asks responsible persons to consider other control measures. If an insurance company were to find out that an essential fire door had been wedged open it might make them less willing to pay for the damages.

It is safe to assume that a solidly built door with a self closer is a fire door. If you see a faulty fire door please tell your reception team straightaway. If you wedge open a fire door not only is it illegal it is judged that by doing so you put someone s life at risk the business owner could suffer penalties from a hefty fine to even imprisonment. A smoke barrier door that is wedged open will not close by itself.

If you re unsure and you d like to know just ask your reception team. Despite this 64 of premises visited by the fire service have fire doors wedged open. When fire doors are allowed to be correctly and firmly shut they can do their job of preventing the spread of smoke and fire thr. There was a case where a restaurant owner was given a prison sentence and a fine of 70 000 not just for wedging fire doors open but for the.

Wedging or propping open a fire door can prove devastating as it allows fire to spread unchecked putting lives and buildings at risk. As we ve stated many times now fire doors must be viewed as a hugely important part of your fire safety strategy. I assume that you mean a fire door which swings closed when the fire alarm goes off not a fire escape door can you. But it s not as simple as saying don t wedge that door.

Section 3 3 238 of the 2012 lsc defines self closing as a door equipped with an approved device that ensures closing after opening. The importance of ensuring that fire doors remain shut cannot be overlooked. In other words w e have been warned. All doors in hazardous areas are required to be self closing regardless if the door is fire rated or just smoke resistant.