Clearview National November 2017 - Issue 192 | Page 42

All Doors
Fire safety?
Peace of
mind with
Laidlaw
» » 2017 HAS SADLY PROVIDED A
litany of high profile fire-related disasters and
brought the need and awareness for better fire
safety to the forefront of everyone’s mind. In
this article, Laidlaw’s experts explain some of
the important facts about fire safety.
It is vital to stay aware of the critically
important role of fire doors in building fire
safety and to remind responsible individuals
of the legal requirements and to give tips and
guidelines to reinforce this crucial message.
There are approximately three million
new fire doors bought and installed every
year in the UK in hospitals, offices, schools
and public buildings. Fire doors are critical
because in the event of a fire it can be
contained in a compartment, keeping smoke
and fire trapped for a defined period of time
allowing people to escape, be rescued and the
fire to be tackled.
A fire in a Portsmouth care home is
a example of how fire doors can
save lives. The incident could
have caused fatalities if the fire
doors had not been firmly
secured, according to Southsea
firefighters. The fire started in
a tumble dryer in the laundry
room. Fire doors, which had been
installed and closed correctly, ensured
that the fire did not spread throughout
the property and was contained to the room
of origin. Watch manager Jason Boh, Southsea
Fire Station, said: “The incident could have
been a lot worse if fire doors either end of the
corridor leading up to the laundry room had
not been firmly secured. The fact the fire doors
did their job meant no smoke or flames could
travel out of that area.” He also added, “If they
had been open, we could have been looking at
a much different situation. It could have been
much more severe and we could have been
looking at fatalities as well.”
At Laidlaw, the UK’s largest independent
supplier of ironmongery, integrated doorsets,
42 » N OV 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
balustrades and security
systems, the message is
a simple one. Correct fire
door hardware can save lives.
Selecting certified products from a
reputable and reliable source, ensuring proper
installation and undertaking regular inspection
and maintenance routines will save lives.
These are not fit-and-forget products. Cutting
corners on the quality of fire doors and their
associated hardware just isn’t an option.
So, how to go about selecting the correct
certified fire door hardware? It is a legal
requirement that, as of the 1st July 2013,
a product that comes under the scope of a
harmonised standard must be CE marked
before it can be placed onto the market.
These products – locks, hinges, door closers,
door co-ordinators, panic and emergency exit
devices – will all be stamped with a clear CE
mark. In addition to this, a Declaration of
Performance (D of P) must be made available
for every CE marked product. This is either
included with the product in the packaging, or
available on the company’s website.
It is worth noting that although internal
fire rated doorsets fall into harmonised
standard EN 16034:2014, they cannot yet be
CE marked as it awaits publication of prEN
14351-2 before this can happen.
As part of the overall fire safety picture,
‘Certifire’ is an independent third-party
certification scheme that assures performance,
quality, reliability and traceability of fire
protection products.
» Continued on page 44