Last Updated on 25 September 2018 by ianr
Fire Protection in the home – It has become something that we all take for granted, but although the rules and legislation surrounding fire protection may appear to be reactive rather than proactive as a result of the Grenfell tragedy the basic concept of fire protection has been with us for far longer than we may have imagined. The generally accepted first recorded point in time when actual legislation governed the public and their fire safety measures, was the edict from William The Conqueror required all fires to be extinguished at night, as fires were a vital part of heating and lighting as well as production processes for food and weaponry it is hardly surprising that some legislation was required. After this point individual statutes began to follow suit as the Mayor of London decreed in the 12th Century that all houses should be made from stone and should not have thatched roofs which would allow the spread of fire, especially in the close proximity in which many of them were built and stood. It was not until the 18th Century that substantial testing and evidence uncovered the need to confine fire in order to prevent it spreading. It was at this time that commercial and domestic fire doors first began to appear. originally manufactured with asbestos as the key component they were far from the most attractive of doors and as health concerns relating to asbestos increased the use was phased out in favour of the typical fire doors we use today.
One of our most popular FAQs is “Do they actually work?” and the answer is yes – the basic misconception surrounding the use of Fire Doors is that they do not and will not stop fire their purpose is to contain the spread of smoke and flames for a predetermined period which is reflected in the category of the door FD 30 (30-minute containment) FD60 (60-minute containment) etc.
Anyone who has ever had the unfortunate task of trawling through government statistics related to domestic fires will very soon realise just how important fire doors are – during 2017 there were almost 700,000 reported and attended fires throughout the UK so anything that can be done to minimise the risk to human life must be considered a positive step.
Although they have been with us for a considerable time there is still considerable re education required as to their use – the most critical one being – KEEP THEM CLOSED -AN OPEN DOOR IS NO FIRE DOOR AT ALL – if it is not being used a fire door must be kept shut (as inconvenient as this may be) it should never be “propped or wedged open” and the “door closer” must never be disconnected.
Fire doors are no longer clumsy, clunky or any other adjective you prefer, they now are manufactured to look the same as any other domestic front door, same styles same colour, the Georgian wired glass (considered unsightly by many) has long since been replaced by specialised fire-resistant glass.
Post Grenfell there has been a complete re evaluation of testing house procedures for Fire Doors – the manufacturers have undergone a reanalysis and retesting of their products so you can be assured that any door that has current certification will have past the most recent and critical of tests.
At Global Door all of our fire doors have met the criteria for the latest tests – find out more at Global Door Fire Doors
