Building safety highlighted during Fire Door Safety Week 2025

Fire doors are often the first line of defence in a fire scenario, notably so when building occupants are asleep and potentially vulnerable. Their correct specification, installation, maintenance and management can be the difference between life and death for building occupants.

However, issues with fire doors breaches – recurring problems include doors being wedged open, missing or damaged doors or even non-fire doors being installed in their place – remain one of the most common reasons for fines being implemented under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Role in compartmentation

Station Commander Vinnie Crook, one of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s fire protection managers, explained: “The difference that an effective fire door can make cannot be underestimated. A fire door is not always a fire exit door and is typically identified by a blue ‘Fire Door Keep Shut’ sign often at eye level. Fire doors are an essential element of fire protection. They help to compartmentalise a building, such as a block of flats, keeping fire and smoke trapped for a time in one area so that the fire can be tackled and building occupants can be safely evacuated.”

Crook added: “If you’ve seen a damaged fire door or know of a flat entrance door that hasn’t been checked for fire performance, report it to the landlord or building manager straight away. If you see a fire door propped open, make sure to shut it. Fire doors cannot work while they’re open.”

Checking fire doors

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has highlighted some simple tips for checking fire doors. The results of such checks can then determine whether or not it’s time to call in the professionals.

*Check for certification: is there a label or plug on top (or occasionally on the side) of the door to show that it’s a certificated fire door?

*Check the gaps: examine the gaps around the top and sides of the door to ascertain that they’re consistently less than 4 mm when the door’s closed

*Check the condition of the door seals: are there any intumescent seals around the door or frame and are they intact with no signs of damage?

*Check the hinges: are the hinges firmly fixed (three or more of them) with no missing or broken screws?

*Check that the door closes properly: open the door about halfway, let go and allow it to close by itself (does it close firmly on to the latch without sticking on the floor or the frame?)

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s website contains lots of helpful information for those responsible for looking after buildings, as well as general business fire safety. This includes a series of animated videos detailing where the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies, as well as an introduction to fire risk assessment.