Free fire door safety seminars

Taking place on 11th February and 17th March at DHF’s head office and training academy in Tamworth, the morning seminars will primarily appeal to those with responsibility for compliance, fire safety, asset management and procurement within local authorities and housing associations in the West Midlands area. DHF plans to offer these seminars to those beyond the immediate region, later in the year. 

The seminars, both of which start at 09:30am and include lunch, will comprise two presentations. The first, delivered by DHF’s general manager & secretary, Michael Skelding, is entitled: ‘Fire Safety, some comments on doors and hardware after Grenfell’, and focuses on the outcomes of the initial inquiry, in addition to how the doors and hardware performed.  

This will be followed by a second presentation delivered by Gerda’s head of communications, Fiona Critchley, who is also the chair of DHF’s Timber Doorset Group.  This will focus on the guidance document ‘A Guide for Selecting Flat Entrance Doorsets’ and will highlight the criteria to take into account when specifying a flat entrance doorset, in addition to building regulations and industry standards, referring to the most recent recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report Overview.

Widely considered as the ‘go to’ experts for technical advice, training and raising industry standards, and actively involved in the technical committees of the Industry Response Group, formed in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Report: ‘Building a Safer Future’, DHF says that it is well placed to offer these seminars in collaboration with Gerda.  The federation also works on BSI Standards Committees, with compliance authorities HSE and Trading Standards as well as fire safety organisations in the UK and Europe.

“We are delighted to be offering these free half-day fire door safety seminars for local authorities and housing associations in the West Midlands,” said DHF’s commercial manager, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens. “Uptake on both dates is already high, but DHF has every intention of rolling these out beyond the region as the year progresses.  Gerda, which is based in Suffolk, will also play host to the seminars later in the year, but in the meantime, we look forward to welcoming people to Tamworth, from the wider community.”