Helen Hewitt, CEO of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF)
Over the past year there has been a welcome legislative shift over building and fire safety, with the Building Safety Act 2022 and Fire Safety Act 2021 mandating far more robust accountability and traceability.
When it comes to fire doors, however, new research from the BWF Fire Door Alliance has identified a lack of understanding over how the legislation affects fire doors, which highlights an urgent need for education to ensure compliance with the changes.
Confusion and misunderstanding
New legislation demands more from those specifying, installing and responsible for maintaining fire doors. A key component of this more rigorous approach is focused around the ‘golden thread’ of information, which requires building information to be digitally stored and updated throughout the building’s lifespan. This will enable information to be easily passed between stakeholders so that the appropriate person has access to the information they need to maintain the building’s fire safety.
However, nearly one in three individuals with responsibility for fire door safety do not know what is required of them under the Building Safety Act (previously the Building Safety Bill). This is clearly concerning – particularly when 8% say they don’t know how the legislation will affect how fire doors are specified.
Traceability
While changes to the status quo always bring challenges, in this case third-party certification is a ready-made solution which can support compliance. Traceability is a crucial component of the new legislation and although the Building Safety Act doesn’t state the need for fire safety products to be third-party certified, it has clearly pointed the industry in its direction.
Fire doors from BWF Fire Door Alliance members are third-party certified which enables original documents and detail surrounding the original specification to be sourced. This supports the ‘golden thread’ as well as ensuring proof of compliance with regulations and providing vital information for the ongoing maintenance of the fire door when installed. Access to this information allows the responsible person to maintain the fire door inline with its original condition, preserving its third-party certification and helping ensure it remains fit for purpose throughout its lifespan.
Peace of mind over performance
When considering proof of performance, a fire test report alone is not enough. This type of report only provides evidence that the specific fire door that was tested was fit for purpose.
Third-party certification, however, can provide robust proof of performance and confidence that a fire door is tested appropriately and, importantly, produced to a consistent standard. This provides peace of mind over product performance and also clearly demonstrates to building occupants that no compromises are made when it comes to fire safety.
Despite this however, our research found that 80% of respondents said their end clients, such as building owners and managers, do not require third-party certification. In direct conflict with this, the overwhelming majority (88%) of respondents agreed that the traceability of a complete fire door assembly is important to the organisations they’re working on behalf of. This demonstrates that there is an understanding there is a need for a more rigorous approach but as yet, there isn’t wide spread adoption of third-party certified fire doors.
These findings are concerning, particularly for those building owners and managers of higher-risk buildings such as high-rise flats and multiple-occupancy properties. Residents of these buildings can require longer to exit the building or for the fire services to enter the property to support their evacuation. For this reason, the fire door’s ability to perform its life saving role and hold back the spread of fire and smoke for the duration it states is crucial and can really save lives.
The future is third-party certification
For almost half of respondents who said they were using third-party certified fire doors, compliance with fire safety legislation was the main reason for doing so. This is a positive sign of the impact of legislation in driving higher standards.
As the fire safety sector moves toward increased accountability and traceability, it will turn toward third-party certification for robust proof of performance and peace of mind. At the BWF Fire Door Alliance, we believe that only through using third-party certified fire doors can you be certain that they will perform as designed and help make our buildings safer.