The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement from 23 January 2023 for responsible persons for all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to:
- undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts
- undertake – on a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts
The regulations also require responsible persons to provide to residents of all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises (that have common parts) information on the importance of fire doors to a building’s fire safety.
What does “best endeavours” mean?
It will be for responsible persons to determine the best approach to engage with residents in order to get access to undertake the annual checks of flat entrance doors. This could include the responsible person agreeing with residents a date, so access can be granted.
Minimum requirements for inspections of fire doors
The minimum requirement is for the responsible person to undertake an inspection of the doors to identify any obvious damage or issues. It should not be necessary to engage a specialist for these checks as the responsible person should be able to carry out these checks themselves. There are several useful guides available online which can support a responsible person in undertaking checks.
A responsible person should consider:
- if there has been any alterations or damage to a door’s glazing apertures or air transfer grille
- if there are any gaps around the door frame and that seals and hinges are fitted correctly
- that the door closer shuts the door
- that the door closes correctly around the whole frame
- that there is no visible damage (either deliberate or from wear and tear) to the door or door closer
If any issues are identified from these checks, it might be appropriate to undertake more detailed checks of doors (or the self-closing device) if any damage is identified from the initial inspection. This could include engaging a specialist.
MSAFE offer a robust fire door inspection service using our trained inspectors and bespoke audit software. Inspectors will physically inspect each fire door using appropriate measuring tools and take photographic records of the door and provide recommendations against any non-compliances observed.
A full report will be produced which include photos and actions which will be issued to the responsible person. This will be available in PDF and also in a live web-based format which will allow for the client and or responsible person to issue to contractors as a schedule of works.
The client and / or responsible person will be able to observe what actions have been undertaken and what actions are still outstanding on a live basis by logging into the MSAFE Audit App webpage.
Contact MSAFE
To find out more about fire door inspections, please contact us on 0333 8000 700 or complete our enquiry form and we will contact you to discuss further.
