This Fire Door Safety Week we are looking at the current state of the fire door safety sector. Are we in a better place now than we were when Fire Door Safety Week was launched some thirteen years ago?

The answer of course is yes and no!

The good news: How fire door safety has improved since Grenfell

In the YES camp, improvements have been driven by regulatory changes brought about by the Grenfell Tower tragedy and some of those improvements can be described as follows:

Fire safety law is now clear that the Flat Entrance Door is in-scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Fire Safety Act 2021 has clarified that flat entrance doors opening onto communal escape areas form part of the Fire Risk Assessment. This means there is a legal obligation on the part of the Responsible Person to maintain these doors under Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Flat entrance doors at blocks of flats above 11 metres in height must be checked annually. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 mandate that the Responsible Person undertakes to carry out checks to flat entrance doors at least annually.
Fire doors in communal areas at blocks of flats above 11 metres in height must be checked quarterly. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 mandate that the Responsible Person undertakes to carry out checks to fire doors in communal areas at least annually.
Residents at blocks of flats with two or more sets of domestic premises, regardless of height, must be provided with information about the importance of fire doors. They must receive information when they move in and at least annually thereafter. They must be told about the importance of keeping doors closed, not to wedge doors open and not to tamper with self-closing devices.
Residents at blocks of flats must know how to report damaged doors, broken seals and faulty self-closers immediately.
UK Government have given clear advice that during the fire risk assessment the assessor may recommend improvements to the doors and that where faults are found it may be necessary to undertake maintenance or replace them, so that the doors remain fit for purpose. It is for the Responsible Person to determine how to implement the assessors’ recommendations.
UK Government have given clear advice that there is no requirement to replace fire doors simply because they don’t meet current standards if the door remains in full working order from a fire safety perspective.
UK Government have been clear that those carrying out the door checks under the regulation are not required to conduct a detailed technical examination about the fire resistance of the doors as this is a matter for the fire risk assessment. 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.
UK Government have given clear guidance about what should be included in the checks. These mainly comprise checks to glazing and grille apertures, excessive gaps around the door, correct fitting and condition of seals, hinges and closer. Also, of course that the door self-closes the door completely and correctly into its frame.
UK Government have given clear advice about contacting a fire door specialist where there is uncertainty about the door being suitable and where there are defects or damage to the fire door and its component parts.
Training courses are now widely available to help fire door installers, maintainers and inspectors understand more about the subject and to help them carry out fire door related tasks. There are a number of providers and would be students would be well advised to shop around for the most suitable and comprehensive training.

The setbacks: Fire door myths still costing building owners money

Unfortunately, in the NO camp there is evidence that some building owners and operators have been persuaded to spend more money on their fire doors than necessary. Fire Door myths have been allowed to circulate and as a result fire doors have been upgraded and replaced where there is no requirement to do so. The Fire Industry Association published their MythBusters article and if you haven’t already seen this, it makes interesting reading.

Examples of common fire door myths

Some examples of these myths are as follows:

Some fire door inspectors have advised that fire doors that don’t carry fire resistance certification should be replaced. As a result, some building owners or operators have placed orders for their existing doors to be replaced. Fire safety regulations do not require that all fire doors have certification, in fact legislation requires that the fire risk assessment addresses whether the existing fire doors are adequate to provide safety in a fire to the relevant persons at the building.
Fire doors are subject to fire resistance performance testing in a furnace and the testing regime is to British and European standards BS 476 part 22 and BS EN 1634-1 for fire and BS 476 part 31.1 and BS EN 1634-3 for restricted spread of smoke at ambient temperature. Compliance with these standards helps to ensure a level playing field in the market for the sale of fire doors and their component parts. It bears no direct relationship with a real fire at a building. It is very likely the case that small deviations from the tested specification will have no material effect on the safety of the door in a real fire at a building. This is why the adequacy of fire doors is a matter for consideration as part of the fire risk assessment. Fire door inspection reports should be discussed with the fire risk assessor before going ahead with recommended ‘remedial works’.
Some fire door inspectors have been incorrectly applying the latest standards and guidance when in fact these do not apply to existing fire doors. The danger is that, as a result, remedial works could be carried out to upgrade old fire doors using new standards. This is not a regulatory requirement and, in some cases, significant unnecessary expense can be incurred.
In March this year the standard BS 8214 was updated and guidance about smoke seals was changed. Some fire door inspection and repair contractors have advised their clients that there is a requirement to carry out works to bring existing fire doors up to the new standard. They have quoted the new standard as if it were a regulation. This is a myth. In fact, existing fire doors should have been installed in accordance with the standards that applied at the time of installation. Some doors may be 30 or 40 years old and in that time period there have been versions of BS 8214 dating from 1990, 2008, 2016 and 2026. There is no regulation that requires old fire doors to meet later standards.
Some fire door inspectors have failed to carry out due diligence during their work. We became aware of one instance where the inspector failed to consult the door manufacturer even though certification labels were visible on the door top edge. As a result, their inspection report found a large number of doors non-compliant and recommended remedial works that were completely unnecessary. Had the inspector contacted the manufacturer they would’ve found that the Field of Application report for the doors meant that the doors were actually in-scope and the remedial works recommended were not required.
It is unclear whether the root cause of these fire door myths is because of ignorance on the part of the fire door inspector or whether it is plain old sharp practice. Clearly this is very worrying and reflects badly on the fire door sector as a whole. Clients would be well advised to make rigorous checks of the credentials held by any business that offers fire door inspection or maintenance & repairs services.
The competence of persons working in the fire door sector is a concern. Often competence will be ‘demonstrated’ only by a training certificate from a short-course on fire door awareness, this is insufficient evidence of competence. Training courses are always useful to provide knowledge and education for persons working with fire doors but they should be seen as just one element of a person’s competence and should be supported by the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours held by the fire door inspector, fire door installer or fire door maintainer. Full, credentials should be requested before persons or businesses are engaged to carry out fire door related works.

Talk to Fire Doors Complete

So, we have seen that although clarity around mandatory requirements for fire doors, back up by useful guidance, has been provided after the Grenfell tragedy there is still a real risk of falling foul of poor advice and sharp practice. At Fire Doors Complete Ltd we are always pleased to discuss clients’ requirements in detail, we never apply any pressure or obligation, and our recommendations are backed up by the huge specialist knowledge and experience of our team.

We are always happy to discuss fire door inspections, fire door training courses and fire door consultancy services including the benefits and the limitations. We want to make sure that our clients are well informed about all of the important issues and are well placed to make the most appropriate decisions.

We wish you a safe and happy Fire Door Safety Week 2026.

Get in touch with our team for straightforward, pressure-free advice on inspections, training and consultancy.