As this week celebrates 10 years of Fire Door Safety Week, here at Unity Group, we’re proud to show a united spirit. Joining forces with our fellow UK composite fire door manufacturers and timber fire door manufacturers, we will be showing our support for #FireDoorSafetyWeek

Now in its 10th year Fire Door Safety Week is an essential event in our industry calendar and is vital in helping to raise awareness of the critical role fire doors play in saving lives and property in the event of fire.

The statistics are startling.

There is a wealth of important information regarding fire doors on the British Woodworking Federation’s website, but we’ve drawn out the essential statistics regarding fire door awareness here too, for ease:

‘Lives are at risk’ – lack of knowledge over faulty doors leading to under-reporting
•          21% said the reason they wouldn’t report in future is because they don’t think anything would get done
•          Almost half (49%) didn’t feel it’s their responsibility to report a faulty fire door
•          This year’s campaign marks the 10th year of Fire Door Safety Week and aims to empower all to spot and report issues: Recognise it, Report it

A lack of knowledge over what constitutes a faulty fire door leads to under-reporting, with 29% of respondents saying they wouldn’t report a faulty fire door for this reason – putting themselves and others at risk.

Worryingly, 21% said the reason they wouldn’t report in future is because they don’t think anything would get done. Almost half (49%) didn’t feel it’s their responsibility to report a faulty fire door.

It wasn’t just issues with spotting and reporting problems that were prevalent, there was also a lack of understanding over the purpose of fire doors and how they function. More people believed that a fire door aids in stopping the spread of fire (46%) than the spread of smoke (32%). Only a fully functioning fire door will protect property and life from fire and smoke, with smoke inhalation being the main cause of fire-related deaths.

As the industry is more than well aware, this year there have been significant changes to fire safety regulations with the aim of improving fire door safety throughout the industry.
One of the key aspects of these new regulations is the routine checking and regular inspection of fire doors – for all those responsible for maintaining residential property.

What are the new Fire Safety Regulations?

From the 23rd of January 2023, The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement for responsible persons of all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to:

•      Conduct quarterly checks of all fire doors in communal areas (including self-closing devices)
•      Conduct annual checks on all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) on a ‘best endeavour’ basis
•      Provide information to residents about the importance of fire doors

The regulations also require responsible persons to provide residents of such properties with essential information on the importance of fire doors and a building’s fire safety.
This is certainly a significant stride in the right direction for the entire fire safety industry.

We’ve very proud to once again be supporting the British Woodworking Federation, as we have since Fire Door Safety Week was launched. Over the course of the week we will be providing essential information regarding the safety checks needed to ensure fire doors are fit for purpose in order to help raise awareness and show our support. Do keep checking back on our social channels too.

Take a look at the campaign website for more details and how you can help to Recognise it, Report it!

https://www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk/

https://www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk/fdsw23-recognise-it-report-it/

Why it’s important to support Fire Door Safety Week

Graham Hughes, Managing Director had this to say about supporting Fire Door Safety Week

‘At Unity Doors we consider it essential that as an industry everyone works together to raise the standard when it comes to fire door safety. As members of the ACDM it’s something we strive to reinforce all year round, however Fire Door Safety Week allows us the platform to amplify the message. We’re very proud to support the British Woodworking Federation initiative and help to drive awareness of the vital roles fire doors have in saving lives and property. We will be sharing essential information throughout the week in a bid to show our support and highlight the importance of diligence and vigilance in respect to fire door compliance.’

To find out more information about Fire Door Safety Week and what you can do to help raise awareness, visit the campaigns website

now: https://www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk/ 

https://www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk/fdsw23-recognise-it-report-it/

🔥RECOGNISE IT. REPORT IT.