Fire Protection

The Law

Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO/FSO) makes it a legal requirement to ensure that fire resisting doors and escape doors are correctly installed and adequately maintained in order for them to be fit for purpose. The authorities have the power to enforce the RRO/FSO and do prosecute or even close buildings down where breaches are discovered. Building owners need ‘responsible persons’ as referenced in the Fire Safety Order to help them comply with fire door regulations

Your Duty As A Building Owner

The duty under article 5 of the RRFSO is to 'take or observe' general fire precautions as set out in articles 8 to 22. You must take such general fire precautions as will ensure, ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, the safety of your employees (or those of your employer) in the event of fire.

A test of what is 'reasonably practicable' would be determined in a court of law and would be expected to consider whether the measure is grossly disproportionate to the risk. Your duty to people who are not your employees is slightly different: you must take such general fire precautions ‘as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case to ensure the premises are safe’ 

Our Service

Houlton are a long established family owned business and following the award of our Q-Mark accreditation for the Installation and maintenance of fire doors, we have set up a separate team that can deliver your fire door compliance requirements across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The Q-mark accreditation, certified by a third party assessor ensures that, via regular audits, we can demonstrate the training and competence of our directly employed specialist installers and maintenance team and provide full traceability of the installation and maintenance process.

Alongside the Q-Mark we also hold the following quality standards, ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001. We  believe that our accreditations underpin our customer service, support and quality of delivery, ensuring that each client receives a consistent high level of service.

Fire Door Installation

Installation of fire doors is as life critical as the door set specification itself and should only be carried out by someone who is competent, has been specifically trained to install fire doors and understands their responsibilities in getting it right (and ideally as part of a third party certificated process).  Fire doors that are incorrectly installed and fitted with incompatible components invalidate certification and will not provide adequate protection for occupants or the building.

Fire Door Maintenance

Fire doors should be regularly inspected for damage that may prevent the door from performing in the event of a fire. This may form part of the risk assessment for the building. Any issues should be fixed as soon as possible using compatible, correct fire rated components. The selection of suitable components is supported by the Fire Certificate and door schedule.

The suggested frequency of testing is as follows:

• Periodic checks should be carried out at least once every six months
• Newly occupied buildings may require more frequent checks in the first year of use
• Doors where traffic is high are likely to be more susceptible to damage and should be checked more frequently than other doors in the building. E.g. once per week/month (depending on usage)

Additional Services

Via our partners we are also able to offer the following Fire Protection services:

• Fire Risk Assessments
• Fire Stopping Solutions
• Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems
• Fire Barriers
• Intumescent Painting
• Fire Safety Equipment Provision and Maintenance

For advice, site visit, or quotation, please contact our dedicated team on:

Tel: 01482 385185

Email: FRA@houlton.co.uk

Helpful Links

Project Example - https://houlton.co.uk/projects/177/fire-safety-improvement-scheme-for-east-riding-of-yorkshire-council

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) 2005 -  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made