You are Here: Blog Home | Why Wedging Open Fire Doors Could Invalidate Your Insurance
Call us on: 01603 410304
or: 0800 0180304
Call us on: 01603 410304
or: 0800 0180304
Fire doors are designed to save lives. The specially engineered materials used to make them can withstand incredible temperatures for at least 30 minutes– crucial time for firefighters to be able to get situations under control and keep everyone safe from harm. By law, all public buildings and residences must have properly installed and maintained fire doors – and this means not propping them open.
“Fire door, Keep Shutâ€
Fire doors are all marked or clearly labelled to remind users to keep them closed, but too often we see examples in offices, shops, blocks of flats and gyms of fire doors wedged open. Using a door stop, a fire extinguisher, plant pot or anything else is dangerous (and illegal) and you must remove the obstruction wherever you see it.
If your place of work or your building has fire doors that are inconvenient to keep closed because they restrict wheelchair access, are heavy to open or make a room hot and stuffy there are legal and safe measures you can take. Ask your building manager to have special devices installed which automatically close doors on the sound of an alarm, such as Dorgard.
Penalties and Insurance
If the worst should happen and a fire breaks out, your insurance company can refuse to pay for damages if a fire door has been wedged open. Fire doors will hold a fire for a minimum of 30 minutes, giving enough time for firefighters to be onsite and control a situation. Open fire doors can, and do, cause chimney effects which causes fires to spread rapidly and destroy entire buildings.
Legally, if a wedged open fire door can be judged to put a life a risk, penalties can be suffered, including hefty fines and prison sentences. There have been many cases of business owners and landlords being fined and served sentences for failing to meet safety standards, unfortunately too often these cases are only brought to light in the worst circumstances.
If you have any worries about fire doors in your workplace or building, read our advice on checking your doors are safe or visit the Fire Door Safety website. We supply, install and maintain fire doors, exits, shutters and curtains – get in touch if you need help deciding which is right for you. Call 0800 0180304 or email sales@cooksdoors.co.uk.
