fire doors

British designed and manufactured, Powermatic controlled, concealed door closers are gaining increasing popularity for use on fire doors in high-rise flats, apartments and HMOs.
The door closers carry the UKCA mark and have been independently tested and proved to meet the requirements for one-hour and half-hour fire doors under BS EN 1634-1.
Totally concealed when the door is closed, Powermatic door closers are less susceptible to damage from vandalism or tampering. This gives them a significant advantage over surface mounted door closers when it comes to reliability of the fire door and maintenance costs, making them the right choice for both tenants and social landlords.
Unlike other jamb-mounted devices, Powermatic door closers facilitate a door’s compliance with the accessibility requirements of Approved Document M, are the only Certifire jamb-mounted door closer and do not have to be removed from the door to be adjusted.

A recent survey into fire safety in social housing carried out by Housing Management and Maintenance magazine reported that 95% of respondents named fire doors as the most important fire safety product and more than half cited broken fire doors as the main reason for properties failing fire safety assessments.
With the Hackitt Review calling for greater care in the specification of fire safety products, door closer manufacturer, Samuel Heath asserts that the type of door closer fitted to fire doors in social housing stock should be given as much consideration as the fire door itself.

Residents deserve unquestionable comfort and safety in the post pandemic era, as do the professionals responsible for providing it.

Many things have changed over the past eighteen or more months since our world was turned upside down. However, perhaps it’s also true to say that some things such as expectations and fundamental living principles have just been re-evaluated and prioritised into what’s important for personal well-being. For tenants and residents living in affordable homes; whether rented or part owned, that can often be distilled into a not unreasonable must have list, which includes: fire safety and security, comfortable and durable surroundings, which demonstrate contemporary design and all of which has real environmental credentials.

Since Grenfell, fire safety in flats has been in the spotlight. The Stay Put policy has been scrutinised and reviewed, fire doors replaced, and the Wake Watch introduced, all with the aim of ensuring that flat buildings are compliant and safe for tenants to live in.

However, fire safety compliance isn’t always easy to coordinate. Especially if you are in control of multiple buildings, which is a highly likely scenario.

If you were selecting a car for security reasons, would you be looking for one that just had 4 wheels, an engine and a door you could lock? No, of course not! You would rightly be interested in its overall performance, verified roadworthy tests, the quality of its components, not to mention other safety features and naturally its appearance and stylish kerb appeal.   
Selecting the right Secured By Design (SBD) Doorkit is not dissimilar. It’s not simply a case of meeting the minimum requirement, with a piece of paper that says SBD Tested, anything will do! After all there is so much more to consider in the modern build environment, from fire rating to life cycle expectations and installation to design flexibility.  Portaro SBD Interior timber Entrance Doorkits from Vicaima provides just that scope, with ease of assembly, quality materials, outstanding performance and design appeal as standard, all encased in one of the most comprehensively certificated products on the market.

As Sidey, Scotland’s strongest fenestration company, was among the first UK companies to achieve the new fire door certification, Joint Managing Director Steve Hardy talks about the importance of accreditations and the fact that the company has now added glazed options to its existing range…
Sidey was one of the first companies to achieve the new accreditations and we are now in a position to further add to our existing FD30 Composite Fire Door collection by offering glazed options. Following independent factory product audits, our full range of composite fire doors have been fully certified under the BM Trada scheme STD 170 and tested to BS EN1634-1 for fire resistance, both internally and externally.

Although high efficiency cam action door closers enable low operating forces within and below those demanded within BS8300, some users find any resistance on a fire door either very hard or impossible to manage.

Where such instances arise, the use of a free swing door closer is highly advised. A free swing door closer, when active, enables to door to move freely without resistance being experienced by the user; thus, it enables the door to perform as any standard internal door within a domestic dwelling. In addition to no resistance from the closer, the door can be left in any position desired by the user - fully open, slightly ajar or fully closed. On activation of the fire alarm or in the event of a power failure, the door will close from whatever position it has been left in, ensuring the fire door will perform as required in the event of a fire. Whilst the alarm is active or while power is out, the free swing closer will perform as a ‘normal’ door closer, so if opened it will automatically close again. Once the alarm has been reset or power restored, the free swing will become active once again.