I hope someone could help me on this. We have around 233 venues around the UK each obviously have fire doors in them which are checked by venue staff monthly for their operation/strips intact etc and then a annual service by a outside company.
The company has stated that due to BS 9999 these fire doors should be tested every 6 months instead of annually.
Can anyone shine some light on this as being honest I thought what we are currently doing is enough.
Occupation: 46 years experience with a metropolitan Fire Brigade and then Fire Safety Manager for a global brand.
Now sort of retired from the fire safety game, but doing the odd job here and there to keep my grey matter working and as I hate sudoku and havent got the back for an allotment
Location: Sunny London where the streets are paved with gold ;)
It may be semantics but I would want to know which bit of 9999 is being referred to. Sadly it's a bit weighty for me to lug a copy on the train, but I would want a reference or rationale
Why are you having an external company doing an 'annual service' of Fire Doors?
Do they include automatic release systems etc, or are they just fire doors?
Have you looked at the requirements of BS9999 yourself?
Yes, there is a requirement for a 6 monthly inspection, but it seems to me that your staff are already potentially meeting that requirement in their monthly checks....
As long as you are recording your monthly checks clearly, I don't see how doing additional annual / six-monthly checks adds any value.
It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to identify a missing intumescent strip, a large gap, or note that the door is failing to self-close.
Unless these doors are connected to the fire alarm system and swing shut upon activation (which can be easily checked during fire alarm tests), I don't see what the external company would be doing that your staff wouldn't.
We often think that when we have completed our study of one we know all about two, because 'two' is 'one and one.' We forget that we still have to make a study of 'and.'
