How often should fire doors be checked?
Quick checks, full inspections and what sits between them.
Get a priceThere are really three kinds of look at a fire door, and people mix them up.
The quick check
Someone walks past and sees that the door is shut, the closer works and nothing is wedged or broken.
It takes a minute per door. A caretaker, a housekeeper or a site manager can do it if they know what they are looking at.
In a residential building above 11 metres the 2022 Regulations make this a legal duty. Communal fire doors every three months. Flat entrance doors every 12 months, on a best endeavours basis. Both must include checking the self-closing device.
Below 11 metres there is no set interval in those Regulations. The Order still says the doors must be kept in working order, so most risk assessors write a routine into their report.
The full inspection
This is what we do. Each door is measured and opened and photographed. Gaps, hinges, seals, glazing, closer, signs and the door itself.
The usual advice is once a year for most buildings. It is guidance, not a rule in the 2022 Regulations. Your fire risk assessment may say more often for a door that gets heavy use, such as a school corridor or a care home bedroom.
A full inspection is also sensible when you take on a building, after a refurbishment, or after decorators or cable installers have been through.
Why the quick check is not enough
A closer that works can sit on a door with a gap down one side that is far too wide. A smoke seal can look fine from the corridor and be painted solid underneath.
The quick check is for catching what breaks between inspections. It does not replace measuring.
Following up faults
Each time a check finds something, write down what and when, and what was done about it. If you cannot get into a flat, write down who you asked and when.
In a block of flats in Stevenage, smoke seals were the repair. Not whole doors. A seal is a cheap part and a short job, but it only gets fitted if somebody has found it missing.
Which one do you need?
If you are above 11 metres and residential, you need the quarterly and yearly checks. A full inspection on top is a good way to know that the quick checks are catching the right things.
If you are below 11 metres or not residential, ask your fire risk assessor how often. If you do not have one, get one. That is a separate job from ours.
Questions we get asked
Is once a year the law?
Not as such. Yearly is a common recommendation. The legal intervals in the 2022 Regulations are the three month and 12 month checks for residential buildings above 11 metres.
Can my caretaker do the quick checks?
Yes, if they have been shown what to look at and they write down what they find.
Send us the postcode and a rough door count and we will come back with a price.
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