British Woodworking Federation extends Certifire scheme

Fire door Safety Week (FDSW) stands as an example of how an industry can and should unite to support a greater understanding and drive best practice in a marketplace.

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) is keen to ensure that lessons learned from FDSW deliver tangible market improvement.

The BWF membership have therefore decided to extend the scope of the BWF Certifire Scheme to embrace companies that achieve the necessary standard through the Certifire and Q-Mark Schemes.

The new Fire Door Alliance will see companies certifying product under the BWF Certifire process continuing unabated, while those currently using the Q-Mark scheme will be able to join the alliance and work with the wider sector to effect much needed change. The development will build on the core principles of the BWF Certifire scheme – namely that all doors manufactured are covered by certification (i.e. no fire doors are sold outside the scope of certification), companies joining must complete and maintain a stringent training process and ensure traceability through a consistent scheme labelling system.

Members of the fire door alliance also gain access to a resource bank of information and toolkits including; promotional assets, guidance and training manuals and updates on the latest industry developments.

Commenting on this evolution, scheme Chairman David Oldfield said: “In the wake of the Hackitt Review, it is more important than ever that we stand together as an industry to ensure that all fire doors supplied in the UK meet the required standard and continue to meet this throughout their service life.

“What we have seen in Fire Door Safety Week is a very positive and proactive approach from an industry – a clear focus on delivering safety and improving understanding. It is vital that this collaborative working spills into our wider work to ensure that we focus together on how we can embrace and build on the principles set down in the Hackitt review, how we deal with the looming challenge of CE Marking and work with our supply chain to ensure all products meet and continue to meet the required performance standards throughout their service life.”