Fire door safety
campaigners are, through Fire Door Safety Week (FDSW), working to ensure public
and private sector landlords and building owners stop risking the lives of
tenants and ensure fire doors are correctly inspected, specified, fitted and
maintained.
Fire doors are the
first line of defence against devastating fires and when properly built,
installed and maintained, they save lives and protect property. Despite this,
fire doors across the UK are still badly fitted, non-compliant, left propped
open or damaged and, as a result, could be putting millions of lives at stake.
The team behind FDSW
(24-30th September 2018) is gearing
up for its 2018 campaign that will continue to educate about the critical role
that fire doors play in delaying the spread of smoke and fire, and keeping
occupants and fire fighters safe.
Now in its sixth
year, this year’s FDSW campaign - Fire Door Five: Shutting the door on fire and
smoke – aims to draw attention to the importance of properly-fitted and
accredited fire doors as well as raising awareness of the dangers of smoke
inhalation and the role that correctly installed fire doors can do in
preventing the spread of both fire and smoke.
Part of the activity
will see campaigners explore the need to establish a Building Safety Fund to
help pay for vital and life-saving fire safety improvements in Local Authority
and Housing Association accommodation.
Hannah Mansell,
spokesperson for FDSW, as well as British Woodworking Federation (BWF) Head of
Technical Research and Insight, chair of the Passive Fire Protection Forum and
a trustee of the Children’s Burns Trust, says: “Through Fire Door Safety Week,
we will once more renew our efforts to ensure that residents, landlords and
building owners across the UK are armed with the information they need to make
informed decisions that will improve safety.
"There is no doubt that fire doors,
fully fitted with their correct and compatible components, that are properly
installed and maintained play a crucial role in saving lives in the event of a
fire.
"The legacy of neglect means more lives could be lost as a result of
substandard fire protection measures. We know that the necessary corrective
actions will cost and that is why we are asking the Government set up a
Building Safety Fund for Housing Associations and Local Authorities to carry
out replacement and repair works. Finance should not be used as an excuse. The
stakes are too high.
“Tenants and the
general public will, as always, play a key part and get their voices heard by
reporting doors that are propped open, damaged or in poor condition, rather
than waiting for landlords or building owners to inspect fire doors. As part of
Fire Door Safety Week, we have created a Five Step Fire Door
Check to help people check their fire doors and empower them to report
faulty doors.
“Over the last year,
there has been significant discussion about the responsibility of landlords,
councils and Housing Associations to ensure the safety of their tenants but
there is still a massive learning curve in terms of awareness about how fire
doors that are correctly specified, installed, maintained and of course closed
can limit the effect of fire and smoke, and what to do in the event of a
fire. Because of this uncertainty, our focus for fire door safety week
this year is “shutting the door on fire and smoke” and we want to educate
everyone on how effective fire doors can be in stopping the spread of fire and
smoke.”
FDSW, a national
campaign, is run by the British Woodworking Federation, the BWF-Certifire
Scheme and the Fire Door Inspection Scheme, in partnership with the Home
Office’s National Fire Safety campaign.
Throughout the week
(24-30th September 2018), there will be numerous events and campaign activity
to raise awareness about the importance of fire door safety. To access a free
toolkit of fire safety advice resources to help run your own FDSW activities, visit
www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk
