How Often Do Fire Doors Need to Be Inspected?

There is often confusion surrounding how often to inspect fire doors. From a legal perspective, the National Fire Protection Association 80 states that fire doors must be checked once a year. However, it is good practice for businesses to perform more frequent checks.

Like all potentially life-saving products, fire doors need to be regularly inspected to ensure they are functioning correctly and ready for use. All businesses can benefit from getting into the habit of checking fire doors in the same way they check smoke alarm batteries or fire extinguisher pressure.

One of the most commonly-asked questions among safety-conscious businesses is ‘how often do fire doors need to be inspected?’, but the answer isn’t always straightforward. Periodic checks should be undertaken at least once every six-month period. However, newly-occupied buildings may need to be checked more frequently, particularly in the first year of use.

Likewise, doors which experience high volumes of traffic may need to be checked more frequently than other doors within the building. Carry on reading to find out more about fire door inspections.

Who is responsible for the servicing of fire doors?

Facility managers, building owners and building safety engineers are responsible for ensuring fire door inspections take place. Regular door inspection can be performed by employees who are trained in the maintenance of fire door components. In some instances, team members who are designated as being responsible for health and safety will also take on the role of fire safety officer. Alternatively, you may want to outsource your fire risk assessment to a dedicated company like ourselves here at Ark Fire Protection.

The frequency of your fire door inspections will depend on the individual risk assessment for your business. Some businesses may choose to perform a fire door safety check every month, while others may do so on a bi-annual basis.

When it comes to the performance of annual fire door inspections as per NFPA regulations, your business will require a licensed fire protection company to undertake the checks. These inspections can be conveniently taken out at the same time as business fire suppression, sprinkler and fire alarm system inspections.

Fire door inspection requirements

When it comes to new fire door inspection, post-installation checks must be performed by a competent person. This is because incorrect installation can cause the effectiveness of a fire door to become compromised. Likewise, regular inspections should be carried out by a competent person to ensure doors are compliant.

In addition to wondering ‘how often should you check fire doors?’, you may also be wondering what to check for. There are several simple visual checks which can be carried out by a competent person. These include:

Checking for signs of obvious damage to the door and its frame.
Looking for cracks or parts of the door which don’t look secure.
Checking to see if the door and frame have been fitted securely.
Inspecting the door and frame to ensure they are level.
Checking the intumescent seals surrounding the door.
Checking to see how smoothly the door opens/closes.

Fire door inspection legal requirements

Some businesses make the mistake of considering fire door inspection as a time-consuming box-ticking exercise. Ultimately, your team might be busy with the day-to-day running of the business and could be unable to spare the time to check your fire doors on a regular basis. However, it is important to understand that fire door inspections are a legal requirement, and if your business is unable to perform such checks, you should strongly consider outsourcing your fire risk assessment.

Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order 2005 stipulates that it is a legal requirement for businesses to ensure that escape doors and fire-resistant doors are correctly installed and adequately maintained at all times.

The Regulatory Fire Reform (Fire Safety Order 2005) is applicable to all non-domestic properties, which means all businesses fall under such legislation. Businesses should record fire door inspections in a fire safety logbook. Any maintenance to fire doors should also be logged.

The purpose of logging such information is not to simply keep a legible audit trail – logging each and every action taken to prevent a fire from breaking out could help to protect and justify the safety measures put in place by your business.

If you’re looking for a professional and experienced fire door installation and maintenance service, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team today – we’re here to help.