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Ifire pager6/28/2023 ![]() ![]() Part of our role as health, safety, and fire resilience technicians, is helping schools with the basics and this includes a brief 'tour' of a fire door. These are ordinarily located on rooms of special fire risk like plant rooms, electrical intake rooms, science and technology laboratories, kitchens, combustion engine rooms, rooms used for the storage of chemicals and fuels, and stores for PE mats. There are, however, both single and double fire doors of a higher rating available, allowing a longer period of fire containment. ![]() You will probably find most school fire doors are FD30 rated which means they will resist the elements of fire and contain the flames for a minimum of 30 minutes. It will not fulfil this function if it is not fitted or maintained properly, propped open, or the 'hold open' devices are not working effectively.Īll fire doors are 'fire rated' and all this means is that some provide longer protection than others for holding back smoke, fire, and toxic fumes. This prevents the spread of fire, smoke and toxic fumes for a defined period, allowing adequate time for occupants to escape before becoming overwhelmed. However, since a breakout of fire is never predictable, the fire door, unlike any other door, must then perform its prime purpose – to protect lives and offer protection to the remainder of the building.Ī fire door ensures that should a fire break out, it can be contained in a 'compartment'. The simple purpose of a fire door in everyday use is just as any other door. In a school, as in all public spaces, good fire safety practice can literally be the difference between life and death. We walk past and through them every day without a second thought, but fire doors play a vital role in the defence against fire, smoke, and toxic fumes. Making sure that all fire doors are fitted and maintained properly is a key part of this. Schools have a responsibility under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order (FSO) 2005 to ensure that everyone in the building is kept safe including pupils, teachers, and support staff. In this blog post, Julie will guide you through how to check and make sure your fire doors are up to the required safety standards. Julie, alongside her colleague Joanne Rafferty, conduct on-site fire risk assessments every day in schools as part of the RPA resilience measures. Your school may already be a member but if not, you can find more information about the RPA on GOV.UK. Julie Noble is a health, safety, and fire resilience technician for the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA), the DfE’s alternative to commercial insurance for schools.
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