Fire Doors In Schools: What You Need To Know

Fire Doors In Schools: What You Need To Know

January 16, 2025
secondary school pupils walking through school corridor

With often hundreds of students, teachers, support staff and visitors present daily, fire safety is one of the most critical safety concerns in schools. In the event of an emergency, everyone must know exactly what to do and be able to evacuate safely and promptly. 

Along with clear evacuation procedures and effective fire detection systems, fire doors play a critical role in fire safety in schools. School fire doors help to contain fire and smoke and therefore enable a safe evacuation as planned. It is therefore crucial that the individual in charge of school fire safety is clued up on their responsibilities for both fire door installation and maintenance. 

What Are The Fire Door Regulations In Schools?

The main piece of legislation governing the fire door regulations in schools is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This comprehensive legislation stipulates that all schools must have a nominated ‘Responsible Person’ who is responsible for all fire safety measures including the initial fire risk assessment. They are also in charge of the school fire doors and must ensure that these fire doors are maintained to a suitable standard at all times. 

In most schools, the position of Responsible Person will usually be held by somebody with overall responsibility for the premises more broadly such as the Headteacher, Facilities Manager or Caretaker. Additional members of staff may also take on responsibilities as a Fire Warden in the event of an emergency, but these individuals do not hold the overarching responsibility for fire safety and fire doors – this remains with the Responsible Person. 

Key Fire Door Considerations For The Responsible Person

The large volume of building users and the presence of areas that carry a higher risk of fire such as science laboratories and canteens mean that passive fire protection measures like fire doors are absolutely crucial in schools. As per the Fire Safety Order, responsibility for these fire doors sits with the Responsible Person and there are a number of considerations they should make and/or be aware of to ensure the school building has an appropriate fire door provision. 

The key fire door considerations for the Responsible Person in schools include:

  • Correct placement of fire doors – Understanding the layout of your buildings and more importantly the position and fire rating of your fire compartments is vital to ensure you maintain them to a complaint state or repair. The compartment information is typically found in the original drawings for your building, but if they don’t contain this information or you don’t have access to them then you should conduct a new compartment survey to gather this. This information allows you to understand if your fire doors are situated appropriately within the school building and whether they are offering an appropriate fire rating within that compartment. The compartment information in conjunction with your fire risk assessment will identify areas of high risk such as corridors and stairwells which will be required to operate as evacuation routes in the event of an emergency. The correct placement of the fire doors will ensure that these areas are safe compartments preventing the spread of smoke and flames to adjoining spaces. 
  • Correct fire door installation – School fire doors must be installed to meet the requirements of British Standards to ensure they are fire-resistant for an appropriate length of time, as identified in the fire risk assessment. In most cases, the doors installed will be FD30 or FD60: able to withstand fire for 30 minutes or 60 minutes respectively. 
  • Clear signage – All school fire doors should be clearly labelled with appropriate signage so that both staff and students are aware of how the doors operate. For example, ‘Fire Door – Keep Shut’ signage will ensure that the doors remain closed at all times and can therefore work as intended in an emergency. 

Maintenance Of School Fire Doors

It is important to note that the Responsible Person’s duties related to fire doors do not stop simply at ensuring the doors have been appropriately installed in the correct places. They are also responsible for regular fire door maintenance.

Fire doors are only effective if they are well-maintained as wear and tear, heavy use and accidental damage can reduce a fire door’s effectiveness. Schools are high-use buildings and therefore the likelihood of door performance waning because of these factors is naturally high. This means that timely fire door maintenance is particularly important in a school setting. 

Key fire door maintenance tasks in schools will include regular inspections of the fire doors along with appropriate fire door replacement or remedial works. The frequency at which fire doors should be inspected will vary depending on the usage of the door. All fire doors should be checked at least yearly but doors in high-use areas will need attention more frequently; this could be six monthly or as often as weekly if the type and frequency of use dictates this level of attention. 

Getting Help With School Fire Doors

Responsible Persons should be aware of the fact that, while they have responsibility for fire safety in schools as per the Fire Safety Order, they can enlist the help of trusted professionals to keep school fire doors compliant. While in-house staff can conduct basic checks on a fire door, it is recommended that a professional is consulted on a regular basis for a more comprehensive fire door survey and that any repairs or remedial work is completed by somebody qualified to do so. 

At WGP Maintenance, our expert team can help you ensure that the fire doors in your school are compliant with Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. We have held the highly regarded BM Trada Q-Mark accreditation for over a decade and can assist you with all matters related to your fire doors by providing comprehensive fire door surveys, appropriate fire door installation and reliable fire door maintenance.

To find out more about how we can assist you in carrying out your duties as a Responsible Person within a school, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.

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