You may have seen fire doors in many offices, but did you know that there are a few fire exit regulations that you need to consider before installing one?
At Doorway Services, our professional door installers have put together a list of fire safety laws to help you understand how and where you need to install these doors.
Let’s take a look!
1. Your Fire Door Should Offer a Direct Escape Route
One of the first fire exit regulations is to ensure that your fire door offers a quick and direct escape path. That way, your employees won’t have to walk through an unprotected route for a long time during an emergency and will be able to exit in a safe manner.
Speaking of unprotected and protected routes, the difference between them is quite simple to understand.
Protected routes are the ones that have been created to safeguard the staff from immediate fire risks like flames and smoke, and are found in the form of staircases leading to final exit. Unprotected routes, on the other hand, are the ones that could likely cause injuries to the people trying to escape.
Here you can learn more about the different escape routes that are best during fire emergencies.
2. You Shouldn’t Use Revolving or Sliding Doors for Fire Exits
Doors that are difficult to push or open during an emergency should by no means be used as a fire exit. Not only is it against the fire safety laws but could also make it more challenging for people to save themselves.
Moreover, you need to see to it that you aren’t using revolving or sliding doors as fire exits. While you’re at, also ensure that the actual fire door isn’t locked and can be easily accessed and opened by your employees in the event of an emergency.
3. Your Fire Exits Should Be Easy to Open from Inside the Premises
Yet another important fire exit regulation you need to follow is, not fastening or locking the fire door in a way that it stops you from easily opening it from the inside.
Instead, you could use some of these fire safety tips to secure the door:
A Panic Bar
Also known as crash or push bars, these are normally used when a huge number of people are trying to escape through the fire exit; with very little pressure, you can easily release the door’s locking mechanism.
An Emergency Push Pad
Although similar to push bars, emergency push pads come with a small pad rather than a horizontal bar. However, this should be used only when you think that a panic situation won’t arise – for instance, when only employees are using the exit.
A Panic Bolt
Designed particularly for emergency exits, panic bolts aren’t used everyday and are required only during door maintenance and testing. These bolts are NOT appropriate for public areas.
4. You Shouldn’t Lock Fire Doors When the Building is Being Used
When the workspace is occupied with employees, it’s best not to lock your fire doors using a padlock or key.
However, the door can be locked as securely as possible when the building is empty – for this, you could either use padlocks, steel bars or chains. In this case, all you need to ensure is that the first person entering the premises the next morning is removing all the locks.
One of the fire exit regulations here is to have a red wall-mounted board at the entrance where you can hang all the security devices being used to secure the door. This will act as a sign that reminds people the door is still locked.
While you’re at it, also make use of the right panic bars as they provide exceptional security and enable you to easily escape the room.
5. The Number of Fire Doors in Your Workplace Depends On the Number of Employees
When it comes to installing fire doors in your premises, it’s important to take the number of employees, the size of the building and its use into consideration. In fact, the width of the door is also influenced by these factors.
For instance, the minimum width of a fire door allowing up to 60 people is around 750mm.
To get the right measurements and other technical details, give the door installers at Doorway Services a call today!
6. Your Fire Exits and Emergency Routes Should Be Marked With Signs
To ensure that your employees are going in the right direction, make sure you’re marking all your fire doors with emergency signs and adding sufficient lights near it.
Moreover, make sure that the final fire exit is always illuminated or has an emergency light next to it.
7. You Shouldn’t Obstruct the Path of Your Fire Door
You never know when a fire emergency may occur, which is why it’s crucial to make sure the path of your fire doors aren’t obstructed. This also includes the internal escape route within the building.
Ensure there aren’t any combustible products placed near the door, as they easily add more fuel to the fire and increase the spread. Refrain from keeping items like gas cylinders, portable heater, etc. in your stairways, circulation spaces or corridors either.
8. Your Fire Door Should Have a “No Parking” Sign If It Leads to a Car Park
Last but not least, this is one of the most important fire exit regulations that you can’t ignore!
Since it’s essential to keep all emergency routes clear, ensure you’re adding a “no parking” sign near the fire door that leads to a road or your car park. This will prevent people from directly parking their vehicle in front of the door.
Contact Doorway Services for Professional Fire Door Installation
Now that you have a basic understanding of the importance of fire safety and various fire exit regulations, contact the team at Doorway to get fire doors installed in your premises.
Call us on 0333 772 7784 or drop us a line at service@doorwayservices.org
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