Author Topic: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open  (Read 40820 times)

Offline Tom Sutton

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #15 on: March 14, 2014, 08:35:47 PM »
Can I have another go with the first statement.

1. A fire safety professional should never recommend fire doors to be wedged open irrespective of type of premises but like all rules there are exceptions and I would accept it was OK to wedge a fire door temporarily for instance whilst moving large furniture items - provided there was someone there on hand to close the door whilst it is wedged open.
All my responses only apply to England and Wales and they are an overview of the subject, hopefully it will point you in the right direction and always treat with caution.

Offline AnthonyB

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #16 on: March 14, 2014, 08:55:29 PM »
Human factors and management are the key - I would think you would be hard pressed to find an RP that would dedicate an employee to holding open a door during a prolonged move of large/heavy items, delivery trolleys etc. Obviously regular moving of goods would indicate the use of an approved appropriate category hold open device, but again not in every premises is the frequency enough to justify the cost.

A wedge whilst people are actively moving stuff would therefore sound reasonable as long as they know to knock the wedge out if the fire alarm sounds and when work is complete.

However......if I had a pound for every wedged door that was met with the mitigation of "We've had a delivery" when in fact no goods have been moved for ages and in fact are not likely to be again that day I'd be able to retire....

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Offline Dinnertime Dave

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #17 on: March 14, 2014, 09:30:30 PM »

A wedge whilst people are actively moving stuff would therefore sound reasonable as long as they know to knock the wedge out if the fire alarm sounds and when work is

Isn't that what fire extinguishers are for?

Offline nearlythere

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #18 on: March 14, 2014, 09:44:57 PM »
Remember the time when we did inspections for fire certs and if we came across a fire door without a sc device the notice would have given them 6 months to get it sorted.
We're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland.

Offline colin todd

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #19 on: March 15, 2014, 10:00:17 PM »
Maybe in NI.  In England, they cant even spell proporshunalitie, never mind understand it.  (Monsignor Retters excluded.)
Colin Todd, C S Todd & Associates

Offline nearlythere

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #20 on: January 22, 2016, 07:15:54 PM »
Anyone remember the brill pic someone posted of the door wedge with the sign on it. Was it something like in event of fire pull cord or something?

 
We're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland.

Offline kurnal

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #21 on: January 24, 2016, 04:56:10 PM »
Hi NT
I have sent the picture I think you refer to by email to your Hotmail address. Let me know if its the one you wanted, I downloaded it when the OP first posted it but cant find it on firenet any more.

Offline Fire Monkey

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #22 on: July 26, 2016, 08:28:40 AM »
Just try visiting a Fire Station - went to one recently and every fire door in the building was wedged open. I shut them all and chucked the wedges in the bins.

Offline kurnal

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #23 on: July 26, 2016, 09:34:07 AM »
t'was ever thus, nobody likes fire doors not even fire officers and consultants. Is the LFB training / FPA building still in use on the Albert Embankment? Last time I was there every door was wedged open.

Offline Fire Monkey

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #24 on: July 26, 2016, 09:45:19 AM »
Green eggs and ham

Offline Mike Buckley

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Re: Fire doors throughout the department have all been wedged open
« Reply #25 on: July 28, 2016, 04:28:20 PM »
Story from the old days when inspecting officer wore the uniform with patch pockets. One FSO was doing an inspection round a hospital with the hospital fire officer. Walked onto the first ward, door wedged, the hospital fire officer swore picked up the wedge and put it in his pocket. By the end of the tour all pockets of both guys were full of wedges. The final route was through the basement and past the carpenters shop who was busy turning out door wedges and cursing the person who was continually knicking his wedges!
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