Final exit fire door

[discovery1512]

Hi,

I work in an office which has a final exit fire door fitted. The door meets all current requirements.
What I would like to confirm is that when the office is occupied, the door can be opened for ventilation.

This is a point of contention as the union say the door must be closed at all times, yet when I attended a fire wardens training course I was told that to open the door for additional ventilation was permissable.

Your experience would be appreciated.


Darren.

[PhilB]

If the door opens directly to outside there should be no problem wedging it open. If the door opens onto a stairway or a corridor and is a fire door it may need to be kept shut.

[Midland Retty]

Just to add to PhilB's post above also make sure that by wedging the door open you do not obstruct anybody else's escape routes (Is the door near to the bottom of an external escape staircase for example, does it block a hardstanding route for wheeelchair users to traverse around the building etc etc)

Worth mentioning to your union that a fire door and final exit door are two different things as PhilB explains.

A door leading directly to fresh air isnt a fire door - its a final exit door (so called because it is the final door you open to reach fresh air)

[nearlythere]

Hi,

I work in an office which has a final exit fire door fitted. The door meets all current requirements.
What I would like to confirm is that when the office is occupied, the door can be opened for ventilation.

This is a point of contention as the union say the door must be closed at all times, yet when I attended a fire wardens training course I was told that to open the door for additional ventilation was permissable.

Your experience would be appreciated.


Darren.

I know, in many cases, I will be teaching grannies to suck eggs but if they will turn away for a minute I will explain what I think to be an element of confusion regarding the names some people give to particular doors.

Fire doors are doors built to withstand the passage of heat and smoke for a period of time, usually 1/2 hr and are normally for the protection of escape routes or the containment of fire risks. These doors are normally internal, but not always, and are usually required to be free to close automatically at all material times. There are occasions when they can be kept open by devices which are linked to the fire alarm system and release the door to close when the alarm sounds.

Final exit doors are precisely what it says on the tin. They are the doors, which when gone through, would put persons outside the building in a place of safety.

What you have called your door describes it as both which it can be. Is your door required to do both?

[Tom Sutton]

What you have called your door describes it as both which it can be. Is your door required to do both?

If the door in question opens onto an external escape staircase and you are not located on the top floor then as nearlythere has stated it could be both. You need to give more information.

[discovery1512]

The door in question is the final fire exit door of a ground floor office building, opening onto a paved area. -  On that note, I was told that there is a mximum difference of 15mm allowed between the two levels of floor, ie, between the internal floor and external floor.
Is this correct?, if so, where can I find this in writing?

Thanks for taking the trouble to respond.

[nearlythere]

The door in question is the final fire exit door of a ground floor office building, opening onto a paved area. -  On that note, I was told that there is a mximum difference of 15mm allowed between the two levels of floor, ie, between the internal floor and external floor.
Is this correct?, if so, where can I find this in writing?

Thanks for taking the trouble to respond.

Is there an external fire escape within 1.8M of the door or less than 9M above? Is there another escape door within 1.8M?

What is your distance between floor levels? If it could only be up to 15mm why do we have steps? The 15mm you refer to could be the new requirement by BC for wheelchair access.

I think you are being fed cr@p by some people.

[val]

Discovery 1512

What fire safety professionals really want is a great big hole in the wall. Tell your union offical that the door can be opened as much as you like. The more the merrier, at least you will all know it works.