The Fire Safety Act 2021 and Your Fire Door Obligations

The Fire Safety Act 2021 significantly expanded fire safety requirements for residential buildings. Here is how it affects fire door compliance and what you need to do.

Background to the Act

The Fire Safety Act 2021 was passed in response to the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. It amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to clarify the scope of fire risk assessments in multi-occupied residential buildings. Before the Act, there was ambiguity about whether flat entrance doors and building structure fell within the scope of fire safety duties. The Act removes that ambiguity.

Key Provisions Affecting Fire Doors

The Act makes clear that the Responsible Person must include flat entrance doors in their fire risk assessment for any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises. This means that in a block of flats, every flat entrance door that opens onto a common area must be assessed for fire safety compliance. The door itself, its frame, the intumescent strips, smoke seals, self-closing device, and all associated hardware must be in good working order.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Following the Act, the government introduced the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which set specific duties. For buildings over 11 metres, these include quarterly checks of fire doors in common parts, annual checks of flat entrance doors, providing fire safety information to residents, installing wayfinding signage, reporting certain fire safety information to the fire service, and maintaining the external wall system.

Practical Compliance

To comply, you need to establish an inspection regime that meets the required frequencies, keep detailed records of all inspections and any remedial actions taken, ensure any defects are rectified promptly, and review your fire risk assessment whenever significant changes are made. Our fire door inspection service provides detailed reports that meet regulatory requirements and give you a clear action plan for any issues found.