Building safety should never be compromised and any properties owned and leased by Local Authorities must meet fire-safety standards to ensure a safe environment for all tenants. With Shelforce having launched its new fully compliant Fireshel 30-minure fire, smoke and security resistant door, the window and door manufacturer’s Business Manager Howard Trotter provides advice on what Local Authorities should be looking for when it comes to fire doors – and why the Fireshel is the perfect solution for all those who need fully EN tested 3rd Party Accredited, replacement fire, smoke and security door sets, that are compliant with the latest 2020 MHCLG Annex A recommendations.
Shelforce
Fireshel fire doors are a life safety product intended to protect escape routes by preventing the spread of fire and smoke, designed to mitigate risks and limit harm and damage from fire, smoke and burglary.
After the Grenfell tragedy, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has worked with third-party certification bodies to develop minimum standards of assurance for fire doors.
As government funded organisations set the standard for the wider housing sector, fire and security safety for Local Authorities is imperative – and when it comes to specifying a Fire Door solution for any local authority or housing association replacement project the above standards MUST be met.
Having worked with Local Authorities for many years, we understand what they need and have the answers to the questions they must ask when it comes to correctly manufacturing and installing fire, smoke and security resistant doors.
Fire performance – Field of application
It is a legal requirement for fire door manufacturers to provide test evidence to show their product’s ability to resist fire, the Field of Application is the document that collates all the test evidence and makes the official statement that door sets within the size ranges listed are all compliant, without the Field of Application variations of tested composite door sizes are not allowed.
Any fire door installed must have a Field of Application from the manufacturer and if it does not then you will not be fitting the right door, making the consequences potentially catastrophic.
The Fireshel Field of Application confirms that the door has been fire tested to EN1634 -1 from both the inside and the outside and has proven fire resistance performance.
Landlords or building owners should reference the manufacturer’s test evidence/certification and documentation for proposed fire door sets and this evidence should be carefully checked to ensure that it adequately demonstrates compliance and meets the performance requirement in the Building Regulations guidance for fire resistance and smoke control from both sides.
Consistency – Fire, Smoke Security door sets, Independent 3rd Party Accreditation
All fire doors must be third party audited for both fire and security compliance and have third party certification.
Fireshel doors are Q Mark 170 Scheme 3rd Party Accredited. The independent Q Mark audits at the Fireshel production facility ensure that the tested fire and smoke door specification is consistently and repeatedly manufactured with the exacting same specification as the security door specification.
Independent third party auditing provides an additional level of assurance that the product is produced to the same specification and quality as that originally tested, and that the original test behaviour and criteria is both met and reliably maintained consistently.
The Fireshel
Our Fireshel fire and security door set solution has achieved all the new stringent recommendations set by the MHCLG and has proven 30 minute fire resistance consistency having been fire tested from both sides many times to EN1634 -1, achieving 49 minutes fire resistance.
The low maintenance door, complete with fanlight glazing panel, has also been PAS 024 Security tested and Q Mark 3rd Party independent audits inspect the Fireshel for both fire and security compliance.
The Fireshel composite fire door utilises the FireFrame® dual fire, smoke and security compliant fire door set solution from Winkhaus which includes the FD30 / FD60 FireFrame® outerframe, and the Winkhaus AV2 auto-locking multi-point door lock with optional access control. Fireshel tested to resist security and fire including TS008 compliant letterplates, numerals, eye viewers, door knockers and security chains.
When specifying a fire door solution for any local authority replacement project, the Fireshel system offers assurance that all the components used in the manufacture of the doors have been tested and approved against the new 2020 Q Mark 170 Scheme Fire and Security Composite door Set requirements.
Complete peace of mind
The latest Government advice suggests that building owners must replace existing fire doors if they don’t meet current fire or smoke resistance performance and it will then be a legal requirement that those new fire doors will then need to be routinely inspected and maintained regularly by a suitably qualified professional.
That is why we are offering a comprehensive fire door package with our Fireshel system, ranging from fabrication through to installation, maintenance, and emergency repairs.
We want to provide the complete fire door package for Local Authorities to make it as easy for them as possible and give them peace of mind that the doors will be inspected, maintained, and repaired in the future.
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