Does my business need a fire exit door?

Keeping people and buildings safe and secure is essential when you run a business. In case of an emergency, you need to ensure that your business is as safe as possible, which includes security considerations. This means that you should consider whether you need a fire exit door, steel security doors, or if you should have a combination and have steel fire exit doors on your ground floor. In order to know if you need any of these, you need to understand the rules and regulations surrounding emergency exit doors.

Not all buildings, and not all businesses need to have a proper fire exit door. However, the regulations that govern this can be confusing and difficult to understand. Find out whether you need a fire exit door for your business with our handy guide.

An emergency exit door, or fire exit door, is a door that provides a quick exit in case of an emergency. A fire exit door should provide simple escape by using one single motion. This is normally done by pressing/pushing a crash bar which releases and allows the door to open. A fire door gives people a much higher chance of getting out safely in event of a fire or emergency situation inside the building.

A fire exit door is a door that provides quick escape in the event of a fire and a fire rated door is a door which aims to prevent the spread of fire through the door. At Doors4security ltd we can offer both fire rated products and fire exit doors. We can also offer steel doors which can offer both solutions.

Below are some key things to look for when purchasing fire rated doors. 

• Gaps – the gap around a fire door should be no more than 4mm. This helps both security, and lessens the risk of smoke escape.
• Seals – A fire door needs to have seals that can stand up to heat and smoke. Any seal on your door needs to prevent smoke escaping, and keep fire contained as long as possible. 
• Hinges – A fire door needs hinges that will not warp or bend at the first sign of heat. You need a door that will stay useable for as long as you have people who need to escape the building.

The regulations concerning fire exit doors in existing buildings are  ‘Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order: 2005 (RRO)’. These cover who needs to have a fire door, and who does not. 

A commercial use building needs to have an inspection done to determine the quickest and safest means of exiting the building. This might be via an emergency fire escape, or via a ground level door. Either way, you need to line the escape route with fire exit doors. 

If your emergency exits are potentially a security risk – particularly those at ground level, then you might need to consider a steel fire exit door to give an additional layer of security. Heavy duty Steel Fire Exit Doors from Doors4Security not only offer great levels of security but are also designed to allow quick escape in an emergency.