Protecting lives: Fire door safety and access control compliance

This number is far greater than it should be, and it’s imperative that fire doors and emergency escape doors are compliant and regularly checked to prevent further casualties and fatalities.

There is no greater responsibility than specifying the correct locking solution on emergency escape and fire doors in public buildings. However, often there is little awareness of who is responsible for fire safety duties.

At Abloy UK, we believe there needs to be greater education on escape and fire door safety, and how to ensure the solutions specified are safe and compliant.

This is crucial to guarantee the safety of a building’s occupants, but also to make sure that the building or facilities manager is not liable if an accident does occur.

We also show support for Fire Door Safety Week this month, which further highlights the importance of these issues.

Keeping compliant

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places responsibility for fire safety in buildings to whoever has day-to-day control of the premises [1], and there are a number of building regulation standards that must be adhered to ensure safety and security.

These include BS EN 179 Emergency Escape (for when the building occupants are aware of the building environment), BS EN 1125 Panic Escape (for environments used by the general public) and the new standard BS EN 13637 Electronically Controlled Escape Systems (for use on escape routes). 

These standards state that even if a door is electronically controlled for access there must be a compliant mechanical means of escape in an emergency.

In the case of fire doors this is essential to provide fire protection, compartmentalise a building and protect the escape routes. This is also a critical function in a terror situation - offering the ability to shut off certain areas to terrorists and allow controlled egress or access to ensure the safety of the public.

There was also a recent amendment to BS 7273: Pt4 Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures – Part 4: Actuation of release mechanisms for doors, to enhance security and provide safer means of controlling the unauthorised use of escape doors.

The amendment features an expert commentary that accompanies the standard, directly referring to ‘BS EN 13637 Building hardware - Electrically controlled exit systems for use on escape routes’ in respect of any electrically locked door on an escape route.

Electric locks vs door magnets

There are safety advantages to be gained by opting for an electric locking system – such as a motorised or solenoid lock – rather than choosing door magnets for fire and emergency escape doors.

This is because there can be fire risks associated with installing a magnet on a door which is used as a fire escape, as they require special arrangements to guarantee they are always fail-safe in the event of an emergency.

For example, some door magnets require an alarm or ‘request to exit’ mechanism to allow someone to exit, so there could be life-threatening delays for people needing swift egress in an emergency. Electric locks are also a more energy efficient solution when compared with magnetic locks.

Confidence in compliant solutions

Abloy UK offers a selection of compliant security solutions that are specifically designed for panic and escape doors. Its range of electric locks includes motor and solenoid locks, which are the most effective forms of electric locking and adhere to the mandatory fire and escape standards.

Solenoid locks, like the Abloy EL560 work by controlling the handle, and are suitable for internal doors of public buildings, offices, schools or hospitals, and external doors of apartments and detached houses.

Motorised locks, like the Abloy EL520 work by drawing the bolt back once a proximity card or device is presented. Both locks automatically secure a deadbolt upon closing and can be used with escape mechanisms as appropriate to the environment and application.

As well as the range of compliant electric locks, Abloy also offers a selection of digital access solutions. These meet virtually any requirements, to provide flexible, scalable and compliant security, and help control the movement of people in a wide range of building types and applications.

These include Incedo^™ Business, Aperio^®, SMARTair^™ and CLIQ^®, which can be combined with Abloy’s compliant electric locks to create a bespoke access control system, designed specifically for an organisation’s needs, and to meet building regulations.

Educating the industry

The Abloy Academy offers a range of courses including the Foundations and Foundations Plus courses, and RIBA approved CPDs to help educate on specifying compliant access control solution.

The free courses are designed to train installers, security managers, end users and specifiers, giving them the skills and knowledge to ensure maximum safety and security while helping to save lives in an emergency.

Ultimately, it’s crucial that compliance is taken seriously and that specifiers of access control solutions for emergency escape and fire doors ensure that systems adhere to the latest regulations – as it could mean the difference between life and death.

For further information on products and services available from Abloy, call 01902 364 500, or email info@abloy.co.uk.

[1] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made