Dear Editor,
The importance of fire doors is currently at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The latest information on the enquiry into the disaster at Grenfell is that tests on a salvaged door from the Grenfell site failed after 15 minutes, exactly half the minimum performance time for a 30-minute fire door.
To protect the public and themselves, companies manufacturing and installing fire doors should have third party certification. Currently third-party certification is only recommended, but after last week’s news, businesses should look again.
During a fire door training day recently held by Bluesky Certification at Cambridge Fire Research, more than 20 delegates witnessed a fire test which demonstrated exactly what is likely to happen if a fire doorset has been incorrectly manufactured or installed.
Bluesky Certification has considerable experience in fire doors. We offer third party schemes for both manufacturers and installers, giving peace of mind to our customers and the people who live or work in buildings where fire doors are installed under our certification. I believe that third party certification should be mandatory for fire doors, but until that happens, if we join together in a voluntary code, we can immediately help to raise the standard for manufacturers, installers and the public.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Beer
Managing Director
Bluesky Certification
