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Posted By Donn
Morning,
Could someone tell me what the difference, as in what the regulations are to show the difference between fire doors and fire exits.
I now fire doors are internal etc and fire exits are the exits for getting out of the building.
Internal fire doors must be closed or on an automatic shutter etc.
The problem i have is , the director sits next to the fire exit and he constantly leaves it open to allow a fresh air draft through the office. I keep telling him it should be kept closed etc but is not litening and i want to know the regulation to stop him form doing it.
The other thing is that our office is very close to small wodded area and there could be mice and rats (zoonoses) about that could come in etc, never mind the squirrell population we have.
Could someone please advise me on this matter
Many thanks
Donna
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Posted By shaun mckeever Donna, if the fire exit door leads directly outside and does not lead onto or under an external fire escape then the chances are that he can leave the door open. Fire doors (as opposed to fire exit doors) are designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. They will normally be fitted in walls whcih are designed as fire resisting walls. Fire exit doors leading onto external fire escapes are also designed as fire doors because the external fire escape must be protected from fire too. This will be the same for windows adjacent to external fire exits. More often than not the windows will be made of Georgian wired glass. Have a look at the windows next to the door. If they are Georgian wired glass then it is likely that the door is a fire and is required to be kept shut. Have a look at Approved Document 'B' Volume 2 Diagram 25 (April 2007 version). This can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.planningporta...ls/en/4000000000084.html
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Posted By Dean Stevens
Donn
I have to agree with Shaun on this one, If the door you are talking about is a fire exit that leads directly outside and is not a fire door then i see no problem with the doors being left open as long as the route is still clear.
As far as i am aware there is no specific legislation that states that fire exits should be closed at all times. We have a staff entrance that constitutes a fire exit as well, how would our staff get in if we had to keep this door closed at all times?
Good luck.
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Posted By Dave Adams CMIOSH
Donna
The big issue with escape doors being left open is damage. Damage can be caused by rainwater seeping into wood causing swelling and preventing the door from being closed. Someone then kicks it from the outside which can damage the outside and the hinges. Also if these doors are not closed properly they are a major cause of false alarms from the security system as they blow open again in the wind (normally approx 2am in my experience).
My view, keep 'em closed.
Dave
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Posted By Ken Taylor
Two other concerns about leaving fire exit doors open are: security; and the risk of fire or smoke entering the building from an external source.
An example of the latter is a housing block where rubbish was permitted to accumulate adjacent to a fire exit and the door left open. An arsonist set light to the rubbish, fire and smoke entered and spread in the building - resulting in a fatality and extensive damage.
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