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Posted By Craig107
I have recently joined anew company and have inspected the fire exits. I have found that due to the type of work they are carrying out when it gets warm in the summer they have fitted "fly doors" to the inside of the fire doors so they can have them open and flies cant get in. This is where the problem then starts, the fly doors open inwards! so in the event of an evacuation they are having to pull open the "fly door" before they can push the bar to escape, surely this cant be legal!
it is my understanding that the doors should open in the direction of escape....am I correct and should I be having these "fly doors" removed immediately???
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Posted By Mitch
Steady on Craig,
Not removed but re-hung with no locking facility, where do you work that flys (or flies?) are such a problem???
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Posted By C.J.
It depends on the individual circumstances and the risk which you will have to assess.
If 3 employees were the only ones who would ever need to use the fire exit then i personally wouldn't have a problem. However if that exit was to be used by 1000 persons, including the public then i would have them removed ASAP.
Regards
CJ
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Posted By Craig107
ok spelling mistake noted.
there is the possibility that there could be in excess of 50 people trying to use the door in the case of an emergency and some are in a narrow area so pulling open the door with people trying to get out seems like it a really bad idea.
the fly doors have been made on site and hung over the frame of the door making rehanging them a task of rebuilding each of them again, i'm still thinking of going down the road of removing them because I think it is a bad idea having a door that requires pulling open where everyone is trying to push their way out
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Posted By Ashley Wood
Craig, non compliant means of escape, take them out.
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Posted By Colin Reeves
I would suggest replacing the fly doors with these curtains of beads or similar - reasonably effective against flying beasts, but easily pushed through in an emergency.
Colin
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Posted By Ron Hunter
Is this the all too common result of a local "fix" to a poorly designed kitchen with inadequate ventilation?
Fly screens would be required where food is prepared - EHO would I think be insistent if the door was being left open.
By all means re-hang the fly screen, but I'd also investigate ventilation issues with staff.
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Posted By pluto
I am a bit confused. If there is a need to have the exit doors open because it is too hot, (no problem there, open fire exits all you like), how does fitting a pair of internal doors solve the problem?
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Posted By M. Thompson
You could always run a drill, and if they can't get 40 people a minute out, then you should look at changing it. However, as previously stated, it depends on the size of your workforce
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Posted By Geoff Armstrong
Craig. You may have a much wider problem to solve here to take effective preventative action. Someone at some point has taken a decision to alter the existing safety arrangements with regard to the occupants' 'means of escape'. Was that person deemed 'competent'? Did they consult anyone 'competent'? Were safety issues even considered? Was this the easy way out to solve other issues too difficult or more expensive to tackle? Was the fire risk assessment reviewed after the modification? To improve the safety culture you will have to identify and tackle the 'root causes' of the problem... Usually senior managers who should know better! Good luck.
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Posted By Michael Parks
You did not mention if the fire doors were left open or wedged, in which case they would be breaching fire regs.
If you have so much trouble with flies, maybe you should find out what is causing them to multiply in your workplace so much.
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Posted By Geoff Armstrong
Fire exits and fire doors are not necessarily the same. I'm not aware of any regulations that stipulate external doors cannot be left open. After all, we leave office windows and warehouse shutter doors open in the workplace. Some fire exit doors also double up as normal entry and exit points. Designated fire/smoke stop doors are different though. I would have no problem with a final exit door being kept open as long as the occupants didn't use the large red object adjacent to it that should be in its rightful place on a bracket, provided of course that the door is always closed when the immediate area is unoccupied. (Likewise with windows and shutter doors) If the door however was a proper fire rated fire/smoke stop door then it should either be kept shut when not in use or be linked to some type of self-actuation device to close the door automatically in the event of an emergency. Having said that though, I would be fairly sympathetic with a person in a stuffy office who wanted to prop their door open despite a sign saying 'FIRE DOOR - KEEP SHUT' provided I received assurance that the door would be closed when the office is left unoccupied or has to be evacuated. And let them know you would check! Dare I say that most Safety Advisers prefer to let common-sense prevail before being too dogmatic! They can then reserve the big stick for when it is really needed.
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Posted By Craig107
I agree that the doors can be left open for the case of ventilation and also that they should not be propped open with the fire extinguishers, but putting a door in front of a means of escape just rings out as dangerous to me,I am going to have them removed but I have another issue that has reared its ugly head and this forum wont help on this one....we have just had an unplanned fire drill...all I can say is good job it wasnt a real fire.
thanks everyone for their input
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