FIRE DOORS IN SCHOOLS

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Your role as a leadership team.

As a school leadership team, you play a vital role in keeping school buildings safe. Fire doors are a critical part of that responsibility. You need to make sure:

• All fire doors are clearly identified and included in your school's fire risk assessment
• Any new fire doors are installed by a competent organisation
• A regular inspection and maintenance programme is in place

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This is the part most guidance skips, and it changes how you prioritise. A school evacuates fast. Everyone is expected to be out within around seven minutes, which is the egress standard the building is designed around. Your fire doors are not holding the line for hours while people file out.

Their longer job is compartmentation. They divide the building into 30 minute and 60 minute fire-rated zones, containing fire and smoke inside one part of the estate rather than letting it take the whole building. That is what protects the school as an asset, and what the fire strategy is actually describing.

Which matters because not every fire door carries the same weight.

In simple terms, a fire door is designed to resist the spread of fire and smoke for a specified period of time when closed. Fire doors are rated according to how long they can resist fire. You will usually see a marking such as:

The required fire door rating in a school is normally determined by Building Regulations and fire safety guidance such as BS 9999.

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Formats

Sets and assemblies.

Fire doors are typically supplied in two formats. In both cases, correct installation and maintenance are essential to ensure the door performs as intended.

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Your legal responsibility

Fire risk assessment, and what you must do.

Every school must follow the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In simple terms, the responsible person, usually the headteacher, trust or employer, must take practical steps to reduce the risk of fire and stop it spreading.

Your building's fire strategy sets the compartment lines that contain fire and smoke, and specifies the door ratings each one needs. Higher-risk areas need higher-rated doors. A boiler house or a room full of electrical equipment needs FD60, not FD30.

Your fire risk assessment checks your doors against that strategy. It looks at whether they are in place, in good condition and doing the job they were specified to do. It does not determine what that job should be.

So fire doors are a key part of that protection, but just having them in place is not enough. They need to be the right doors, in the right places, and properly looked after.

As the person in charge, you must

• Carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. Take a proper look at where the risks are, who could be affected, and what needs to be in place to keep everyone safe.
• Draw up a fire evacuation plan as part of the risk assessment. Follow the fire design strategy of the building and provide a safe exit route in the event of an alarm trigger or the identification of a fire.
• Make sure your fire doors are fit for purpose. Are they suitable for the building as it is now, not just when it was built? Have refurbishments or layout changes altered the risk?
• Act on the findings. If your fire risk assessor has identified issues with fire doors, whether gaps, damage, missing closers, doors wedged open, or doors that are not the right specification, you need a clear plan to fix them.

An effective evacuation plan also provides vital information for the Fire and Rescue Service, helping them identify where groups of children and teachers may be located if escape routes become compromised by fire or smoke. This is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform Order and plays a critical role in supporting the effectiveness of fire doors and overall fire compartmentation throughout the building.

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Keep it live

Do not let it sit on a shelf.

Your fire risk assessment needs to be a working document, not paperwork gathering dust. Review it:

• Check for recommendations about fire doors
• Put a remedial action plan in place
• Track progress

You should review your fire risk assessment annually, and whenever there are any significant changes to the school building or the way spaces are used. An English classroom becoming a science lab, a drama studio or a gym, for example. Even simple changes to how a space is used can affect occupancy levels, movement patterns, equipment risks and evacuation procedures.

These changes should always be assessed against your fire risk assessment and your fire evacuation plan to make sure they remain suitable and effective. Many schools overlook the impact such changes can have on overall fire safety.

Making sure your fire doors are compliant, maintained and fully functional is one of the most important steps you can take.

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Installing new doors

Tested as a whole, not in parts.

Fire doors are put through rigorous fire resistance tests to BS 476 and BS EN 1634. When a door passes, it passes as a whole assembly. Door leaf, frame, seals, glazing, hinges, closer, the lot. That means:

• Not every hinge, closer or lock is suitable for every fire door
• You cannot mix and match components and assume it will still perform
• Swapping parts without checking compatibility could compromise the door
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If a door is damaged, or you are changing how a space is used, you may need to consider whether the entire doorset needs replacing, or whether a like-for-like repair is possible using compatible, certified components. Older or

non-standard sizes can make replacement tricky. In these cases, a correctly specified fire door assembly made from compatible, tested components may be the best option.

Always seek advice from a reputable, third-party certified installer or supplier. Building Regulations (Approved Document B) recommend using products and installers covered by independent certification schemes such as:

Care and maintenance

School doors work hard.

They are opened hundreds of times a day. They could be propped open, knocked, kicked, slammed and mistreated. That is why regular checks are essential.

Stay organised

To keep on top of compliance:

• Create and maintain a fire door register, noting type and location. Modern doors usually have an ID tag
• Carry out visual inspections, using the checklist below
• Make sure repairs and adjustments are done by a competent person
• Record every inspection in your fire log book
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      If it isn't recorded, it didn't happen.

Repair and reset, not replace

Once a door is fitted, it should be maintained. Most doors that are not sitting correctly do not need replacing, they need resetting. Plenty of companies will push a full replacement programme regardless, and it is worth being sceptical when they do, because a reset is a fraction of the cost and keeps a certified doorset in service.

The practical model is simple and cheap. Give your caretaking team a scope they can actually use, have them run regular fire door rounds to flag doors that are no longer sitting correctly, then build the remedials into your planned maintenance programme. Reset an agreed number of doors a year rather than waiting for an inspection to hand you a list.

      A door that is not sitting correctly is usually a reset, not a replacement.

Anatomy of a fire door

Every part has a job.

A fire door passes its test as a complete assembly. Select any part to see what it does and what to look for during an inspection.



Fire door inspection checklist

Complete it on screen. Print the record.

DOWNLOADS

Take it with you.

Both documents are free and ungated. No form to fill in.

Common questions

Fire doors in schools, answered.

How often should school fire doors be inspected?

Inspect high-traffic doors monthly and all other fire doors at least once every term. If your school has boarding facilities or extended use, inspections may need to be more frequent. School doors take far heavier use than most non-domestic settings, which is why the frequency is higher than a general office building.

Who is legally responsible for fire doors in a school?

The responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually the headteacher, trust or employer. They must take practical steps to reduce the risk of fire and stop it spreading, which includes making sure fire doors are the right specification, in the right places, and properly maintained.

What is the difference between FD30 and FD30S?

FD30 gives 30 minutes of fire resistance. FD30S gives 30 minutes of fire resistance plus smoke protection. The smoke rating matters because being overcome by gas or smoke is the single largest cause of fire deaths in England, accounting for around a third of fatalities according to the Home Office. Higher risk areas such as boiler houses or rooms full of electrical equipment usually need FD60.

Can we replace just the closer or the hinges on a fire door?

Not without checking compatibility. Fire doors are tested as a complete assembly to BS 476 and BS EN 1634, so the door leaf, frame, seals, glazing, hinges and closer all pass as one system. Not every hinge, closer or lock suits every fire door, and swapping parts without checking could compromise it. Always take advice from a third-party certified installer or supplier.

How often should we review our fire risk assessment?

Annually, and whenever there are significant changes to the building or the way spaces are used. An English classroom becoming a science lab, drama studio or gym changes occupancy levels, movement patterns, equipment risks and evacuation procedures. Many schools overlook the impact such changes have on fire safety.

Which fire doors should we prioritise?

The 60 minute doors, starting with bottom-of-stair doors and similar high-risk locations, because a failure there compromises the escape route itself. Secondary corridor doors that are not on a main escape route still matter, but their role is protecting the building rather than protecting life, so they sit behind the critical ones in a programme.

Do fire doors need replacing, or can they be repaired?

Usually repaired. Most doors that are not sitting correctly need resetting, not replacing. Once a certified doorset is fitted it should be maintained, and a reset is a fraction of the cost of a replacement. Be sceptical of anyone recommending a wholesale replacement programme without first assessing whether the existing doors can be reset.

What is the quickest way to check a fire door?

On a pair of doors, shut both leaves and see whether a £1 coin fits through the gap between them at the bottom. If it does, smoke can pass, and that is the real risk. It takes seconds, needs no tools and no training, and it is the single best indicator that a door has stopped doing its job.

Does the fire risk assessment decide which fire doors we need?

No, and this is a common misunderstanding. The building's fire strategy sets the compartment lines and specifies the door rating each one needs. The fire risk assessment then checks your doors against that strategy, looking at whether they are in place, in good condition and doing the job they were specified to do. It does not determine what that job should be.

Can Inscyte manage fire door compliance for us?

Yes. Inscyte Support keeps school estates compliant, covering statutory compliance, inspection regimes and the records that prove it, in one managed service. When the inspector asks, you have the answer.