Essential Fire Door Safety: 10 Tips for Facility Managers and Business Owners

Raising awareness about the significance of fire door inspections is key to keeping commercial buildings and the people in it safe from fire.

Below are 10 tips that aim to help Facility Managers and Business Owners keep up with fire door safety.
 

1. Clear Exit Pathways: Ensure that exit pathways are always clear of obstructions. This includes keeping tables, chairs, and other objects away from exit doors and routes.


2. Proper Signage: Mark all exit doors with illuminated signs easily visible from various parts of the building. If necessary, signs should indicate "Exit" or "Emergency Exit" with directional arrows.


3. Emergency Lighting: Install emergency lighting near exit doors to ensure visibility during power outages or low-light conditions.


4. Accessible Exits: Ensure exits are accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities. This may involve providing ramps, handrails, or other accommodations, as necessary.


5. Exit Door Maintenance: Regularly inspect and maintain exit doors to ensure they work properly. This includes checking for damage, ensuring doors open easily, and testing panic hardware if installed.


6. No Locks or Barriers: Exit doors should never be locked or blocked during business hours. They must be readily accessible for quick evacuation in case of an emergency.


7. Emergency Exit Plan: Establish a clear emergency exit plan and ensure that all staff are trained on what to do in case of a fire or other emergency. This includes knowing the location of all exits and how to guide customers and staff to safety.


8. Fire Safety Equipment: Install fire safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and smoke detectors near exit doors as local regulations require.


9. Regular Drills: Conduct regular emergency evacuation drills to ensure staff and customers can exit the building safely in an emergency.


10. Compliance with Regulations: Ensure all exit doors and related safety measures comply with local building codes and regulations.

Fire door inspections are the first step toward fire door compliance. Fire doors must be tested and inspected on an annual basis. A ruling of non-compliance could have tragic consequences.
 
In order to protect against the spread of fire and smoke within, into, or out of buildings, facility managers need to implement preventative maintenance and fire door inspection programs in accordance with local and national standards. Fire door failures in an emergency can happen due to lack of maintenance, physical damage to the door, the closure, guides, tracks, or by obstacles blocking the fire door. Each of these put employees and customers at risk in case of a fire emergency.

Door Services Corporation strictly follows the NFPA80 standard for fire door compliance. Our team of fire door inspectors receive training on a semi-annual basis to stay up to date on code changes and to be able to continue providing quality fire door inspections. They inspect both sides of your door to assess the overall condition and assembly of each opening, recording findings for future repair and reporting.
 
Door Services Corporation will inform your facility team on factors that have the greatest risk of future failure due to high frequency use or risk of damage during normal operation.

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