Experts in fire door hardware are being consulted to help revise fire safety regulations for buildings. Fire doors from five different suppliers were recently found to be unfit for purpose by Housing Secretary James Brokenshire, who is investigating the industry following the Grenfell Tower disaster. He is now amending Approved Document B, which is the building regulations for fire safety published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, and asking the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers for its advice.
He will review issues such as the use of combustible materials and desktop studies in lieu of fire tests. The revised edition is expected to be published early next year. Douglas Masterson, Technical Manager of the GAI (pictured), said: “Our members have such vast experience of dealing with fire door hardware.
“They regularly encounter ironmongery that has been incorrectly specified and have to rectify the mistakes of people who don’t understand the important role of ironmongery on a fire door, or who have struggled to interpret Approved Document B and the other supporting documents. “We’re encouraging our members to share these experiences and their technical expertise to drive meaningful change within legislation, helping to improve the scope of standards within the fire door industry and ensure a higher standard of hardware being used throughout the UK.”
