Professional fire and smoke door inspections
Most non-residential buildings require fire and smoke doors to be installed as per the Fire and Smoke Door Installation Standard AS1905. Fire and smoke doors form a critical safety element of a building’s design.
If you have fire and smoke doors installed within your building these must be inspected periodically as stipulated under Standard AS1851-2012:
- Hinged and pivoted fire-resistant door sets must be inspected on a six-monthly basis
- Horizontal sliding door sets must be inspected on a three monthly basis
These inspections, tests and routine servicing form part of a building’s fire compartment integrity and ensure the performance of the fire and smoke compartmentation is not compromised.
What exactly are fire and smoke doors?
A fire door is part of a building’s passive fire protection system, with the aim being; to contain if not reduce the spread of fire between separate fire compartments (designated areas and rooms) and to ensure occupants can safely exit the building in the event of an emergency.
Fire doors carry a fire resistant rating and are predominately self-closing and self-latching. Fire doors are made from a wide range of fire resistant materials and feature specialist fire rated hardware, and often include smoke seals and automatic closing devices engaged to close under the general fire alarm.
Smoke doors operate in a similar manner to fire doors with their primary aim to stop the spread of smoke through a building — but not necessarily flames. Unlike fire doors that are fire resistant and designed to help contain the fire itself, smoke doors are purely to halt and dramatically reduce the spread of smoke. They are equipped with smoke seals and these are designed to work as part of a wider fire safety system; which activates when a smoke alarm in the vicinity is triggered.
Depending on the building size and configuration, fire doors and smoke doors can be used in specific places so that in the event of an emergency, fire can be contained to particular areas and smoke prevented from spreading.
When do I need an inspection?
Routine inspection and maintenance of fire and smoke doors are part of ensuring your building complies with Australian Standards. Common area doors that are hinged and pivot need to be inspected at a minimum of twice per year (every 6 months). Apartment doors are to be inspected annually, and sliding doors must be inspected quarterly. Adverse operating environments for systems located in high-use operating environments are subject to a more rigorous routine service program.
Essential Safety Solutions provides comprehensive fire and smoke door inspections in line with Australian Standards, and will check everything — from the frame and door itself, to its associated hardware. We’ll even ensure the correct signage is in place.
After each inspection, we provide a user friendly and easy to read detailed report on the condition and functionality of the doors, along with asset identification barcoded service labels for your service records. If there are any faults, we can organise our professional, fast, fire door maintenance technicians to rectify the issue and ensure compliancy.
Call the experts at Essential Safety Solutions today
If you are searching for a Melbourne based company that can provide routine fire and smoke door inspections and maintenance, look no further than the team at Essential Safety Solutions. We can provide logbook inspections that ensure your building remains compliant with Australian Standards 1851 — and we can undertake any other inspections relating to your wider fire safety system.
For more information regarding our fire and smoke door inspections, get in touch today by calling 1300 151 056 or send an email to service@essaust.com.au