Can we leave fire exit door open?

[Guest VickyDav]

Hi

We have just been told in my office by our Health and safety person that it is illegal (and we could be fined) for leaving our fire exit door open (we do this for ventelation) now it is not a 'fire door' as far as im aware as no sticker on it!? could you help us to solve this issue as we are missing out fresh air!

Thanks
Vicky

[Tom Sutton]

Assuming it is not a fire resisting door and a final exit door the there is no reason that the door cannot be left open other than for security reasons. Ask the Health and safety person where does it say that it is illegal because I am not aware of such rule.

[Guest tina]

I live in a block of flats that are having improvement works done we have a security door that is also a dire exit is it aloud to be wedged open?

[Safelincs]

Hi Tina

Is the security door leading to the outside of the building? If so, it is unlikely to be a fire door so from a fire safety point of view you can keep it wedged open.

Harry

[Tom Sutton]

I agree with Harry but everybody needs to understand the terminology.

All doors in a premises that you need to pass through to escape a fire, are fire exit doors and the last fire exit door you have to pass through, usually leading to open air is the final fire exit door. Some fire exit doors are termed Fire Resisting Doors (FD) used to create protected areas and these need to be kept closed usually with self closer's, very rarely would a final exit door need to be fire resistant. All doors not designated FD do not need to be kept closed and can be left open, or wedged if necessary, but must be easily opened at all times the premises is occupied.

The door above seems to be a final exit door, from a fire safety point of view you can keep it wedged open but security is another matter.

[Guest JuliaCoo]

In my premises we have two fire self closing doors we keep closed at all times we also have a side entrance which has a emergency sign above it with a ramp for disabled access into and out of the premises it is not a self closing door and has a push bar from the inside are we allowed by law to keep this door open sometimes?? Thank you

[Tom Sutton]

There are exceptions but in most situations final exit doors can be kept open if desired. In this case if there is no self closer then it is not a fire door protecting and external risk consequently there are no reason why it cannot be kept open.

[Guest Mallcolmsne]

can fire exit door be opened to cool & ventilate room in hot weather

[Tom Sutton]

Depends if they are fire resistant doors, which cannot be left open, except when in use, or if they are fitted a with an electronic hold open device. If they are final exit doors, which are not fire resistant, then they can be left open but this introduces a security risk.

[Guest Shay]

Sorry to jump in here and ask my own question. I'm new and thought this may be the best place to ask. I also realize the thread is old, but I'm still hoping someone could help.

My fire exit door is at the back of my apartment. It's a regular door with a screen door as well. The screen opens outwards, the door opens inwards. I was told upon moving in, by the landlord, that the door could be opened. I just couldn't open the screen or go out the door. The reason I can't go out there, is because it leads directly into my neighbour's yard. 

My question is, can my fire exit door remain open, or because my neighbour's yard is immediately outside the door, does the door have to remain closed?

I ask because my neighbour is now demanding that the door remain closed.

[AnthonyB]

If it's a final exit to open air and is not close to an external escape stair (that could be affected by fire if the door was left open) then from a purely fire safety point of view the door can be open

[Guest Shay]

Thank you, I appreciate the response. I figured as much, and I told him exactly that. He's a hothead, so I'm trying to handle the situation delicately. I also wanted to have confirmation before definitively telling him that I'm not closing it. I thought worst case scenario, he'd call the Fire Department to get confirmation, and if that were to happen, I first wanted to know that I was in the right. So thanks again for your time.

[Guest Andy dev]

Hi,

Just a quick question: If you leave through a fire exit door will an alarm go off? Or would any one otherwise know? Such as a silent Alarm? I am asking as I left work unknowingly through one and my boss then emailed me telling me I left through said door and I woundered if a big alarm will have gone off or how she would have known? 

Thanks

[Tom Sutton]

Passing through a fire exit will not operate the fire alarm but security devices can be fitted that will alert those in charge, if considered necessary.

[green-foam]

Following on from what Tom said, you may have overlooked the obvious, some one saw you.

[Guest taughttoolittle]

we have one door in and out of each room in our building. They are all marked as fire doors, onto a shared corridor, and we have been propping open the doors to let air in.  We have been told that we cannot do this, for fire afety regs. Is this true.  The door is the only room in and out of the room, onto a corridor, which then leads to a final exit door.

Thanks

[Tom Sutton]

If the shared corridor is a protected route then all the doors will be FD30s doors, self closing and if you prop these doors open then it is certainly against the regulations. There should be a mandatory, white lettering on a blue circle sign stating "FIRE DOOR KEEP SHUT" and it is not there to decorate the door.

[Guest DavidC]

Some great information here, hope you don't mind me asking my own question.

I've just leased a workshop unit on an office block. I share a corridor with another tenant. So there is an entrance door into a shared corridor, then a door on the left which is mine and a door to the right which is his. The two units are designed as one but has now been split.

I met with the other tenant recently and he told me that I was not allowed to use my door on the left as an entrance, that it had to be kept shut for fire safety regulations and that I had to use the back entrance. He said he had this in writing and that he would be shut down if we didn't follow this. I've attached a photo of the wooden doors he says I have to keep shut and a photo of the rear blue doors he said I'm suppose to use as my entrance. I'd really appreciate and comments on the matter. I'm waiting to hear back from the landlord as we speak. 

From reading other comments here and learning more about the door types I can't see any truth in what he has told me.

 

 

 

 

[AnthonyB]

Sounds like utter rubbish to me as there is nothing in any of the fire safety guides to support this and I think that the other tenant is just wanting to keep the main entrance for themselves.

As long as the double fire doors are fitted with self closer and not wedged open there is absolutely no reason not to use them as a personnel access point.

Also the BS radar is beeping with the reference to 'closing down'. The way Fire Safety enforcement works is that Prohibition Notices are rarely used and usually reserved for sleeping risk premises with multiple issues such as poor compartmentation, inadequate fire detection & alarms, i.e. an immediate risk of death or serious injury. In commercial premises as yours most breaches are dealt with informally by a fire safety letter (often called a notice of deficiencies/agreed action plan/etc) only escalating to a formal Enforcement Notice for continued non compliance or particularly severe/multiple offences.

 

[Guest DavidC]

17 hours ago, AnthonyB said:

Sounds like utter rubbish to me as there is nothing in any of the fire safety guides to support this and I think that the other tenant is just wanting to keep the main entrance for themselves.

As long as the double fire doors are fitted with self closer and not wedged open there is absolutely no reason not to use them as a personnel access point.

Also the BS radar is beeping with the reference to 'closing down'. The way Fire Safety enforcement works is that Prohibition Notices are rarely used and usually reserved for sleeping risk premises with multiple issues such as poor compartmentation, inadequate fire detection & alarms, i.e. an immediate risk of death or serious injury. In commercial premises as yours most breaches are dealt with informally by a fire safety letter (often called a notice of deficiencies/agreed action plan/etc) only escalating to a formal Enforcement Notice for continued non compliance or particularly severe/multiple offences.

 

Thought as much, spoke to the landlord and he said it's rubbish. Thanks for replying.

[Guest Tom]

From reading all the useful posts here Im pretty sure of the answer but I wish to ask, just to be sure, about my situation.

I live in a converted grade 2 hotel, turned into 6 flats, 2 on each floor inc the ground floor. There is 1 external door leading into the communal hallway. This door has been propped open for years and while it has a self closer its there for security reasons.

We've recently been told "its a fire door and must be kept shut". We dont believe this to be true. Theres no marking on the door to show its a firedoor or even fire resistant. Its got 2 plain, standard, glass panels, and 2 lower panels, thinner than the door width.

From everything I've read external doors dont have to be kept closed for fire reasons, only security. As security is not a concern I believe they are lying because one tenant, whose parents are part freeholders, has been causing trouble lately and has complained about it (despite leaving it open himself).

Just looking for a little clarification before I tell them to stick it. They seem to enjoy giving out rules they dont follow themselves. I can attach a picture of the door, if it matters.

 

thanks in advance for any advice.

[AnthonyB]

Final exit doors do not have to be fire resistant doors nor self closing unless required to protect an external escape route such as an external steel escape stair - no stair nearby, no requirement:

 

[Guest Katie]

Hi there, fire doors can be kept open with a "retainer" while the Village Hall is occupied, so is it OK to use a wedge instead?

[Tom Sutton]

Fire doors NO, if they remain open they will not function as required, final exit doors, that do not need to be fire doors, YES. It all depends also on what you means by retainer, if it is an electronic hold open device, then it could be acceptable on certain fire doors.

[Guest Peter]

We live in a ground floor 1 bedroom flat. In a retirement home our patio doors open inwards. And I do worry if there was fire or you fell against them . A person wouldn’t be able to open them is there a satiety rule for patio doors