Fire exit door used for creche

[Guest K Sinclair]

Hi there, looking for some advice please! My toddler son attends a crèche which until last week was accessed via a foyer and a locked internal door with sight glass and ring bell. Some other users of the building complained about kids in the foyer and now access has been restricted to via a final fire exit door round the side of the building. I am very unhappy about this as staff cannot see who is at this door and of course it opens out the way. We live in the far north of Scotland and it can be incredibly windy making the door hard to control. What are the rules regarding this? It is my understanding that these doors should facilitate people evacuating the building In an emergency but there may be folk on the other side who could get injured in the stampede. Hope this makes sense?!

[Tom Sutton]

Providing a  satisfactory fire risk assessment has been conducted then the door in question should be considered satisfactory. I would suggest that people are unlikely to be injured in the stampede unless their egress is restricted which doesn't sound likely in the situation you have described. You would need to have a full understanding of the layout of the premises to give a definitive answer but if you have any doubts you should contact the local fire and rescue service.