Boiler room fire door - is a door closer required?

[Tom Spearing]

I'll be fitting a fire door along with appropriate FD30 hardware (hinges, latch, and handle) to a boiler cupboard in a residential property. The door is being supplied with pre-fitted intumescent air transfer grilles and seals.

The boiler cupboard is located in the ground floor hallway, so opens out into an escape route. My question is this - is a door closer required? Or would it be suitable to fix a 'Fire Door Keep Closed' sign instead?

I'm aware that fire doors generally require some form of automatic closer, but I am unsure whether this applies to fire doors that open into a utility cupboard such as this. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

[AnthonyB]

If it's a cupboard you can fit it with a lock and sign it "fire door keep locked shut". No lock and you will need a self closer.

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Will the intumescent air transfer grille restrict the spread of cold smoke? 

[Tom Spearing]

Thanks for your responses, and sorry for not responding sooner. The door has now been fitted and has passed its inspection.

No self-closer was fitted in the end, just a 'throw over latch' to keep the door shut. The lack of a lock did not seem to alarm the inspector.

Neil - I am not sure about the answer to your question. I'm assuming the grilles will only seal themselves when there is heat from a fire.

[Neil Ashdown MAFDI]

Hi Tom,

Current UK building regulations require that fire resisting doors either have a self-closing device (Fire Door Keep Shut) or a suitable lock (Fire Door Keep Locked).  Most fire resisting doors are also required to restrict the spread of cold smoke and therefore cold smoke seals are fitted to the top edge and vertical edges of the door leaf or to the door frame. The threshold gap is limited to 3mm for the same reason.

It is likely that cold smoke protection would be a requirement at residential premises especially if the door is located on an escape corridor or staircase. This being the case a smoke damper would be preferable to an air transfer grille so as to restrict spread of cold smoke in a fire.