Having the right fire exit doors in your business premises is essential in pretty much all situations. Whether you operate a school or a charity shop, fire exit doors are there for a reason – to ensure that people won’t end up trapped in your building in the case of a fire.
While you might believe that your existing doors are good enough for the job, eventually they’ll need replacing. If you’re unsure about whether your current doors are still good or not, then read on for our 3 top signs that it’s time for a new set.
1. They’re not up to specification
Perhaps the single most important sign that it’s time to replace your fire doors is if they’re no longer up to specification. There are strict fire safety standards that all commercial spaces need to adhere to, both from a practical and regulatory perspective.
While it might be difficult to tell if the doors you currently have meet the relevant requirements on your own, with the help of a fire safety specialist it should be relatively easy. They’ll be able to check while they carry out a fire risk assessment, and can let you know how urgent it is that you get the doors changed.
2. They’re visibly worn
Another sign that it could be time to get new fire safety doors is if your existing doors are visibly worn and damaged. If the doors are in a high-traffic area, such as in a workshop or similarly busy environment, they’ll likely suffer from knocks and scrapes over time, the accumulation of which can lead to a weakened structural capacity.
Not only will worn, weakened doors be more susceptible to failure in the case of a fire, but they’ll also be easier for burglars to break through. If your doors are in bad shape, then it’s probably worth considering getting a new set from somewhere like LBS Group.
3. Difficulties with opening or closing
Lastly, even if the doors are technically up to standard and look like they’re in good condition, if there are any difficulties opening or closing them then you’ll need to have the doors looked at. The whole point of fire exit doors is that they can always be opened from the inside, and if they’re warped, don’t fit the doorway properly, or are otherwise malfunctioning, then you’ll need to have them looked at.
It’s possible that a carpenter will be able to adjust your current doors so that they function properly, but it’s important that you don’t cut any corners. It’s not worth saving a relatively insubstantial amount of money when it’s people’s lives that are on the line.
Safety in the workplace isn’t an issue to play around with, and this is perhaps especially the case when we’re talking about something as dangerous as fire. If you spot any of these signs on your existing doors, then it could be time to invest in new ones. It’s important not to assess these things on your own – it takes a specialist with extensive knowledge to work out whether your current doors are up to scratch, and it’s simply not worth doing it yourself.
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