JELD-WEN urges the need for regular fire door checks this Fire Door Safety Week

As part of Fire Door Safety Week, door manufacturer JELD-WEN is urging the need for regular fire door maintenance, raising greater awareness of the common faults that cause fire doors to fail.

Maintenance is essential to ensure fire doors do their intended job as part of a sealed compartment, to resist the spread of fire for a set period of time. With a continued focus on driving up safety standards in the built environment, and the Building Safety Act requiring a shift towards a culture of responsibility, there has been wider recognition of the crucial role routine checks and maintenance have in fire doors protecting the safety of occupants. 

In line with this, JELD-WEN is urging facilities managers and other responsible parties to carry out annual checks of fire doors in multi-occupancy buildings. Its proprietary research, carried out in 2023, found that although nine in every 10 respondents had an inspection of their fire doors in the last two years, 50% found a flaw in their fire doors. 

The Hackett Review (2018) stresses the importance of ensuring the golden thread and maintaining a clear and accurate record of safety data throughout a building’s lifecycle. As part of taking accountability, established ‘duty holders’ must be responsible for fire safety at each project phase, and keeping a record of annual checks will help evidence appropriate maintenance.

“Facilities managers and other duty holders need to ensure they have a schedule in place to carry out regular maintenance on fire doors to fully comply with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022,” explained Lisa Ward, Product & Marketing Director at JELD-WEN UK.

“Common faults like missing, faulty, or broken parts of a door system, including the door leaf or frame, can drastically inhibit a doorset’s performance in a fire, potentially leading to the faster spread of fire and smoke. Failure to meet regulatory requirements can result in legal and financial penalties, in addition to the risk this poses to occupants.

“Products carrying third-party accreditation, such as CERTIFIRE, identify the fire rating of doors and ensure traceability back to the manufacturer after installation. Responsible parties should avoid modifying fire doorsets themselves, at risk of compromising performance and invalidating certifications. Instead, it’s recommended that any changes should only be made by professionals in line with manufacturer guidelines.”

Fire Door Safety Week, which takes place from 21st to 25th September 2026, is a national awareness campaign, launched by the British Woodworking Federation in 2013, that aims to encourage better public understanding of the life-saving roles of fire doors. JELD-WEN has been a member of the British Woodworking Federation for over 27 years, helping increase the quality of fire safety information in the industry. 

For more information on how to spot early signs of fire door failure, visit: https://www.jeld-wen.co.uk/inspiration/blog/fire-doors-blog/common-fire-doors-faults#:~:text=Common%20fault%202%3A%20Visible%20structural,when%20it%20matters%20the%20most 

As part of Fire Door Safety Week, door manufacturer JELD-WEN is urging the need for regular fire door maintenance.

 Maintenance is essential to ensure fire doors do their intended job as part of a sealed compartment.

The Hackett Review (2018) stresses the importance of ensuring the golden thread and maintaining a clear and accurate record of safety data.