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FIRE DOOR INSPECTION & SURVEY SERVICE
Professional fire door inspections and surveys for blocks of flats, HMOs, commercial premises and mixed-use buildings across the South of England.
Fire doors are one of the most important parts of a building's passive fire protection. When they work as intended, they hold back fire and smoke long enough for people to escape and for the fire service to arrive. When they don't - because of damage, poor installation, missing seals or worn hardware - They fail in exactly the situations where they need to perform.
Purbeck Safety Ltd carries out fire door inspections and surveys for landlords, managing agents, property managers and duty holders. The aim is to identify which doors are performing properly, which need remedial work, and which need to be replaced, and to set that out in a clear written report you can act on.
WHAT A FIRE DOOR INSPECTION INVOLVES
A fire door inspection is a detailed check of every fire door within scope, looking at the door itself, the frame, the ironmongery and the surrounding installation. The aim is to confirm that the door is capable of performing its rated function - typically holding back fire for 30 or 60 minutes.
Each door is checked against the recognised criteria, including:
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Certification labels and evidence of the door's rating
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Gaps around the door - top, sides and threshold
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Intumescent and smoke seals - present, intact and continuous
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Hinges - type, condition and number
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Door closer - fitted, working, and closing the door fully into the frame
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Locks, latches and handles - appropriate type, working correctly
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Glazing - fire-rated, properly installed, with correct beading
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The door leaf - damage, warping, holes, or unauthorised modifications
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The frame - secure, undamaged, properly fixed
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Any signs of inappropriate alterations such as cat flaps, letterboxes or surface damage
Each door is photographed and recorded individually, so the report shows exactly which doors passed, which need remedial work, and what that work involves.
Who Needs a Fire Door Inspection
The detail varies depending on the building type and height, but the underlying principle is consistent: if you are responsible for a building with fire doors, you need a system for inspecting them and dealing with any defects found.
Fire door inspections are typically required for:
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Blocks of residential flats - flat entrance doors and doors to communal areas
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Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) - bedroom doors, kitchen doors and escape route doors
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Commercial premises - escape routes, plant rooms, and any compartment lines
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Mixed-use buildings - doors between commercial and residential elements
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Public buildings - schools, care settings, community premises
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Hotels and guest houses - bedroom doors and escape routes
If a fire risk assessment has identified the doors as a fire safety measure, then the duty to maintain them in working order falls on the responsible person. A regular fire door inspection is the practical way to discharge that duty.
Fire door inspection regulations in the UK
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Places a duty on the responsible person for any non-domestic premises (and the communal areas of residential blocks) to maintain fire precautions in efficient working order. Fire doors are a fire precaution, so this includes them.
Fire Safety Act 2021
Clarified that the Fire Safety Order applies to flat entrance doors and the structure and external walls of multi-occupied residential buildings.
This put the requirement to inspect flat entrance doors beyond doubt.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Introduced specific inspection duties for high-rise residential buildings. In buildings over 11 metres, responsible persons must carry out quarterly checks on fire doors in communal areas and annual checks on flat entrance doors.
These are minimum legal requirements.
Building Safety Act 2022
Brought in a tighter regulatory framework for higher-risk buildings, including stronger record-keeping requirements around fire doors and other safety-critical components.
Fire door survey vs fire door inspection - is there a difference?
In practice, the terms "fire door survey" and "fire door inspection" are used to describe the same thing. Both refer to a formal check of fire doors to determine whether they are performing as intended. Some people use "survey" to describe a baseline assessment of a building's entire fire door stock, and "inspection" to describe ongoing periodic checks. The output is the same: a written record of every door, its condition, and any work needed.
Purbeck Safety Ltd provides professional health and safety assessments and fire risk assessments that help property managers & owners understand the risks within their property and take practical steps to manage them safely and responsibly.