Yes! The Fire Safety Act 2021, which applies to all non-domestic, domestic communal areas, and the individual apartment entrance door that leads on to an internal communal area, stipulates that the ‘Responsible Person’ (typically a building owner, manager or flat owner) must undertake steps to remove and reduce fire risks. This includes duties such as carrying out a Fire Risk Assessment and conducting recommendations from the assessment to enable a safe and legal environment, as well as offering adequate fire safety training for staff members in commercial settings.

New buildings or older buildings which have undergone an alteration or extension are also subject to Building Regulations (also known as Approved Documents) which is a rule book for legal compliance which builders must follow, whilst existing buildings are subject to the RRO as mentioned above.

Then there are various codes outlined by British Standards for the design, installation and maintenance of fire doors:

The BS 8214:2008 provides guidelines on the specifications of fire door assembly and recommendations for inspections.

The BS 9999:2009 offers a code of practice for building design and management, which takes into account emergency exits for disabled and vulnerable persons. This can be referred to for the design of new buildings, as well as extensions and alterations.

The BS 5839-1:2017 relates to the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire alarm systems. This applies to fire doors in relation to Door Hold Open devices, for instance where the fire alarm has an operational cause-and-effect to immediately shut all fire doors in the event the alarm is activated.

Failure to take adequate action in installing and maintaining fire doors within your building places lives at risk and can result in prosecution.