JALITE - Fire Door Safety Week!
Fire Door Safety Week is upon us once again, when JALITE join the campaign that pursues educating the masses on the vital role of fire doors, in protecting life and property safety.
This pursuit continues for the 11th year, after research last year revealed that 57% of the British public could not identify a faulty fire door, over half of the population. Further research from the British Woodworking Federation discovered that of those who could identify a faulty fire door, 49% would not feel it their responsibility to report known issues.
This research provides clear insight into the mindset we have culturally about the importance of fire doors, for our life safety. This is especially eye opening, after phase 1 of the Grenfell Inquiry stated that compromised fire doors were a significant factor in the spread of the fire that ended in tragedy.
JALITE in support of Fire Door Safety Week, recommend extending the scope of the campaign to an area of particular concern of ours, mandatory fire notices for fire doors.
We more than most, understand the struggle in campaigning for a type of fire safety equipment that although vital in minimising risks for occupants, is often overlooked.
In the 4 decades we have been advocating for best practice in the design and development of fire safety notices and signs, we have been privy to signs that are dangerously confusing.
Below, we will delve into common misconceptions we see in the design of mandatory fire notices, as well as highlight our range of JALITE photoluminescent mandatory fire notices for fire doors that comply to legislation and conform to standards.
However, before this, we felt it pertinent touch on why Fire Door Safety Week is so important.
Why is Fire Door Safety Week so important?
Fire Door Safety Week endorses educating people on specifying, supplying, installing, operating, inspecting and maintaining fire doors.
Fire doors are an essential form of passive fire protection, designed if maintained, to stop the progression of fire for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, in many cases fire doors are damaged or in disrepair, propped open or broken.
This is confirmed, in the case of the Grenfell fire tragedy, many of the fire doors installed, required further maintenance and were either left open, or had malfunctioning self-closers, at the time the fire ignited.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 was introduced to combat this, demanding quarterly inspections of all fire doors, whilst imploring residents to raise faults and damages for fire doors immediately.
Fire Door Safety Week is the time to educate those residents and the wider public, who occupy environments such as hospitals, offices, and factories.
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Common Misconceptions: Mandatory Fire Safety Notices for Fire Doors
Despite our efforts in encouraging compliance and conformance in the realm of fire safety notices and signs, we still find signs and notices that are incorrect, but popular. This includes in the type of material used, as well as the colours and shapes of the notices and signs.
A popular mandatory fire notice for fire doors we see throughout the industry, is one that is printed on stainless steel, aluminium or other metal substrates. Contrary to industry opinion, fire safety signs and notices must be printed on either white PVC (with emergency lighting) or photoluminescent PVC. Thus, installing metal fire notices is ill advised, as under The Health and Safety (Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 all safety signs (notices) must maintain their intrinsic values. However, metal substrates cannot withstand the temperatures from fires to maintain intrinsic values, i.e. maintain the safety message.
One of the most prolific mandatory fire door notices is the ‘Fire exit keep clear’ notice. The popular design we see throughout the industry is the ‘fire exit’ section in green and the ‘keep clear’ in blue. The notice often seems to be produced in a rectangular shape rather than a blue circle as recommended by British and international standards. This gives a misconception that the notice is a combination sign, diluting the meaning of one of the most important signs that evacuees use to egress to safety during an emergency, the fire exit sign. Combination notices and signs are only used to improve comprehension of the safety message. But the green and blue non-conforming version has potential to cause confusion, inconsistent with the research-backed design by international Standards.
In the era of fire safety where reporting on competency of responsible and appointed persons is recorded and regulated, why install notices and signs that can be called into question?
JALITE Photoluminescent Mandatory Fire Notices for Fire Doors
JALITE is your reliable source for quality mandatory fire notices fire doors, as we use our experience as committee and association leaders to inform all that we do.
JALITE photoluminescent mandatory fire notices for fire doors are designed with the following properties that you can use as your basic personal checklist of recommendations:
Do your part to educate the masses this Fire Door Safety Week, increasing public awareness of the correct mandatory fire notices for fire doors. This not only encourages familiarity, but also allows residents to confidently advocate for themselves and their safety, as policy around fire doors now calls for.
Specify and install JALITE photoluminescent mandatory fire notices for fire doors, to ensure best practice; doing all that you can to minimise the risks that ensue when fire doors aren’t labelled and are faulty, obstructed and propped open.
Contact us!
If you need any further information on mandatory fire notices for fire doors including literature for use on the go, please contact [email protected] or +44 (0)1268 242300.