Fifty-seven percent of the UK population cannot spot a problem with a fire door, leading to underreporting issues, new research by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) shows.
Of the 2,000 adults surveyed as part of this year’s Fire Door Safety Week, 29% would not report a faulty fire door due to lack of knowledge. 21% said they wouldn’t report faulty doors because they did not think anything would get done.
The study also found that more employers provide guidance on how to identify defective fire doors in their workplace (38%) than landlords in their homes (26%).
However, the study also showed high awareness of factors that might prevent a fire door from performing properly in the event of a fire.
Sixty percent of respondents would report a faulty or propped open fire door because they would feel responsible if a fire occurred that they feel they could have prevented.
Additionally, 86% said they would report a faulty or propped open fire door in the future.
Lack of understanding of the purpose of fire doors
BWF said the survey highlights a lack of understanding of the purpose of fire doors and how they function.
Although smoke inhalation is the leading cause of fire-related deaths around the world, more people believe that a fire door helps in stopping the spread of fire (46%) than the spread of smoke (32%).
Protection and business safety chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Gavin Tomlinson, said: “This research highlights a worrying lack of awareness about the importance of recognising and reporting faulty fire doors.
“Everyone must understand that fire doors are a vital barrier, not just against flames but also against the deadly spread of smoke during a fire.”
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Might be useful if the article contained a discussion on faulty fire doors – still silly me, you can’t run a seminar and charge stupidly over inflated prices to delegates if you give information away in an article.