• Fire Door FAQs

How can a Fire Door Fail Certification?

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.3 — Intumescent strips must be present, undamaged and correctly fitted around the door leaf or frame rebate. Their purpose is to expand under heat to seal gaps and prevent the passage of fire and smoke. Failure indicates the strips are missing, damaged, incorrectly sized or improperly installed.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.4 — Smoke seals (brush or fin seals) must be fitted where required to restrict cold smoke passage at ambient temperature. Missing or damaged smoke seals compromise the door’s ability to prevent smoke spread in the early stages of a fire.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.5 — A self-closing device must be fitted and must be capable of closing the door fully from any angle. Failure indicates the closer is absent, damaged, or unable to latch the door from the fully open position.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.6 — A minimum of three CE-marked, grade 11 or 13 steel hinges must be fitted. Each hinge must be fully and correctly secured with the correct number of screws. Failure indicates incorrect number of hinges, wrong grade, missing screws, or loose fixing

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 6.2 — The door leaf must close fully and latch into the frame under the action of the self-closer without manual assistance. Any obstruction, warping, or misalignment preventing full closure is a non-conformity.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 6.3 — Gaps around the top and sides of the door must not exceed 4mm (or 3mm where smoke seals are absent). Excessive gaps allow fire and smoke to penetrate and undermine the door’s fire resistance rating.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 6.3 — The threshold (bottom) gap should not exceed 10mm for standard doors. A gap exceeding the threshold allows under-door smoke passage and

compromises performance.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 5.2 — The door leaf must meet the minimum thickness requirements for its fire rating (typically 44mm for FD30, 54mm for FD60). Insufficient thickness reduces structural integrity under fire conditions.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 5.5 — The door stop (rebate) must be of sufficient depth (minimum 25mm) to support the door and contribute to smoke and fire resistance. A non-compliant door stop reduces the overlap between door and frame.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.7 — All door furniture (handles, locks, letter plates, etc.) must be of the correct fire-rated specification and in good condition. Damaged, incorrect, or non-fire-rated furniture may create unprotected gaps or compromise functionality.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 9 — A third-party certification label or plug must be present and legible to confirm the door set has been tested and certified. Absence of a label means the door’s fire resistance cannot be verified.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 5.3 — Door lippings must be present, intact and securely bonded. Lippings contribute to the fire resistance of the door edge and protect intumescent seals. Damaged or missing lippings reduce the door’s performance.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.7 — All ironmongery must be fixed with the full complement of specified fixings. Missing, loose, or incorrect screws on hinges, closers, or locks reduce structural integrity and may cause premature failure.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.9 — Glazing beads and intumescent gaskets around vision panels must be intact, correctly installed and secure. Loose or missing beads allow glazing to fail prematurely under fire conditions.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.9 — Where a vision panel is installed, it must use fire-rated glazing appropriate for the door’s rating. Non-rated glazing will fail rapidly under fire exposure, breaching the compartment.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.9 — Georgian wired glass is no longer an acceptable fire-rated glazing solution under current standards. It must be replaced with a certified intumescent glazing system.

BS 8214:2016 / BS 9999 Cl. 20.5 — Appropriate fire door signage (e.g. ‘Fire Door Keep Shut’ or ‘Fire Door Keep Locked’) must be present, correctly positioned and legible on both sides of the door. Missing or illegible signage is a non-conformity.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.5 — The door closer must operate smoothly and close the door from the fully open position without manual assistance. A faulty or incorrectly adjusted closer is a critical non-conformity.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.5 — The door must latch fully into the keep/lock on closing. A door that fails to latch is effectively unsealed and will not provide the rated fire or smoke resistance.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.5 — Any hold-open device must be connected to an automatic fire detection system and must release the door to close fully upon activation. Unapproved hold-open devices are not permitted.

BS 9999 / BS 8214 — The hold-open mechanism must release and allow the door to close fully and latch when triggered by the fire alarm. Failure to release on activation renders the door non-compliant.

BS 8214:2016 Cl. 8.8 — Where a letterbox is fitted, it must be a fire-rated intumescent letterbox assembly. A non-rated letterbox creates a significant opening that will fail under fire conditions.

BS 8214:2016 / Appendix — Door viewers (spy holes) must be of fire-rated construction. An incorrectly rated or damaged viewer creates a penetration that undermines the fire resistance of the door leaf.

FIREDOOR RISK classifcations

HIGH

The door has one or more defects that significantly compromise its ability to resist the passage of fire and / or smoke. URGENT – Immediate remedial action is required.

MEDIUM

The door has defects that may reduce its perfomance in a fire situation. URGENT – Remedial action should be carried out ASAP.

LOW

The door has minor defects that are unlikely to significantly affect performance but should be addressed at the next maintenance visit. LOW – ASAP