How Often Should Fire Doors Be Inspected?
Introduction
Fire doors play a significant role in protecting people and buildings during a fire. Designed to slow the spread of fire, gases and smoke, they help safeguard escape routes and provide valuable time for evacuation.
However, despite being a legal necessity, findings suggest that 75% of fire doors fail inspections (FDIS 2021), highlighting how common defects can be. Daily use, accidental damage and general wear can all affect a fire door's performance over time, making regular inspections essential for identifying issues before they become serious safety concerns.
One of the questions frequently asked by freeholders, resident management companies and landlords is: how often should fire doors be inspected? Understanding the inspection requirements is an important part of maintaining compliance and ensuring fire doors can perform as intended when needed most.
What Happens If Fire Doors Are Not Inspected Regularly?
Fire doors are subject to constant use and over time wear and tear can affect their performance.
Doors may become misaligned, intumescent or smoke seals may become damaged or deteriorate, self-closing devices may fail to close the door correctly, and essential hardware may become damaged, incorrectly adjusted or replaced with components that are unsuitable for the door assembly. Because these issues often develop gradually, they can easily go unnoticed.
When fire doors are not inspected regularly, the consequences can be significant:
Risks to Occupants and Buildings
Fire and smoke may spread more quickly throughout a building.
Fire and smoke may spread more rapidly, reducing the protection available to escape routes and making evacuation more hazardous.
Residents, visitors and firefighters may face increased exposure to fire, smoke and heat if fire doors do not perform as intended.
Defects can worsen over time, resulting in more extensive and costly remedial works.
Impact on Building Owners
Building owners and responsible persons may struggle to demonstrate compliance with their fire safety obligations.
Building owners and responsible organisations may face increased scrutiny during audits, inspections or investigations.
A serious fire safety incident can damage an organisation's reputation and erode trust among residents, clients and stakeholders.
Failure to identify and address defects early can lead to unexpected expenditure, disruption and increased long-term maintenance costs.
Ultimately, a fire door that has not been checked or maintained properly may fail when it is needed most. What may seem like a minor defect during day-to-day use could significantly reduce the protection the door is designed to provide, placing people and property at risk.
Fire Door Inspection Requirements: How Often Are Inspections Needed?
Fire door inspection requirements vary depending on the type of building and, in some cases, its height.
Many responsible persons are unaware that, under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, in multi-occupied residential buildings in England that are above 11 metres in height, the Responsible Person must arrange checks of fire doors in communal areas at least every three months. They must also use best endeavours to check flat entrance fire doors at least every 12 months, where those doors lead onto a building’s common parts, and must keep records of the steps taken to obtain access where necessary. As a result, these requirements are often overlooked until they are identified through a compliance review, fire risk assessment or building safety audit.
While these are the minimum legal requirements for many higher-risk residential buildings, regular inspections are considered best practice across a wide range of property types. Fire doors are used every day, and even small defects can reduce their ability to contain fire and smoke.
Some buildings choose to carry out more frequent inspections based on factors such as occupancy levels, usage, and the overall risk profile of the building.
Planned inspection programmes help ensure doors are checked consistently, issues are recorded accurately and any required remedial works can be addressed promptly. A consistent approach to fire door inspections helps building owners and Responsible Persons identify defects, arrange appropriate remedial action and demonstrate how they are managing their fire safety responsibilities.
Keeping Fire Door Safety on Track
With defects so common, regular fire door inspections are one of the most effective ways to identify issues before they become larger safety and compliance concerns.
A structured inspection programme helps building owners and responsible organisations maintain oversight of their fire doors throughout the year. It also supports compliance with fire safety requirements and helps ensure fire doors remain fit for purpose.
At POD, our independent, accredited fire door inspection service provides thorough inspections and Golden Thread-ready digital records. Using a structured inspection process and detailed photographic evidence, we help clients understand the condition of their fire doors, prioritise any necessary remedial works and maintain an audit-ready record of compliance.
Make Sure You're Meeting Fire Door Inspection Requirements
Regular fire door inspections play an important role in building safety and compliance. POD's qualified and accredited inspectors provide independent assessments, clear reporting and practical recommendations to help you understand the condition of your fire doors and meet your fire safety responsibilities.
If you're unsure whether your current fire door inspection programme meets legal requirements, our expert team can help:
Email us at relationships@podmanagement.co.uk
Find out more on our dedicated fire door inspection page
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is intended for general guidance only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Information was correct at the time of publication.