Fire Doors In Schools Guide

Our schools are where we expect our children to be safe and well looked after as they learn and develop. Teachers and all other school staff also have the right to feel protected, which is why fire safety is so important.

With many schools spanning large buildings with lots of classrooms – sometimes across multiple sites – fire doors form an integral part of the defence against a spreading fire. As experienced fire door specialists, this month at Surrey Tech Services Ltd, we want to provide a thorough guide on fire doors in schools.

Whether you’re looking for replacement fire doors in schools or want to know your legal responsibilities, read on to find out more! If you want to know how much fire doors in schools cost, just call us now for a free quote.

Where are fire doors required in a school?

While not every door in a school needs to be a fire door, there are specific areas where they are required. This is to help aid safe evacuation in the event of a fire or to provide compartmentation, with the following areas requiring fire doors:

• Stairwells – Many schools will feature an upper floor. Where this is the case, fire doors will need to be fitted to ensure there is a safe evacuation route down from the upper levels.
• Escape routes – Any door that connects with or leads to an escape route must be a fire door to help slow the spread of the fire and create a sterile area for pupils and staff to pass safely through.
• High-risk rooms – There are some areas of schools more at-risk than others due to machinery and chemicals, this includes design technology and science classrooms, as well as kitchens and boiler rooms.
• Classrooms – Not all classrooms require a fire door. It will depend on the position of the room in relation to an escape route. If it opens into an escape route, it must be a fire door to protect this space.

Unsure where you need fire doors in your school? A fire risk assessment from our expert team can help.

What are the legal requirements for fire doors in schools?

The legal requirements for fire doors in schools are informed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This requires the safety of all occupants – pupils, teachers, and staff – to be adequately accounted for, and therefore includes properly fitting fire doors.

Fire doors in schools are crucial to contain the spread of fire, smoke and fumes. This allows for safe, timely evacuation of the site. Approved Document B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulation, stipulates that FD30 fire doors should be used in schools to provide a minimum of 30 minutes of resistance to fire.

Should you have high-risk areas in your school, such as a science lab or kitchen facilities, it is recommended that you have higher-rated doors. 

Further legal requirements for fire safety design in schools can be found in the government’s Building Bulletin 100 (BB100).

How often should school fire doors be checked?

Vigilance is key when it comes to maintaining fire doors. With schools heavily used by staff and multiple year groups of pupils, wear and tear is bound to occur. We recommend a full schedule of fire door checks using the following structure:

Daily visual inspections

As you and your maintenance staff pass through the school, make visual observations of whether any damage has impacted any fire doors.

Weekly operational checks

once a week you should make sure that the fire doors can be fully closed, checking and hold-open and release mechanisms in place.

Monthly maintenance

Detailed checks on door seals, hinges and the gaps around doors should be carried out by the responsible person or trained staff in your school. The Fire Safety Act 2021 states that the responsible person should carry out inspections every quarter, which means monthly maintenance inspections will help.

Annual professional inspections

In order to keep fire safety equipment properly maintained in line with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it is recommended that you have an annual inspection booked. These yearly visits from a trained professional are the minimum expected and will help you to uphold the correct standards.

OFSTED fire safety requirements

As you will already know, schools are also governed by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education Department. Health and safety is a key area of focus for inspectors, which means that, while they don’t technically inspect fire safety, it does play an important role in upholding general safety standards.

Ofsted has a relationship with fire and rescue authorities, with a protocol last updated in 2023. This ensures the two can work together, with Ofsted able to inspect whether providers of any childcare are complying with fire safety registration and notify fire and rescue authorities if they notice any concerns during a visit.

Let us help you protect staff and pupils!

At Surrey Tech Services Ltd, we provide fire doors and risk assessments for a wide variety of commercial and local authority buildings. This includes schools, colleges and universities, so why not make the most of our expertise to boost your fire safety credentials and keep everyone safe? You can read about our recent good deed for a local school in Lewisham or get advice on fire alarms for schools in our previous piece.

We’re proud to work with schools within our local communities and are always happy to book your appointment with a member of our specialist team — simply contact us today and let us know which fire safety services you require.