Member Article

Fire door safety is a hot topic

The County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is urging tradespeople, house builders, architects, specifiers and commercial property managers, as well as those working in the construction, education and healthcare industries, to attend a free event promoting fire door safety awareness, in response to the huge number of fire doors that are failing to perform throughout the area.

The event, which will take place at Durham County Cricket Club on Thursday 11th May, is being run by the Fire and Rescue Service in association with Arnold Laver, the UK’s leading supplier of timber and construction materials, and several other industry leading figures.

The day will cover new legislation, building regulations and the latest developments surrounding fire doors, as well as providing in-depth product information on the specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors.

A spokesperson from the Fire & Rescue Service says: “We envisage that this free CPD accredited event will appeal to a huge range of people. It has been designed for anyone who has influence over fire doors, including local business owners, hotel operators, building firms, office and hospital managers, property developers, architects and tradespeople from across the North of England and even Scotland.

“Fire doors not only protect property, they ultimately save lives, but we continually see examples of doors in buildings that could do a much better job with a few simple changes. The doors are a vital element of any building and it is essential people understand how to source, fit and maintain fire doors properly through events like this. There will be a wide range of knowledgeable speakers and product information at the event, so we are expecting a great turn out.”

David Oldfield, who is the Joinery Director at Arnold Laver says: “Fire doors form part of everyday life. On average we touch or open a door up to 60 times a day, and if we work in an environment such as an office, school, hospital or any public building, the chances are most if not all will be a fire door. However, the design and installation of fire doors and the surroundings and other functions, such as glazing, ironmongery and intumescent, are not always planned, designed or maintained properly.

“This CPD accredited event will be very informative and cover subjects including glazing, intumescent, ironmongery and inspection, as well as providing an insight from the fire service into what they encounter each and every day whilst doing their jobs. The event is already attracting huge levels of interest from a real cross-section of people and having run similar events around the UK, we know from attendees’ feedback just how useful they are.”

Held between 9am and 2pm on Thursday 11th May at Durham County Cricket Club on the Riverside in Chester-Le-Street, key speakers include representatives from the Fire and Rescue Service, BWF Certifire Scheme, Fire Door Inspection Scheme, Lorient fire specialists, Dorma UK, Vetrotech Glazing, Vicaima, W Howard, MDF Mouldings, Access Panels and Saint-Gobain UK.

David adds: “With only a few places remaining, we would encourage anyone interested in attending to contact us now. It’s the ideal way for trade professionals to get together and learn about a very specific and important subject, there is nothing else as comprehensive or informative taking place this year in the area, so this event really is not to be missed.”

To book a place at the event email events@laver.co.uk or visit www.laver.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Mortimer .