Fire Door Compliance: What Are Your Responsibilities?

In any non-domestic premises, fire doors play an important role in passive fire protection. Their purpose is clear – to contain fire and smoke, protect escape routes, and ultimately save lives. But understanding what fire doors do isn’t enough. If you’re a designated responsible person, you carry the legal duty to ensure fire door compliance across your property.

In this blog, we breakdown your responsibilities for fire door compliance in accordance with the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, so you can navigate this essential aspect of fire safety management with confidence.

What fire door compliance means for the responsible person

The responsible person plays a crucial role in maintaining fire door compliance in their property. There are several key responsibilities that need to be upheld as part of this compliance including:

Ensuring appropriate fire doors are installed

Your fire doors must be appropriate to your building’s layout, use, and risk level, and a fire risk assessment can help you determine the right type for your environment. As the responsible person, you must ensure that your fire doors are third-party certified and are suitable for the required fire rating (e.g. 30, 60, or 120 minutes). You must also ensure all hardware, including closers, hinges, and latches, are compatible and compliant too.

As well as that, your doors must be installed by a competent and qualified person, like our specialists here at Asco Fire. An incorrectly installed fire door, even if it’s fully certified, may fail in the event of a fire.

Keeping escape routes protected

Fire doors must be positioned along escape routes and in areas of compartmentation in order to prevent fire and smoke from spreading to these crucial means of escape. This is particularly important in high-occupancy or high-risk environments such as care homes, schools, and hospitality settings.

As the responsible person, it’s your duty to ensure:

• All key areas, like stairwells, plant rooms, corridors, and riser cupboards, have compliant fire doors.
• Doors close fully under their own power and seal correctly into their frame.
• Escape routes remain unobstructed, with signage clearly indicating fire door function.

Conducting regular inspections and maintenance

Under Regulation 16 of the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, the responsible person must ensure that fire safety measures – including fire doors – are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, and in good repair. If your premises form part of a larger building, you must coordinate with other occupiers or owners to meet this requirement.

Industry best practice for inspections and maintenance recommend:

• 6-monthly inspections for most fire doors.
• More frequent checks (e.g. quarterly or monthly) for doors in high-traffic or high-risk areas.
• Keeping a written record of all inspections and remedial actions.

Routine checks should cover inspecting elements such as door closers and self-closing functions, intumescent strips and cold smoke seals, hinges, locks, latches, and gaps between the door and frame to ensure these do not exceed 3-4mm.

Informing building occupants

All building occupants should be made aware of the importance of fire doors, and as the responsible person, it’s your obligation to ensure this. You should make occupants aware that fire doors shouldn’t be damaged, obstructed, or propped open, and that they are to remain closed unless held open by an approved automatic retention system linked to your fire alarm system.

It’s recommended to display appropriate signage for your occupants and conduct regular fire drills so they understand the proper use of fire doors and escape routes.

What do the fire door regulations say in practical terms?

As previously mentioned, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 mandate your fire door responsibilities, which includes ensuring fire-resistant doors are in place for non-domestic properties.

In practical terms, this means that as a responsible person:

• You’re expected to carry out a fire risk assessment that identifies where fire doors are needed in your building.
• You’re required to act on that assessment by consulting a qualified and competent fire safety professional to install your fire doors in accordance with BS 8214 and tested in accordance with BS EN 1634-1.
• You must demonstrate fire door compliance through evidence such as installer certifications, inspection logs, and evidence of fire door test assessments for example.

Find out how we can support your fire door compliance

Fire door compliance isn’t just about knowing fire door regulations, it’s about knowing your responsibilities and acting on them consistently. That’s where working with a competent fire safety partner, like Asco, is invaluable.

We specialise in supporting responsible persons across Scotland by providing third-party certified fire door installation and maintenance services, which includes assessing existing fire doors and providing expert guidance on compliance gaps.

If you’re unsure whether your fire doors meet legal and functional standards, or you need further expert guidance on your responsibilities, don’t hesitate to contact us today. We operate in numerous areas across Scotland including Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, but thanks to the backing of the LS Fire Group, no matter where you’re located across the UK, we can reach you with the help of our partner brands.

Fire door compliance FAQs

What happens if a fire door is found to be non-compliant?

Not only can a non-compliant fire door compromise the safety of your building and its occupants, but the responsible person could face fines, legal action, or even prosecution under Scottish fire safety law. That’s why proactively addressing non-compliance is key to both legal protection and life safety.

Do all doors need to be fire doors?

Not all doors need to be fire doors, but fire doors are essential in specific locations, such as stairwells, corridors, plant rooms, and between fire compartments. Conducting a thorough fire risk assessment will help you identify where fire doors are required to maintain safe escape routes and contain fire spread in your building.

What do fire door regulations in Scotland require?

Fire door regulations, as outlined in the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, require that appropriate fire doors are in place as per your fire risk assessment, and the responsible person is to ensure that they meet performance standards and contribute to a safe means of escape.