Business Properties & secure fire exits

It is well known that business properties, especially where the public has access, should have  secure fire exit doors, which means that all locked doors should be able to be opened from the inside without a key.

But many people renting out properties for holidays do not realise that these fire exits should have easy escape capabilities. The logic behind this is that if the lock is key operated on the inside, the customers may well lock the door, put the key somewhere safe, and then should the worst happen and a fire break out, in their panic and being away from home, they could well forget where they have put the key and be caught in a tragic accident.

So if your wooden door has a nightlatch (often called a ‘Yale’ lock), and that lock has a British Standard Kite mark, you are fine.

Secure fire exits with correct locks

If your wooden door has a mortice (often called a ‘Chubb’ lock), with key operation on both sides, there is a conversion that can be done to use a Euro Cylinder that has a thumb turn on the inside. This means changing the lock and handles but can use the existing space with minimal visible change.

If your door is UPVC or has any mechanism where the handles must be lifted before locking, it is a simple matter of swapping the existing Euro Cylinder for one with a thumb turn on the inside.

This is a key both sides Euro Cylinder:

And this is a standard thumb turn Euro Cylinder:

There is a slight worry with installing these fire escape systems, though and that is I have a tool that can go in through letter boxes and turn the thumb turn allowing me access to the property. We have two solutions. Firstly, certain thumb turns on the very best cylinders are designed to be difficult for tools to turn. They might require a push while turning or just plain difficult for the tool to purchase.

Alternatively, you can buy specially designed sloped guards for your letterbox (although even these can be bypassed with ever more clever locksmith tools).

Or better yet a letter catching cage on the back of your door will stop all tools that I know of at time of writing.

If you own or run holiday lets, you might find your public liability insurance does not pay out if you have not taken the correct measures to ensure the safety of your guests.

I am noticing a lot of village halls are also suddenly finding out from fire inspections that they are not up to scratch. Please check the regulations specific to you if you run any property that is not a private home.

Click here for Government guidance on fire doors/fire safety

Should you have any questions regarding the above information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for reading.

admin April 24, 2023

Easy escape doors / Fire safety / Insurance regulations /

Fire door guards

In addition to my regular locksmithing work, I have now added the installation of fire door guards to my abilities.

These door guards hold fire doors open for as long as is convenient in busy offices, schools, care homes, or other spaces where those doors must be closed in the event of a fire. Once the guard hears an alarm, it releases, shutting the door when it absolutely needs to close to stop the spread of fire.

The Fireco Dorgards allow busy office workers unrestricted movement through buildings without having to stop every few metres and juggle heavy loads while trying to open doors that are already resistant because they must have automatic closers installed. They allow school corridors to be kept open allowing teachers and pupils to get to their classes quickly. In care homes, they allow residents to move through the corridors without having to battle heavy doors they might not be able to push or pull unaided.

Many big public buildings have fire doors held open with wedges or fire extinguishers that obviously will not allow the doors to close in the unfortunate event of a fire. This can lead to cases of criminal negligence.

If you work in an office, school, care home or any space where fire doors hinder daily routines, why not get in contact and ask me for a free survey and quotation.

You can contact me via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading

admin April 22, 2019

Fire doors / Fire safety / Fireco Dorgurad /

Fire Safety

We have been doing a lot of work recently where public use buildings have just had fire safety checks. The business owners have been surprised to find that standard locks were not acceptable. These have had to be replaced with thumb turn locks, i.e. locks that will allow persons to escape the building without the need for keys on the inside. Obviously, these lock as normal on the outside. Now would be a great time to have your locks checked as a fire safety precaution and we are happy to help and advise.

Remember, whether or not your doors are unlocked for all the time your business is open, it might still be that thumb turn locks are required for your insurance purposes. Nobody wants to be in the situation where these would be required, but it would be even worse to find insurance does not cover the event. Thanks for reading.

admin February 12, 2013

Fire safety /