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Timber trade body criticises councils over fire door replacement progress
The body that represents timber fire door manufacturers has criticised councils for being too slow to replace faulty doors in their housing stock.
In an open letter to all councils in England and Wales today, the chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) questioned local authority claims that suitable replacement doors are not readily available.
Inside Housing research revealed in June that around one in 10 flat entrance doors installed in England’s council housing stock is believed to be unlikely to withstand fire and smoke for 30 minutes as required by law.
Only 8% of defective doors had been replaced at the time, with councils blaming a lack of clarity over whether products on the market are safe.
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Evidence of widespread issues with glass-reinforced plastic fire doors emerged last summer, with government tests on 12 popular models finding that only three met the 30-minute requirement.
Similar investigations of timber fire doors returned passes for all 25 products tested, the government announced last month.
In her letter, BWF boss Helen Hewitt warned: “We are very concerned that the mistakes that led to inadequate fire doors being installed in Grenfell Tower and elsewhere will persist unless decisive action is taken.”
She added: “To suggest that quality, compliant fire doors are not available and ready for installation is simply untrue and must stop being used as an excuse for delaying replacement.
“For over 22 years the BWF Fire Door Alliance scheme has ensured the quality, safety and traceability of fire doors through third-party certification.
“The scheme’s vision is that every fire door or fire doorset sold in the UK meets and exceeds required standards throughout its service life.”
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: “Councils have been failed by the glass-reinforced plastic composite door and testing industries, which have left them with thousands of doors they bought in good faith that do not meet the building regulation requirements, and without a clear sense of which doors most urgently need remediation.
“The industry has told us it followed advice from the test houses which has now been found to be incorrect, yet there appears to be no acknowledgement by the test houses of this, no expectation that they have a responsibility to councils and residents affected by this failure and no indication that lessons have been learned.
“With councils and their tenants and leaseholders facing significant bills to fix a problem not of their own making, this ongoing dispute needs to be urgently resolved so whoever is liable can pick up the cost.”
The full text of the letter is below.
Update: at 16.58 07/08/19 a comment from the LGA was added to the story.
Full text of an open letter to councils from Helen Hewitt, chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation
The below letter was released on August 5, 2019:
Dear Mr/Mrs
Following recent announcements in the media that local councils are delaying the replacement of non-compliant fire doors due to lack of information in the marketplace, the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) has felt compelled to write to all councils to provide some clarity. We are very concerned that the mistakes that led to inadequate fire doors being installed in Grenfell Tower and elsewhere will persist unless decisive action is taken.
Kensington and Chelsea Council recently claimed that it has been unable to replace the 4,000 fire doors within its housing stock due to a lack of ‘reliable products’. This was closely followed by Brighton and Hove Council’s announcement that thousands of Manse Masterdor fire doors – those that have failed 30-minute fire resistance tests – are installed throughout its multi-occupancy properties but are yet to be replaced. Furthermore, a major piece of investigative work by media outlet Inside Housing found that among the 44 councils with non-compliant doors throughout their properties, half are yet to replace a single door.
These non-compliant fire doors are not being replaced immediately because councils have had little actionable guidance as to which doors are safe to use and how replacement costs should be covered. This has been in part due to the ongoing Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) investigation into the burn time of fire doors.
The MHCLG Timber Fire Door Tests
On the 18th July, James Brokenshire, former Secretary of State for the MHCLG announced the results of the investigation, saying that he was “pleased to report that all [timber fire doors] have succeeded in meeting the required 30-minute fire performance standard”. He went on to say that an expert panel had “concluded that they do not believe there is a performance concern with timber fire doors across industry, where they are purchased directly from the manufacturer and produced to specification.”
The MHCLG investigation found that all timber fire doors met required standards, exceeding the minimum 30-minute burn time requirement. This is in direct contrast to glass-reinforced polymer foam filled fire doors – the type recovered from Grenfell Tower, which initiated this investigation – three-quarters of which failed MHCLG tests in results published earlier this year.
The Replacement of Fire Doors
To suggest that quality, compliant fire doors are not available and ready for installation is simply untrue and must stop being used as an excuse for delaying replacement. For over 22 years the BWF Fire Door Alliance scheme has ensured the quality, safety and traceability of fire doors through third-party certification. The scheme’s vision is that every fire door or fire doorset sold in the UK meets and exceeds required standards throughout its service life. Of course, correct installation and maintenance play a vital role.
We would actively encourage those responsible for the fire safety of buildings to review the test and certification documents that support the performance of their fire doors to ensure people’s lives are not put at risk. If you require any further information, or would like to discuss this letter in further detail, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
A copy of this letter has been supplied to media outlets as we believe that education across the public sector and the general public is the only way to address this serious issue.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Hewitt, CEO of the British Woodworking Federation
