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Three-quarters of composite fire doors failed safety tests
Just three of 12 fire doors tested by the government were able to resist flames and smoke for the 30 minutes required by building regulations for flat front doors.
Two of the doors tested, all of which were glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composite fire doors widely used in blocks of flats, offered protection for less than 10 minutes.
And separate tests on Manse Masterdor products – the manufacturer whose doors were used at Grenfell Tower – returned passes for just four doors out of 20.
The government’s expert panel on fire safety said there was “a performance issue with GRP composite 30 minute fire doors across the market”, according to a document released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) today.
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Ministers commissioned tests on fire doors in March 2018 after an undamaged flat front door taken from Grenfell Tower was shown to resist fire for just 15 minutes.
A moratorium on the sale of composite fire doors imposed as issues were uncovered with products from a further five suppliers was lifted in December.
The tests for which results have been published today were carried out between February and August 2018.
The government said the data has been released “to inform building owners risk assessments and plans for fitting and repair or replacement of fire doors”, but does not make any recommendations.
Requests for the information from Inside Housing were previously refused.
The report accompanying the results said there was “evidence of over-reliance on written assessments being used in lieu of primary tests for significant changes in hardware and ironmongery, and for the reverse side of the door”.
However, it added there were “no obvious distinguishing characteristics that may have contributed to the cause of failure and no pattern in terms of the mode of failure”.
Doors from Birtley Group and Britdoors failed in under 10 minutes, with both companies blaming production flaws for the specific batches tested.
Of a dozen doors from eight different manufacturers, only three resisted fire for long enough when tested inside and out, while four were able to withstand 30 minutes of flames and smoke from just one side.
Building regulations require flat entrance front doors to resist fire and smoke from both sides for at least 30 minutes.
The government said building owners should consider whether and how quickly doors which have failed tests should be replaced based on fire risk assessments.
The Association of Composite Door Manufacturers is currently producing a plan of action for the repair and replacement of faulty doors.
Housing secretary James Brokenshire said: “Following the Grenfell Tower fire, we took swift and decisive action to investigate the fire doors industry by notifying National Trading Standards and preventing the production and sale of any GRP composite fire doors with immediate effect.
“I have been clear that the door industry must take responsibility for replacing their defective fire doors and we are urgently working with them to give effect to their commitment as soon as possible.”
Update: at 11.59am, 15/02/19 a comment from James Brokenshire was added to the story.
