More than 60 prominent facilities managers, architects and door hardware installers attended a free event hosted by ASSA ABLOY UK, the global leader in door opening solutions, to discuss fire door safety at West Midlands Fire Service’s headquarters in Birmingham.
The event – ‘It’s Time To Talk About Fire Doors’ – featured talks from Steve Shoker, Fire Safety Officer at West Midlands Fire Service; Dan Cooling, Associate at integrated building design business One Creative; and Ian Humphries, Planning Maintenance Officer at the University of Birmingham.
With fire safety front of mind following the tragic incident at Grenfell Tower this year, the talks discussed the challenges faced by professionals responsible for managing building design, construction and maintenance, offering invaluable insights into how to check fire doors are properly installed and maintained.
Ian Humphries, Planning Maintenance Officer at the University of Birmingham, discusses fire door safety and facilities management.
Representatives from ASSA ABLOY UK also took to the stage to outline typical issues surrounding fire doors and a best practice guide to specifying door hardware, with opportunities to answer key questions from the audience following these sessions.
The event was run as part of Fire Door Safety Week, an organised by the British Woodworking Federation to raise awareness about how third-party certified fire doors can prevent life-changing injuries.
Fred Williams, Service and Repair Manager at ASSA ABLOY UK, said: “We were thrilled with the turnout to our event at West Midlands Fire Service. It’s encouraging to see so many professionals engaged with how fire doors should be safely installed, managed and maintained, which will ultimately help save lives.
“We would like to thank West Midlands Fire Service for its support in helping us to highlight such an important issue, as well as the British Woodworking Federation, which ran such a successful Fire Door Safety Week campaign this year. Initiatives such as these are vital for spreading the message about the importance of fire door safety.
“To keep the conversation going we have established a new LinkedIn group –also called ‘It’s Time To Talk About Fire Doors’ – to continue raising awareness, plus help connect followers with experts in this field for advice and support.”
For more information about ASSA ABLOY UK, please visit www.assaabloy.co.uk.