Ensures that each fire door in your facility does its work. Properly maintained fire doors are critical for the safety of your employees and property.
Lumiform enables you to conduct digital inspections via app easier than ever before.
Get a kickstart with one of our +12000 ready-made and free checklists
A fire door survey checklist makes sure that the fire doors in a facility are maintained in good working order, as defined by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The specific code is NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives. Depending on your area, the International Building Code (IBC) may apply, too.
Fire doors are built to allow people to safely exit the building during a fire, as well as block smoke and flames. They can provide 20, 45, 60, 90, or 180 minutes of fireprotection and come with three door-closing options:
The results can be tragic when fire door closing systems go wrong. At worst, they may lock closed, trapping people in a burning building. Or else they may stay open, allowing fire and smoke to spread. Take this case reported by the NFPA. A six-story apartment building in Queens, New York City caught fire around 1:00 PM on the top floor. A fire door didn’t close properly, allowing flames to spread throughout the building. The fire injured 21 people and left 240 people homeless. Damage was so severe that fire marshals couldn’t get in the next day to determine the cause of the fire.
This is why regular fire door inspections are so important. The fire door inspection requirements are written for your protection. Even though it may be difficult or inconvenient at times, it’s vital that inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) of fire doors be carried out as dictated by the safety codes.
It may seem easier to wedge a fire door open “just for a little while” while performing certain tasks. But it’s important to remember the possible consequences of those few moments of convenience. It’s also common to store items at the fire door because “we’re going to move them later,” but what happens if there’s a fire and you need to get out?
These violations of the fire door inspection requirements can become bad habits that put you and yours at real risk. It’s also essential that the fire doors latch properly. A fire can create enough pressure to blow open the doors if the latching mechanism is damaged or broken.
1. What Is the 13-Point NFPA 80 Fire Door Inspection Checklist?
2. How Often Do Fire Doors Need to Be Inspected?
3. Why use a digital Fire Door Inspection Checklist?
The NFPA requires the fire doors by inspected with respect to the following 13 guidelines:
Every fire door inspection checklist must also contain the following information:
According to the NFPA 80 fire door inspection requirements, fire doors need to be inspected annually by a certified inspector. They need to be inspected when they’re first installed and whenever maintenance work is carried out, too. It also depends on your industry. For instance, NFPA 409 dictates a monthly visual inspection for fire doors in aircraft hangars.
It’s a good idea to perform a monthly visual inspection regardless. After all, the real purpose of a fire door is to keep your people and property protected. A properly-installed fire door can stop a fire in its tracks. A monthly fire door inspection can be done by an employee who knows the fire codes – you don’t need to pay for an inspector.
The person in charge of fire safety should keep every fire door survey checklist, official and unofficial, for at least three years. These may need to be shown to the AHJ (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) for your building. The AHJ are the organizations responsible for maintaining health and safety according to NFPA codes. They include the local fire marshal, labor and health departments, and insurance agencies, as well as other bodies responsible for the safety of the building.
Documenting incidents, near misses, and other hazards can be a lot of work. However, good documentation and evaluation go a long way for businesses, fire departments, and the public. Accurate and comprehensive inspections can help fire departments achieve this goal.
Lumiform, a flexible mobile inspection and documentation app gives you a reliable tool to quickly create complete, high-quality fire door inspection requirements in the field. By using the app and desktop software, the following options are available to you:
