Building Regulations Approved Document Part B, ‘Fire safety’, identifies situations where fire resisting doors and doorsets – described as ‘fire doors’ are needed, as well as the restriction of smoke leakage. It also specifies the level of protection (30 or 60 minutes) and refers to appropriate test standards. Part B firmly recognises the relevance of UKAS accredited, independent product conformity certification schemes to ensure that fire resistance performance levels are actually achieved on site. Independent initiatives, such as the BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme, are designed to ensure that installed fire doors perform as intended and members are subjected to rigorous and comprehensive appraisal. CERTIFIRE audits are usually undertaken by the ISO 9000 Inspectorate during manufacture and only CERTIFIRE approved glazing and seals are used.

Building Regulations concentrate on protecting occupants but there is also protection of the building itself to consider, particularly with historic properties. Fire doors offer the most effective means of containing fire and smoke, so protecting historic building fabric without the damaging effects of sprinklers.

The Longden range can achieve up to FD60 (60-minutes) fire rating, with smoke control where needed, fully certified and supported by the BWF-CERTIFIRE scheme. Longden has recently passed its CERTIFIRE audit test with further testing carried out enabling larger doors, panels and areas of glazing to be certified as fire resistant.