Why Third-Party Accreditation Is a Must in the Fire Door Industry

Executive Summary
Third-party accreditation is a critical requirement within the fire door industry, providing
independent assurance that products and services meet recognised safety standards. With increasing regulatory scrutiny and legal enforcement, accreditation offers Responsible Persons clear evidence of compliance, competence, and due diligence. Failure to use accredited providers exposes organisations to unlimited fines, enforcement action, and reputational damages.

Introduction
In the fire door industry, getting it nearly right is not good enough. Fire doors are life-safety products, and the consequences of failure can be catastrophic. That is why third-party accreditation is no longer a nice to have — it is an absolute must.

What Is Third-Party Accreditation?
Third-party accreditation means independent assessment by a UKAS-accredited
certification body. Schemes such as BM TRADA Q-Mark, FIRAS, Certifire, and IFC
Certification provide objective verification of competence and compliance.

Legal Context and Compliance
Fire safety is governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Building Safety Act 2022. These laws place clear duties on Responsible Persons to ensure fire doors are correctly specified, installed, inspected, and maintained.

Consequences of Non-Compliance
Failure to comply can result in unlimited fines, enforcement notices, criminal prosecution,
imprisonment of up to two years, invalidated insurance, and serious reputational damage.

Industry Example
In a multi-occupancy residential building, fire doors were installed as part of a
refurbishment programme using a contractor who did not hold third-party accreditation
for fire door installation. At the time, the decision was justified based on cost savings and
programme speed. Following a routine fire risk assessment and subsequent inspection by the local Fire and Rescue Authority, several serious deficiencies were identified. These included incorrect door leaf specifications, unapproved ironmongery, excessive perimeter gaps beyond tested tolerances, and a lack of traceable certification linking the installed doors to valid fire test evidence.

Crucially, the installer was unable to provide third-party certification to demonstrate
competence or compliance with recognised standards. As a result, the fire doors were
deemed non-compliant and legally indefensible, despite appearing visually acceptable.
The Responsible Person was served with an enforcement notice requiring remedial
action. This resulted in the removal and replacement of all affected fire doors,
engagement of a third party–accredited contractor, additional fire risk assessments, and
significant disruption to residents.

The total cost of remediation, professional fees, and project delay far exceeded the
original savings achieved by appointing a non-accredited contractor. The case clearly
demonstrated that cost-cutting at the point of installation transferred substantial legal
and financial risk to the duty holder.

Conclusion
Third-party accreditation is not red tape. It is a fundamental requirement for compliance,
risk management, and life safety in today’s regulatory environment.

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