Fire door claims ‘simply untrue’

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) has hit back at claims made by Kensington and Chelsea council that a lack of available products is preventing it from replacing 4,000 unsuitable fire doors.

According to a recent Huffpost story, councils are delaying the replacement of thousands of faulty fire doors that were planned to be removed in the aftermath of the Grenfell tower blaze.

“HuffPost UK has learned Kensington and Chelsea council, the authority responsible for the doomed tower, has been forced to put back plans to replace all 4,000 fire doors in its entire social housing stock because of a lack of reliable products on the market and a stalemate involving industry and government,” the story said.

“The borough announced last May it was to spend £3.5 million on the improvement scheme after widespread problems emerged with fire doors. But the authority now says it has been unable to start the work and anticipates it will take another three years to complete.”

Helen Hewitt, CEO of the BWF, said: “We must … refute Kensington and Chelsea Council’s claims that they have been unable to replace the 4,000 fire doors within its housing stock due to a lack of ‘reliable products’. This is absolutely not the case – there is no need for a delay of ‘up to three years’ due to a restricted supply of quality fire doors.

“Around three million fire doors are certified and put to market every year through the BWF’s Fire Door Alliance accreditation scheme. For over 22 years the BWF’s scheme has ensured the quality, safety and traceability of fire doors through third party certification. This further counters the council’s claims that manufacturers have only just begun producing doors which meet national regulatory standards. We have been doing it for years and the supply is absolutely there.”

Council leaders are also concerned they will not receive compensation for the replacements despite being sold defective products.

“If the delay is down to a dispute over who foots the bill for replacement … then that is a separate issue, which urgently needs addressing,” Helen said. “It is not right that people’s lives are at risk because of disputes over money. But to suggest that quality fire doors are not available and ready for installation is simply untrue.”