Joining the fire door debate

The Window Company (Contracts) has become an associate member of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), in part so that it can join the ongoing debate surrounding the replacement of fire doors in social housing projects.

Chair David Thornton joined the BWF’s Fire Door Safety Week 2021 Working Group to give an installer’s perspective on the issue that continues to disrupt the replacement market, nearly four years on from Grenfell.

“The BWF has already issued some excellent guidance on testing, installation and maintenance of timber fire doors,” David said. “We have been able to share this with our social housing clients, but we are still facing questions around the products and systems that can be specified and installed, and I’d like to see these more extensively discussed.

“Timber and steel fire doors have obviously already been proven to meet the fire testing requirements of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) but it has taken much longer for the composite doors, which make up the bulk of the market in social housing, to satisfy those same tests. As a result, we are still some way off being able to restore normal service on the installation and replacement of fire doors, so we think it’s important that we track all the changes that are happening in the market and stay right at the heart of the debate.”

The Window Company (Contracts) will also benefit from technical guidance on specifying and installing timber windows and on updates on environmental requirements, new regulations, and training initiatives.