Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority in Slough. The town holds a substantial stock of purpose built blocks of flats alongside converted houses and a large private rented sector, and the door duties that apply to them are among the most prescriptive obligations in English fire safety law.
What applies to every block
In any building with two or more sets of domestic premises, residents must be given information about fire doors: that fire doors should be kept shut when not in use, that residents should not alter them, and that any faults should be reported. That information is repeated periodically and given to new residents, and the record of having given it is the evidence.
What applies above eleven metres
Fire doors in common parts and flat entrance doors come under a check regime with stated frequencies, different for the two categories, carried out on a best endeavours basis for doors inside private dwellings. The check is visual: gaps, seals, closing and latching, damage, glazing and hardware. The record of the checks and of what was done about defects is the duty.
What a flat entrance door has to do
Hold for its required period, restrict cold smoke where required, and close and latch by itself. In a stay put building the entrance door is the containment that the whole strategy depends on, which is why it is treated more seriously than any other door in the block.
Access, which is the practical obstacle
Checking flat entrance doors means getting into private homes, and residents do not always cooperate. The regulations recognise this by asking for best endeavours, and what that means in practice is a documented pattern of attempts: letters, appointments, repeat visits, and a record of who could not be reached. An undocumented failure to gain access is not best endeavours.
Questions people ask about fire doors for flats slough
Who enforces fire safety in Slough?
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, as the fire and rescue authority for the area.
What if a resident refuses access?
The duty is to use best endeavours, and the evidence is the record of attempts. Repeated refusal should be escalated through the management and, where relevant, the lease.
Do the door checks apply to a low rise block?
The specific frequencies apply above the height threshold. Below it the general maintenance duty applies and the residents information duties apply to every building with two or more sets of domestic premises.