Fire door checks in council buildings

Fire doors are required for all residential buildings over 11 metres, or 5 floors in height. 

We are required to complete:

• annual checks of individual flat entrance fire doors 
• quarterly checks of all fire doors in common parts of buildings 
• information for residents on the importance of fire doors in fire safety 

The Council has approximately 600 buildings over 11 metres in height and will meet the requirements in the following ways.

Flat entrance fire doors 

The Fire Safety Regulations 2022 became a legal requirement in January 2023. This means that the flat FED’s (Front Entrance Doors), in buildings over 11m are required to be inspected on an annual basis. We need to check FED’s every year, to ensure there is no damage or disrepair, and that they are working properly to prevent smoke and gases from spreading. This is to ensure safety for you and your family, as well as your neighbours.

We’ve got a dedicated team in the Repairs Service to meet Camden’s statutory fire door inspection duties. This team will carry out the annual inspection of an estimated 16,000 front entrance doors and identify any other repair issues present in the buildings where inspections take place. 

Your FED inspection appointment

We’ll book an appointment for our Camden inspector to visit your home and check your FED. If they find issues with the FED, we’ll arrange a suitable time for our contractor to attend and fix them.

The safety checks take about 10 minutes, and the inspector will need access just inside your front door so they can check both sides of the door and frame.

If you receive a letter and you aren’t going to be home at your appointment time, please phone us on 020 7974 6545 or email doorinspections@camden.gov.uk to rebook your appointment for a better time.

Communal fire doors 

The quarterly inspection of communal fire doors will be carried out by the existing Estate Services Teams.

Any street properties that are over 11 meters will be inspected by the team who inspect smoke detectors and common areas each quarter. For qualifying street properties, the universal key system will help with access.  

Fire safety instructions 

We have installed fire evacuation notices informing residents of the fire strategy of each block.

There is also regular communication in Housing News. This will explain key fire safety information including the importance of fire doors and self-closers.