THE door industry journal summer 2025 98 Doorsets, Fire Doors, Safety & Security Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Fire Safety Testing Standards: Navigating a U-Turn Where architectural hardware and fire safety share a vital link, how can the supply chain protect the integrity of buildings whilst navigating a reversal in fire safety testing standards. Director of Consort Architectural Hardware, Daniel May, provides comment. In September 2024, the UK government announced an extension for the recognition of CE marking on construction products in Great Britain. The sudden change was described as part of a wider strategy to enhance building and fire safety, though, in effectively reversing the previous decision to phase out CE marking, how can the industry ensure it’s moving forward and not simply turning back? Building regulations are paramount in maintaining safety throughout a structure’s lifecycle and with fire safety specifically, rigorous product testing is needed to ensure both active and passive fire systems perform appropriately in the event of a fire. For decades, regulations have developed to form a minimum testing standard and whilst change can often suggest steady progress, the first amendment to Approved Document B has demonstrated a considerable shift in the fire safety landscape. The latest legislation revision also confirmed that from September 2029, the National system for the classification of fire doors will no longer be accepted as a method of demonstrating compliance with UK building regulations. And so, as many began preparing for the UK’s UKCA marking to replace the EU’s CE mark - alongside the UK’s current approach to door hardware testing - this update now demands regulatory, technical and commercial input, and brings with it a level of uncertainty that must soon be resolved, says Daniel May of Consort Architectural Hardware: “Following the events of the Grenfell Tower disaster, fire safety legislation has progressed with purpose, forcing players throughout the supply chain to step up or be thrown overboard under a sea of non-compliance. With Dame Judith Hackitt’s Report, an emphasis on raising fire safety standards has been a much needed focus for the construction industry, but with the latest legislation U-turn, there are some questions being raised. “The recent pivot by the UK government to extend recognition of CE marking seems a pragmatic move but adds another layer of complexity and confusion. CE marking will continue to be accepted beyond the 30th of June 2025, as the government explores the long-term future of CE and UKCA marking as part of its ‘system-wide reform’ of construction products. Though the extension of CE marking may ease the compliance burden for some, it effectively sidelines UKCA for many product categories, and for those who followed the rules, there is perhaps a sense of betrayal. How can we be sure the industry may not need to revert back in future? “Further questions are being raised regarding the end of a long period of dual specification in favour for European testing standards too. For fire doors and their hardware specifically, the UK has been following a dual approach to performance classification, with both British Standard 476: 22 (BS 476) and EN 1634-1 used concurrently to certify the standards of products. Although each assessment method is designed to grade doorsets between FD30 and FD240, navigating the UK’s dual regulatory environment can be operationally complex and there may be clear advantages to changing the system, with EN 1634-1 considered a more rigorous testing method and a harmonised approach. Sources: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking | https://www.thenbs.com/PublicationIndex/documents/details?Pub=BSI&DocID=13548 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d17064a005e6f9841a1d50/Approved_Document_B_volume_2_Buildings_other_than_Dwellings_2019_ edition_incorporating_2020_2022_and_2025_amendments_collated_with_2026_and_2029_amendments.pdf
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