Are you performing fire door inspections?

Vincent Haller Smith · 08-30-2010, 07:12 PM

[quote=Benjamin Gromicko;136116]NFPA 80 establishes a mandatory 1-year inspection of all fire rated doors.
The previous code has always stated that the building owner had to maintain fire rated openings in a manner for which they were intended. Fire officials have always tried to enforce this, but now the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) has given the officials some power to enforce this

Folks:

Be carefull. I am adressing the legal aspect of inspections on this forum (see my posts). I am an inspector/engineer for 40+ years and got burnt a couple of times so I decided to go to law school. I am a Doctor of Law (Jurisprudence) and periodically pass information along to my fellow inspectors as time permits. This post caught my eye.

Always use the term "Opinion" e.g. " In my opinion, the fire door should be replaced" and so on. The term "Opinion" will get you off the hook should you be sued. There is an old adagy "Opinions are like A.. Hol.., everybody has one. OK so far? Let the other side try to argue "an opinion".

As you know, the fire rating should be placarded on the inside edge of the door. For instance, a boiler room fire door should have a 3 hour rating while a typical "fire stop" door should have a minimum of 1.5 hours.

Annual inspection of fire doors is a murky area and I have a problem with NFPA on this issue as they know. It is not your job or your responsibility to determine the structural analysis of a fire door. If the door appears damaged to the point that its integrity has failed, report as much IN YOUR OPINION.

People are lazy. Opening and closing a door takes ergonomic effort. The greatest problem I have encountered is where self closing fire doors are propped open, defeating their purpose. In such cases, I offer an opinion to my client that they install electromatic closing devices to be tied into the fire alarm system. That is, in the event of a fire, the doors automatically close but are open at all other times.

In an extended hallway such as a Motel, fire stop doors should be placed at 100' intervals and so on.

To the point, inspectors are the "sidewalk superintendents of the world". Your job is NOT to control what the client must do less your ass be hauled into court. Your job is to observe and report conditions based on your knowledge and experience then offer an opinion to improve those conditions in favor of your client.

By the way and I address NFPA on this aspect. I have never run into a fire door that was so deformed as to render it useless. Be cafefull.

Lastly, always remember that it is you sticking the neck out, not others. As such, you are extremely vulnerable to legal attack. DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.

Vince (Dr. Vincent Haller Smith)