Fire safety

Fire doors and safety

Fire doors, like your flat’s front door, are an important part of a building’s safety plan.

Fire doors help control fires and smoke, and help the fire brigade to do its job.

When not in use, all fire doors, including your front door, must be closed. This helps protect the paths you would use to escape from fire and smoke. 

Door closing devices

Your front door must have a device that makes it close by itself. These devices are important for safety. There are different types of these devices, depending on how tall the building is.

It is important that these devices are not tampered with. All fire doors, including your front door, must never be propped or wedged open.

Report a faulty front door

If your front door becomes faulty in any way, you must report this to us immediately so we can arrange for it to be fixed.

Faults can include: 

• the self-closing device stops working and does not close the door into the door frame unless pushed or pulled
• the hinges are loose or there are screws missing
• the lock is broken and stops the door closing without being pushed or pulled

If you notice any fault with your front door, contact our repairs team by:

• calling 0800 952 4444 or 0207 525 2600
• emailing repairs@southwark.gov.uk