With a number of high profile incidents regarding fires appearing in the news over the past few years, steps have been taken by a number of businesses, including hotel owners, to raise the standards of fire prevention.

In direct response to these events, fire safety planning in hotels has received an overhaul with the onus now being on the operators of the establishment to ensure effective and appropriate procedures and safety methods are in place to keep guests and staff members safe.

Ministers warned that millions of fire doors were rendered completely useless across the UK due to a long period of inadequate maintenance. After events such as Grenfell Tower and the Cameron House Hotel in Scotland, thorough inspections were carried out on 31 buildings where 677 doors were put under the microscope. Professional engineers discovered more than 2,500 faults within the fire doors, leading the British Woodworking Foundation’s (BWF) chief executive Jonathan Prynn to call for a national fund to repair and replace faulty fire doors across England, Scotland, wales and Northern Ireland.

All hotels must have assigned a responsible person who is trained in hotel-specific assessments, including fire door checks. These people are responsible for managing the operational side of safety – carrying out weekly fire alarm checks and six-monthly evacuation checks for example.

With responsibilities laying with hotels rather than the fire brigade, developments have been positive for a lot of establishments. Having someone on location who is drilled in independent fire safety techniques means the building is much safer than it was before.

In-house fire safety maintenance and inspection can be done more often and to a high standard as that responsible person must now be accredited with a qualification equivalent to the Level 4 Certificate in Fire Safety.

Fire doors save lives, so if your hotel needs them, contact Sheridan Doors for all your fire doors and shutters in the Manchester area.