TV probe highlights fire door risk

The BBC 1 "Inside Out" programme, initially broadcast in the south-west on October 22, and then on BBC iPlayer, investigated fire safety in 14 hotels to see if there had been any improvement since a documentary it ran on the fatal Penhallow Hotel fire in Newquay five years ago.

According to the BWF, it revealed the "shocking state" of hotel fire doors, including an interview with a guest who was trapped by a jammed fire door in a blaze at Tantons Hotel in Bideford last year, following which the owners were fined £50,000 for health and safety breaches. It also revealed "some interesting developments" at Torquay's Grosvenor Hotel, which featured in Channel 4's "The Hotel" series this year.

"It is deeply shocking that lessons are still not being learned in the hotel industry about the critical importance of fire doors in protecting life and property," said FDIS general manager Neil Ashdown. "Effective fire doors are probably the single most important element in giving people enough time to safely evacuate."

Mr Ashdown said that some hotels are put off regular maintenance by the perceived expense.

"But the moderate cost of a professional inspection is far outweighed by the benefits of ensuring safe premises," he said.

The FDIS did its own survey of 17 hotels used by political party conferences last year. It found that 10 had ill-fitting fire doors, in eight they were damaged or propped open, while six had ill fitting or poor condition fire or smoke seals.

The BWF-Certifire Fire Door and Doorset Scheme has just published a fact card on the need for third-party accredited fire doors and components and a CPD-approved video on how to check them. The Scheme has also joined the new Fire Sector Federation , a forum for "discussion of fire-related issues".