/// Passive fire protection in Chelmsford
Chelmsford has grown fast since it became a city in 2012. Riverside and station-side apartment blocks, large new neighbourhoods such as Beaulieu and student housing around the university sit alongside 1930s semis, Victorian terraces near the centre and older blocks of council-built flats. Newer buildings tend to have more doors and more service penetrations per floor; older ones have had decades of alterations.
We cover Chelmsford and the villages around it. It's a straightforward run out from London on the A12, so a survey of a single block or a programme of door checks across several sites can be planned around your residents and your contractors.
Fire doors in Chelmsford
In recent Chelmsford apartment schemes the doors are usually certified fire door sets, but snagging lists, resident alterations and wear soon take them away from their tested design: closers adjusted to be 'easier', smart locks fitted without checking the certification, damaged edges and missing seals. We inspect each door against its specification, repair what can be put right and supply and fit replacements where a leaf or frame is beyond repair.
Fire stopping and compartmentation in Chelmsford
New-build risers and ceiling voids can look tidy while hiding unsealed holes, especially where trades have come back after handover to add cabling or pipework. We open up, record and seal service penetrations with tested fire stopping, and box in meter cupboards so they don't become a route for fire between the cupboard and the escape route.
What we check in Chelmsford buildings
- Certified flat entrance door sets: labels, gaps, closers and any added locks or spyholes
- Corridor and stair doors in newer blocks: self-closing, latching and smoke seals
- Risers and ceiling voids where cabling has been added after handover
- Meter and comms cupboards opening onto escape corridors
- Penetrations through compartment floors in student and build-to-rent blocks
Rules that apply to Chelmsford buildings
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Requires a fire risk assessment for the common parts of blocks of flats and all non-domestic buildings, including flat entrance doors since the Fire Safety Act 2021.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Over 11 metres: communal fire doors checked every three months, flat entrance doors yearly (best endeavours).
Building Safety Act 2022
Residential buildings of 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more flats are higher-risk buildings, with duties to manage fire spread.
Nearby areas we cover: Brentwood Basildon Colchester