Fire Damper Testing

Why is fire damper testing so important?

Should a fire develop, smoke and flames can rapidly travel through a building’s ductwork.

This can make a precarious situation even more dangerous, increasing the impact and damage a fire can cause. In some cases, it can spread fire to escape routes, making exiting the building difficult and potentially life threatening. Fire dampers play a vital role in helping to prevent the rapid spread of fire and smoke throughout a building. They help slow a fires progression, giving the building occupants longer to evacuate and reach a place of safety. They can also limit the extent of damage caused and the subsequent repair costs.

Fire dampers are an unseen, but vital part of a fire safety infrastructure and like other equipment need to be regularly tested to ensure they remain safe. You need to be confident that should the worst happen they are not only installed, but also maintained sufficiently to perform as designed. Despite playing such a crucial role in the overall fire safety strategy of any building, it can be difficult to know if fire dampers are likely to function correctly in an emergency. The only way to be confident your fire dampers are in good working order is to have them regularly tested and maintained.

How often should fire damper testing take place?

It’s a legal requirement for fire dampers to be tested at least annually. BS 9999:2017 states that arrangements should be made for all fire dampers to be tested at regular intervals by a competent person on completion of the installation, and at least once a year afterwards.

They should be repaired, or replaced immediately, if found to be faulty.

Fire damper testing is just as important as the regular testing of fire extinguishers, and the viability and safety of fire escape routes.

Fire dampers are a key part of your fire safety infrastructure, and if they’re not working the whole infrastructure may be compromised.

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What does fire damper testing involve?

Fire damper testing will usually follow the following procedure:

An inventory of all the fire dampers in the building and their location will be created.
Each fire damper will then be individually visually inspected for any signs of damage, corrosion and obstruction.
Each fire damper will be activated (drop tested) and reset to check its effectiveness.
All runners and channels will be cleaned.
An inventory of damaged dampers and schedule of any necessary remedial works produced.
Finally, a comprehensive report will be produced outlining the location, maintenance undertaken, agreed replacements and repairs, as well as any recommendations and detailed exception reports on any failures.

What do ECS do?

ECS provides a complete fire damper, or smoke damper, compliance service including:

The surveying of buildings where detailed plans or drawings are not available
Dampers are labelled and referenced back to a PDF report
Detailed report including damper manufacturer, size and type
Photographic evidence of all dampers open, closed, any damper defects and accessibility issues

As one of the Norths leading environmental and commissioning services provider, we can be trusted to carry out a full fire damper survey, ensuring your building’s ongoing security and the integrity of your fire safety infrastructure.