Fire Door Inspections · Bournemouth, Poole & Dorset
Firequal Fire Door Inspections
In Bournemouth,
Dorset & Hampshire.
Quarterly and annual fire-door inspections to the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: carried out by Firequal-qualified inspectors, with door-by-door photographic reports, prioritised remedial schedules and the certification references your FRA, building safety case and freeholder need. Inspection turnaround typically inside 5 working days of site visit.
FDIS Qualified · Firequal Qualified · BS 8214 Compliant · Bournemouth-Based
Service Overview
Fire Door Inspections:
The Brief, In Plain English.
What It Is
Door-by-door inspection of every flat-entrance, communal and riser fire door against the 14-point industry checklist: leaf condition, gap tolerances, intumescent and smoke seals, hinges, closers, locks, vision panels, signage and identification. Reported with photograph per door, severity rating, BS-clause reference and recommended remedial action.
Who It's For
Responsible persons under the Fire Safety Order: managing agents, RMCs, housing providers, freeholders, commercial landlords, school estates and care providers. We're also instructed by fire risk assessors needing a competent inspector for the door-detail element of a Type 3 or Type 4 FRA.
When You Need It
Quarterly for common parts and flat-entrance doors in blocks over 11m (Fire Safety England Regs 2022, regulation 10). Annual for flat-entrance doors in blocks 11m+. Triggered also after an FRA finding, refurbishment works, change of FM contractor, or where existing inspection records are incomplete.
Why It Matters
An inspection that isn't competent isn't compliant. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations require the responsible person to have a 'best endeavours' inspection: case law and HSE guidance both point at third-party certification as the demonstrable competence bar. Firequal L3 is currently the accepted UK standard for fire-door inspectors.
What Happens If You Wait
The Cost Of
Doing Nothing.
The most common compliance gap we find isn't doors that fail: it's doors that pass an in-house visual but couldn't withstand a competent inspection. Self-certified clipboard rounds don't survive an FRA challenge, a Building Safety Regulator audit, or a coroner's inquiry. Since January 2023 the regulations require evidence of competent inspection, not just inspection.
Risks Of Ignoring It
- →Regulation 10 enforcement action: improvement notices and prosecution under the Fire Safety Order.
- →Inspection records rejected at building safety case registration with the BSR.
- →FRA actions left unclosed because the door element wasn't competently signed off.
- →Personal liability under Article 32: fines unlimited, imprisonment up to two years.
- →Insurance claim repudiated where the inspection regime can't be evidenced as competent.
Common Mistakes Customers Make
- ×Using a generalist FM contractor to 'tick the box': no certification, no defensible competence.
- ×Inspection report with no photos: undefendable at FRA review.
- ×Skipping inspections for occupied flats that don't grant access, the regulation still applies.
- ×Treating the inspection as a paperwork exercise rather than a defect-identification exercise.
- ×Accepting verbal sign-offs, the regulation requires recorded inspection with retainable evidence.
Our Process
First Call To
Final Sign-Off.
01
Inspection
Site visit at an agreed access window: measurements, photographs, scope and constraints recorded against your reference.
02
Diagnosis
Findings written up against the standard, BS or building safety case clause they relate to, with severity and priority assigned.
03
Proposal
Itemised quote, programme, RAMS and product/competency evidence: sent to the distribution list you nominate.
04
Works On Site
Tidy, resident-aware delivery. Dust control, drop sheets, daily clear-up and notified working hours. One named lead on site.
05
Sign-Off & Handover
Photographic completion pack, certificates and product traceability documents supplied for your file.
Why It's Worth It
What You
Actually Get.
5-Day Report Turnaround
Inspection reports issued within 5 working days of site attendance: keeping you ahead of FRA action close-out dates.
Defensible Competence
Every report carries the inspector's Firequal L3 certificate number, the audit trail your accountable person needs.
Long-Life Asset Records
Reports written as cumulative asset records: door-by-door history retained for the life of the building safety case.
Cost-Saved Through Triage
Prioritised remedial lists separate urgent from planned, so you spend on the doors that need it, not blanket replacement.
Reliable Inspection Cycles
Quarterly and annual cycles scheduled and reminded against your portfolio: never missed, never late.
Peace Of Mind For The Responsible Person
One inspection pack per block, ready to drop into the building safety case: auditable, photographed, referenced.
In Detail
Fire Door Inspections,
Every Variation Covered.
Materials, methods and the situations each variation applies to, so you know what you're buying before you buy it.
Working across
Bournemouth · Poole · Christchurch · Wimborne Minster · Ferndown · Blandford Forum · Dorchester
Full Service Area MapThe 14-point inspection: what's covered per door
Leaf condition (warpage, damage, modifications), frame condition, gap tolerance (3mm sides/top, 8-10mm threshold), intumescent seal continuity, smoke seal condition, hinge fixings and number, closer operation and power size, lock and latch function, vision panel certification, signage compliance, identification (door ID and certificate ref), self-closing across full arc, latch engagement on rest, environmental condition.
Quarterly common-parts inspections
Required for common-parts fire doors in residential buildings over 11m in height under regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. We carry out and report per the regulation timeline.
Annual flat-entrance inspections
Required for flat-entrance fire doors in residential buildings over 11m, on a best-endeavours basis where access is granted. We carry the leaflet-and-letter access protocol and reschedule non-access flats on a documented re-attempt programme.
Reporting format & evidence pack
PDF report with door schedule, photograph per door, condition matrix, severity rating, BS-clause reference and recommended remedial action. Distributed to the addresses you nominate; archived on our system for retention.
Type 4 fire risk assessment support
Where a Type 4 FRA is commissioned, we attend with the assessor and carry out the destructive sampling element on the door detail. Reduces the cost of a Type 4 by eliminating the dual-attendance overhead.
Remedial works integration
Where inspection identifies defects, we can quote the remedial works directly under a separate scope: keeping inspection and remedial commercially independent at your option, but operationally streamlined.
Frequency for non-residential buildings
Office, commercial, healthcare and education estates inspected annually or six-monthly depending on risk profile and management policy. We benchmark against BS 9999 and the BAFE SP205 framework where applicable.
Questions
Straight
Answers.
Cost, timeline, documentation, lifespan, availability: the questions everyone asks, answered before you call.
Ask YoursHow much does a fire-door inspection cost?
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Per-door pricing typically runs £18-£35 depending on volume, building height and access complexity. Small blocks priced on minimum visit fee. Larger portfolios on volume rate cards. We quote from the door schedule: no per-door price without sight of the schedule.
How long does an inspection take per door?
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Roughly 8-12 minutes per door for the full 14-point inspection and photographic record. A 50-door block typically takes one full day on site, with report issued within 5 working days.
Are you actually Firequal qualified?
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Yes, our inspectors hold the Firequal Level 3 Award in the Inspection of Fire Doors. Certificate number appears on every report. We don't subcontract inspection work to non-certified parties.
What happens if a door fails?
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It's recorded with severity rating, photograph and recommended remedial action. Critical defects (self-closer not closing, certified seal missing) flagged for immediate attention. We can quote the remedial works separately at your option.
How often do we need fire-door inspections?
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Quarterly for common-parts doors and annually for flat-entrance doors in residential blocks over 11m, under Regulation 10. Other buildings: per the building's fire risk assessment recommendation, typically annually.
Can you inspect occupied flat-entrance doors?
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Yes: we run a documented access protocol (leaflet, letter, follow-up) with re-attempt visits for non-access. The Regulation 10 'best endeavours' standard is met by evidence of the access programme, not 100% inspection rate.
What if you find a door that's failed certification?
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Reported as a critical defect with recommended replacement. We can quote the replacement set, supply and install with full door-pack certification: but inspection and remedial are scoped commercially separately at your option.
Do you cover Hampshire and the wider South Coast?
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Yes: Bournemouth office, working across Dorset and Hampshire as standard. Larger portfolios in Berkshire, West Sussex and Somerset considered on contract.
What format is the inspection report?
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PDF with door schedule, photograph per door, condition matrix, severity rating, BS-clause reference and recommended action. Distributed by email to your nominated addresses.
On The Job
Fire Door Inspections & Wider Novopro Work.
A rolling gallery from live and recently completed jobs across Dorset and Hampshire.
Next Step
Book Your Fire Door Inspection: Report In 5 Days.
Site survey within our coverage area, written quote issued after the visit, no obligation. Bournemouth-based, covering Dorset, Hampshire, Berkshire and the South Coast.
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