The BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorset Scheme has launched a new campaign to promote the importance of properly certificated fire doors. The ‘Stick to the Spec’ campaign delivers a simple message: ‘Stay safe, save lives and stick to the specification.’
With pressure building for contractors to bring projects in under budget, saving costs by specifying sub-standard, low-quality fire doors has become a gamble that more contractors have started taking during the recession.
However, the BWF-CERTIFIRE campaign has identified key areas where contractors and their clients may be most vulnerable if a specification is ignored. These include lack of adequate insurance protection, non compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, non-compliance with Building Regulations, in particular Regulation 38, and of course insufficient protection for life or property.
John Fletcher, manager of the BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme says: "By sticking to the fire door specification on a construction project, contractors' risks are reduced and the loss of lives is minimised. Investing in third-party certificated fire doors and components is investing in saving lives, and safety must be paramount."
The ‘Stick to the Spec' campaign offers guidance and support to contractors to enable them to make the right decisions and ensure the safety of others. The campaign includes three months of advertising on targeted news websites to reach contractors, PR, video and promotion of a new fact card on compliance with Building Regulation 38.
The BWF-CERTIFIRE scheme, operated and managed by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), was established by a group of prime fire door manufacturers aiming to improve the standard of fire doors across the supply chain. The scheme’s members now supply more than 75% of the fire doors installed in the UK.
