DHF praises Dr Barbara Lane
for Grenfell report
June 2018

The Door & Hardware Federation has welcomed a series of findings by Chartered Fire Safety Engineer Dr Barbara Lane given in evidence last week to Sir Martin Moore-Bick's public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower blaze. Dr Lane presented her conclusions in a comprehensive report, in which she listed a number of failed safety regulations that she believes contributed to the significant loss of life. 

In particular, DHF has praised her findings pertaining to the inadequacy of the tower’s fire doors, described by her as “a crucial element of the stay-put strategy, as they represent an opportunity for weak spots to form in the fire-resistant partitions that separate a flat fire from occupants either on that floor where the fire has started, or occupants in the flat above the floor where the fire has started.” The Federation says this is something it has been emphasising for many months.  

“Compartmentation is vital and plays an important role in passive fire protection”, said CEO Bob Perry. “The need for compliant fire-resistant doorsets is crucial, and as Dr Lane has stated, the non-compliance of the flat entrance fire doors would have contributed to the failure to prevent the spread of fire and hot smoke from the flat to the lobby”. 
“Additionally, she highlights that faulty fire doors mean faulty compartmentation, and compartmentation is the primary basis of the stay-put strategy."

During her own visit to the site, Dr Lane observed that the installed doors contained different locks, hinges, letter plates and self-closers, which she believes significantly affected the performance of the door, by reducing its burn time.  She concluded that the fire doors and their lack of performance, contributed significantly to the spread of smoke, and fire, to the lobbies, with this failure affecting the ability or willingness of occupants to escape independently through this space to the stairs.