DORMA Door Controls reconcile fire safety with residents peace of mind in nursing homes

The recent Rosepark Care Home tragedy at Uddingston, near Glasgow, is the worst building fire accident in Scotland for more than 30 years. The fire, which started in a storage cupboard on the first floor and only spread three or four metres around the cupboard, was easily brought under control and left the investigators initially astonished that it should claim fourteen lives so quickly. Then came the speculation that many of the victims had been sleeping with their bedroom doors open and were likely to have been overcome by the smoke that filled a section of the first floor. Nursing home management do sometimes face a dilemma when it comes to decision making about door closing devices. Self-closing devices may not always be fitted because of residents concern about feeling permanently closed in and restricted in exiting their rooms – to use toilet facilities for example. Current fire regulations (Document B) state that “all fire doors should be fitted with an automatic self-closing device except for fire doors to cupboards and to service ducts which are normally kept locked shut” and it is this that has to be reconciled with peace of mind for both residents and staff.

Privacy without feeling restricted

One company receiving a lot of enquiries from nursing homes at the moment is DORMA UK Limited, experts in the field of access and emergency egress and one of the world’s leading suppliers of door technology systems and allied products. Some of the calls are requesting urgent inspections (DORMA’s Service Division will carry out free inspections on door closers to ensure that they comply with the British Standards EN1154 and EN1155), while others are keen to know what ironmongery should ideally be fitted to fire doors.

In this type of situation free swing door closers are the ideal solution and DORMA has two free swing door closers that meet the criteria perfectly, the TS73 EMF and the TS99 FL. Unlike conventional door closers, or floor springs, ‘free swing’ means that the door can act like a standard door, without resistance, and can remain open in any position, just 5-10 degrees for example, so that the occupant can enjoy some privacy, but not feel restricted – and without having to jam the door open. Should a smoke or fire alarm be activated or in the event of a power failure, the door closer will be engaged and will close safely, from whatever open angle it was left at. Once closed by activation of the fire alarm or a power failure, the TS73EMF or TS99 FL will function as a normal door closer, once the alarm has been deactivated or power is restored then they will once opened become ‘free swing’ once again. The DORMA TS73 EMF is used together with a scissor arm whilst the DORMA TS 99 FL uses a slide-channel arm for improved aesthetics. Both products are used in conjunction with a smoke detection system, are easy to fit and have time saving integral electrical connections.

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