Fire damper testing and remediation

Fire damper testing and remedials work requires specialist knowledge and experience. We can help you to understand the law and to manage safety and compliance in your premises.

Whatever type of fire dampers you have, whoever they were installed by, and whether or not you have an up to date asset register and maintenance record, we can get you on track for full compliance.

Airmec Essential Services is an independent fire damper testing company that checks units installed within a premises’ mechanical ventilation ductwork and fire walls and partitions.

We will find any problems and advise on fire damper remediation work, and we have a specialist in-house team who can undertake urgent remedial works promptly. We will also make sure you have a robust reporting, auditing and scheduling system in place for your long-term peace of mind.

All our fire damper testing and inspection is undertaken in accordance with industry standards and guidelines. We are members of BESA and the Fire Protection Association.

The law on fire damper testing:

The person responsible for a building – the owner or occupying employer – has a legal obligation to test and maintain fire dampers at least annually under the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order).

BS 9999 is the recognised Code of Practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings and it requires that fire and smoke dampers are tested annually. Fire dampers installed in dust-laden and similar atmospheres should be tested more frequently. Where access to dampers is restricted, we can usually install new inspection hatches quickly so you can comply with the law. Any dampers found to be faulty must be repaired or replaced on an urgent basis.

For healthcare premises fire and smoke dampers should be tested annually in accordance with the HTM 03-01 guidance on specialised ventilation for healthcare premises and HTM 05-01, which sets out requirements for managing healthcare fire safety.

Find out more about how we can help below:

Fire

Our services

Fire damper surveys and asset registers

Fire damper inspection and testing

Remedial work: fire damper repair and replacement

Fire damper inspection and testing rely on having access to good records indicating where fire dampers are located. Ideally, there will be building plans and schematic drawings detailing their precise position.

Often asset registers become out of date following building works or renovations. Where up-to-date information is not available, we can undertake a survey to create an asset register detailing damper locations and quantities. The register provides important information for subsequent testing and maintenance to achieve fire safety compliance. The foundation stone of safety and compliance is a fire damper risk assessment.

As part of our survey, we can assess what equipment may be needed to access the fire dampers, and then calculate how long it will take for one of our technicians to test them. There may also be instances where we recommend fitting an access panel within the duct system to be able to reach the fire damper to test it.

All our fire damper inspections are carried out in accordance with the guidelines outlined in BESA technical bulletin VH/001. Fire damper inspections and testing should be completed annually, or more frequently within dirty and dusty environments, to ensure the fire damper closes and complies with fire safety law.

As part of our fire damper inspection our technicians will perform an operation test and condition survey for each damper. They will also wipe down each fire damper when in the closed position to remove any dust coating the exterior.

Following our testing we will provide a report detailing the results of the testing and inspection including photographic evidence. Should a fire damper fail to close properly to form a tight seal, it will be listed on the report as a failure, since a faulty fire damper will not prevent the spread of fire.

The failure of any fire damper during an inspection requires urgent remedial action. At Airmec we offer a complete remedial service from replacing the fusible links to fitting new fire dampers, through to fire stopping and retesting.

Our fire damper remedial works team can also make recommendations on ways to modify ductwork and on the installation of access doors so that any fire dampers that have not previously been tested can be reached.