Fire Door & Fire Exit Signs

B5 of Appendix B of TGD B requires all fire doors to be marked (at about eye level) with the appropriate fire safety sign complying with BS 5499-5:2002 (superseded by BS EN ISO 7010:2012+A7:2017) according to whether the door is:

• To be kept closed when not in use
• To be kept locked when not in use
• Held open by an electro-magnetic or electromechanical device

Fire doors to cupboards and to service ducts should be marked on the outside, all other fire doors on both sides. More specifically, doors that are to be kept closed when not in use (i.e. pedestrian doors) should be marked with "Fire door keep shut” on both sides of the door. Doors that are to be kept locked shut when not in use (i.e. doors to cupboards, service ducts, electrical installations, etc.) need be marked with “Fire door keep locked shut” on the outside of the door only. Doors that are held open by an automatic releasing device should be marked with "Automatic fire door keep clear” on the side that faces outward when the door is held open and “Fire door keep shut” on the side that faces the wall.

The following fire doors are not required to comply with the above requirements:

• Doors within dwelling houses
• Doors to and within flats or maisonettes
• Bedroom doors in Purpose Group 2(b) premises, e.g. hotel, hostel, guest building, residential college, hall of residence (refer to Table 0.1 "Classification of buildings by purpose group" in TGD B)
• Lift entrance doors

Doors that have security devices, especially doors that are used for escape should use signs to indicate their operating instructions. It should never be assumed that persons using an escape route will be familiar with the method of operating any unlocking devices they may encounter. These signs are mandatory requirements and help to facilitate safe egress and reduce evacuation time.