Fire doors for care homes are the self-closing FD30S and FD60S doorsets that make progressive horizontal evacuation work — required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, not the residential Regulation 10 regime, because care homes house dependent, sleeping residents who cannot readily evacuate. Staff move them through fire-resisting compartment lines into a protected area on the same floor. FD30S denotes 30 minutes' integrity (broadly E30) with cold-smoke seals, not the insulated EI30; the fire strategy fixes each door's rating.
Care homes carry a fire strategy unlike almost any other building. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the responsible person — usually the registered provider or manager — must make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment that pays particular attention to residents at special risk, and most homes are also registered with the Care Quality Commission, whose Regulation 15 expects premises to be suitable and properly maintained. Care homes sit in Purpose Group 2(a), Residential (Institutional), and their defining strategy is progressive horizontal evacuation: staff move dependent, sleeping residents through fire-resisting walls and doors into a protected area (sub-compartment) on the same level, aiming to clear it within 2½ minutes, rather than out of the building. In that strategy the fire doors and compartment walls are the strategy.
Every doorset we supply into care homes will carry third-party certification and be specified against the home's fire strategy: FD30S on the protected-area, cross-corridor and bedroom lines that progressive horizontal evacuation depends on, stepping up to FD60S where a floor relies on delayed evacuation or a bedroom is given enhanced ('protected') 60-minute protection. Because cold smoke is the killer where people sleep, these doorsets carry the smoke seals denoted by the 'S' suffix — FD30S gives 30 minutes' integrity (broadly class E30) with cold-smoke sealing, a separate property that is not thermal insulation and not an EI30 door. Every strategy door will be self-closing to BS EN 1154; where residents must move freely, we will supply alarm-actuated electromagnetic hold-open devices to BS EN 1155 or free-swing closers that release the instant the fire detection system actuates or power fails, so no door is ever propped or wedged. Sizes, glazing and ironmongery will be confirmed at enquiry against each doorset's certified field of application, with no site cutting of apertures.
We understand a care home never closes, and that its residents are the very people a fire door protects. Our installation will be planned around a live, occupied home: phased working agreed with the registered manager, protection and containment during works, and completed openings handed back to BS 8214 with certificate references and per-door documentation. That documentation — certificate references, full specification, ironmongery schedules and maintenance guidance — will be structured to feed the responsible person's fire risk assessment and the maintenance record Article 17 requires, and to answer both a fire and rescue authority inspection and the CQC's view of a safe, well-led service. Regulation 10's three-monthly and twelve-monthly intervals apply to residential buildings over 11 metres, not to care homes, so inspection frequency is set by the fire risk assessment; our certification scheme, scope and lead times will be published at launch.
What this sector needs from a doorset partner
- FD30S doorsets for protected-area, cross-corridor and bedroom lines, self-closing to BS EN 1154
- FD60S doorsets for enhanced ('protected') bedrooms and floors relying on delayed evacuation
- Cold-smoke seals on all sleeping-accommodation and compartment doors, with the 'S' specification stated per opening
- Alarm-actuated electromagnetic hold-open devices to BS EN 1155, or free-swing closers, so residents move freely and doors still close on alarm
- Factory-fitted vision panels and ironmongery within the certified field of application, with no site cutting of apertures
- Installation phased around a live, occupied home, with per-door documentation for the fire risk assessment and CQC evidence
Standards & guidance we work to
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Article 17
- HM Government fire safety risk assessment guide: residential care premises
- HTM 05-02 (Firecode) — design guidance for CQC-regulated healthcare premises
- Approved Document B (fire safety) — Purpose Group 2(a), Residential (Institutional)
- CQC Regulation 15 (premises and equipment)
- BS 8214 (installation code of practice)
- BS EN 1154 (door closers) and BS EN 1155 (electromagnetic hold-open devices)
Recommended certified doorsets for care homes
FD30 & FD30s fire doorsets
Third-party-certified 30-minute fire doorsets — the workhorse rating for flat entrances, escape routes and most internal compartmentation.
View FD30 doorsets →FD60 & FD60s fire doorsets
Third-party-certified 60-minute fire doorsets for protected stairways, compartment lines and higher-risk positions.
View FD60 doorsets →Unsure which rating each opening needs? Compare FD30 vs FD60, browse the full doorset range (FD30–FD120), or run the compliance checker.
Frequently asked questions
What fire rating do care home bedroom doors need?
The HM Government residential care guide says each bedroom should be separated from the corridor by 30-minute fire-resisting construction, with doors of a similar standard and self-closing — in practice FD30S, carrying cold-smoke seals. Where the strategy uses enhanced 'protected' bedrooms for delayed evacuation, 60-minute construction and FD60S apply. FD30S provides integrity (broadly E30), not insulation — it is not an EI30 door. The fire risk assessment sets the requirement for the specific home, and we will confirm each opening against the certified field of application at enquiry.
How often must our care home's fire doors be checked?
There is no fixed statutory interval for care homes. The three-monthly and twelve-monthly checks under Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to residential buildings over 11 metres, not to care homes. For a care home, Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order requires fire doors to be kept in efficient working order, with frequency set by the fire risk assessment. Because care homes have very high door traffic and vulnerable, sleeping residents, checks are usually far more frequent than an annual review; every door we install will hand over documentation to support that regime.