In a post-Grenfell environment, expectations around the installation and maintenance of fire dampers have become much tougher. Fire dampers remain one of the most important passive fire safety components in any building. For specifiers, good practice is about more than meeting guidance on paper; it’s about making sure that lifesaving compartmentation will perform as intended when it matters.
In many projects, attention tends to fall on the visible elements of fire safety, while fire dampers are often neglected once they disappear into ductwork and ceiling voids. Yet evidence shows they deserve closer attention. Figures from BESA indicate that less than 1% of buildings are compliant with current legal testing requirements, while 70% of fire dampers fail their first inspection.
Where ductwork passes through fireresisting walls, floors and partitions, dampers are there to preserve compartmentation and slow the spread of fire and smoke spreading through ventilation systems. If they are incorrectly installed, inaccessible or poorly maintained, the fire strategy can be compromised very quickly.
RAISING STANDARDS
Since Grenfell, and with the Building Safety Act 2022 reshaping expectations across the sector, there is far less tolerance for assumptions and far more emphasis on evidence. For specifiers, that means thinking beyond the product itself and considering how the damper will be installed, accessed, inspected and evidenced over the life of the building.
If access has not been designed in, if the fire strategy is unclear, or if the installation detail is left open to interpretation, problems are much more likely to emerge. By following best practice guidance, specifiers and building managers can reduce fire risk, support legal compliance and meet insurance requirements.
FOLLOW DW145 GUIDANCE
BESA has recently reissued DW145, the guidance document on fire damper installation and testing. The new guidance focuses on robust compliance and sets out clear, verifiable good practice. It expects photographic evidence, confirmation that installations follow manufacturer instructions, proof that the damper arrangement matches the building’s fire strategy and records that can stand up to scrutiny. It also reinforces a point that still gets missed too often in practice: if a fire damper cannot be accessed safely for inspection and testing, it will be much harder to demonstrate ongoing compliance.
TEST AT EVERY STAGE
Another important shift in DW145 is the way it frames inspection and testing across the building lifecycle. Level 1 establishes the baseline, confirming that the damper and its penetration have been installed as designed. Level 2 checks within the first 12 months that nothing has been altered or compromised.
Level 3 addresses the reality of existing buildings, where records are often incomplete and dampers have to be located, verified and tested before a reliable compliance position can be established. Level 4 is the ongoing routine testing regime, which under BS 9999 should take place at intervals not exceeding 12 months, with shorter intervals where the risk profile is higher.
BUILD IN COMPLIANCE
In existing buildings, the lack of reliable information is still one of the biggest barriers to compliance. Drawings do not always tell the full story, fire strategy information may be missing, and some legacy installation details would not meet current expectations. One example is the historic use of self-drilling Tek screws, which can stop a spring-operated damper from closing correctly in a fire.
The lesson is straightforward: fire dampers should not be treated as an afterthought. Access panels, fixing methods, identification, documentation and future maintenance all need to be considered at specification stage, not left for someone else to resolve later.
Inspection and testing should be carried out by people who understand the current guidance, and the reports they provide should be detailed enough to support clear decisions on risk and remediation. We are currently working with BESA to develop an approved course for fire damper testing in line with the new DW145 guidance.
TREAT FIRE DAMPERS AS CRITICAL
The key point for specifiers is that fire dampers need to be treated as a critical part of the fire strategy from the outset, not as an afterthought. Know where they are, make sure they can be accessed, insist on installation in line with the fire strategy and manufacturer guidance, and expect robust evidence that they have been installed and tested properly.
When the basics are in place, projects are in a stronger position to reduce risk, demonstrate compliance and avoid costly remedial work further down the line.
swiftfirecompliance.co.uk