Fire Damper Testing

How Do Fire Dampers Work?

Fire Dampers are installed inside your ductwork. Under normal conditions they stay open at all times. If a fire starts, the fuse which holds the spring-loaded doors open will snap, causing the dampers to close thus blocking the fire from spreading.

What Can Go Wrong?

Ductwork collects dust, grease and grime. This can cause your fire dampers to become clogged up and ineffective. If this happens, they could fail and if a fire occurs, without the dampers it will spread far more quickly.

What Can You Do?

Building owners are required by law to have their fire dampers tested annually. We will not only take an inventory of your fire dampers, we’ll perform drop tests on each one, thoroughly cleaning them to ensure they remain in peak condition. Hopefully they’ll never be needed, but if they are, this maintenance could save your building and even lives.

What is a Fire Damper?

As an essential passive fire protection product, fire dampers are included within your ductwork to prevent the spread of smoke and fire through the building. Their primary role is to restrict the spread of fire, enabling people to exit the building safely.

If a fire broke out in a commercial building without fire dampers, the flames and smoke would rush through the ductwork and spread to all areas of the building, which would render safety features like fire doors ineffective.

Within the ductwork, fire dampers are fitted to essentially provide a break so that fire and smoke would struggle to pass through. They’re positioned strategically at points within the ductwork alongside fire-rated floors and walls and work together to shut out flames as and when required. They operate like a roller shutter and close when a fire is detected.

How Often Should Fire Dampers Be Checked?

In the United Kingdom, it is a legal requirement to check that your building’s fire dampers are operational at least once a year. To help you remember, it’s a good idea to check your fire dampers at the same time that you run checks on your fire alarm and other fire-safety features to ensure your building is as safe as it can be.

What Does Fire Damper Testing Involve?

At Blitz, we provide a comprehensive fire damper testing service that includes:

• Individual inspection of all fire dampers to check for any damage, corrosion, or potential obstructions.
• Physical check of each damper to ensure it will drop in the case of fire.
• Cleaning carried out on all dampers where required.
• Resetting of dampers.

Upon completing our inspection and testing, we issue you with a comprehensive report that details all the works carried out and any required actions going forward.