Importance of fire damper safety testing underlined

The NHS has a legacy of ageing properties, many of which have ventilation systems where it is not possible to gain access for effective cleaning or mandatory annual safety inspection and testing of fire dampers. This lack of access is not a new issue, and needs to be afforded much higher priority on risk registers, argues Andrew Steel, managing director of Airmec Essential Services, an independent ventilation, air, and water hygiene specialist which provides safety services for several NHS Trusts.

Few would argue that one of the biggest ventilation management problems facing hospital Estates teams is maintenance, and maintenance access. If you cannot get to it, you cannot maintain it or certify that it is safe. Sooner or later, the equipment or plant in question is not going to do its job, and will potentially become a danger in its own right. 

n the case of fire dampers, this can mean losing control of the spread of fire and smoke which – even in small volumes – can cause significant and expensive damage to critical equipment, as well as a threat to life. Sometimes the dampers cannot close properly due to accumulation (often over many years) of contamination, or they have failed and closed, which can lead to stuffy rooms and an imbalance of ventilation systems. We’ve even seen them wedged open after ‘nuisance tripping’.