Fire Damper Inspections

Here at ACB Ltd we specialise in Fire Damper Inspection and Surveyance. With over 20 years of experience behind us we ensure that all types of fire and smoke dampers are fully functional and compliant with regulatory requirements to ensure safety of everyone.

What happens during a fire damper inspection?

There are two types of fire damper surveys: working from schematics or building plans or physical inspection of the premises. The clearest way of working is using printed plans to identify where all fire dampers are located in the building. Almost all modern commercial and industrial buildings have drawings illustrating the main services that feed the utilities in the building such as electricity, water, gas etc. 

Your building plans can be available as full architectural drawings, printed in larger format or as a PDF. You may have to speak to your site’s services team to see if they have a record of your building plans. On the other hand if you are a tenant you will need to speak to your landlord to get a copy so that we identify where all fire dampers are located around your building.

During a fire damper inspection a visual inspection of your fire dampers will be carried out. Doing this will allow us to highlight any surface damage to the fire damper and ensure that the fire damper is installed and matches the position on the building plans that are available to us. We will also look for visible signs of corrosion or damage to the fire damper. The deterioration of a fire damper can cause it to fail when it is needed most in an emergency. Any corroded fire dampers need to be replaced as soon as possible as it fails all legal requirements and can put people in danger.

We will also highlight any obstructions that may prevent the damper closing in a situation in any emergency. Obstructions may stop the damper from closing and creating an airtight seal to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. If the opening in the damper is obstructed or the damper doors are held open, the damper will not operate as intended. The worst case scenario is that the damper will not close or function in any manner meaning it will fail to stop the spread of fire and smoke.

Our team may remove any simple obstructions that can have an affect on the operation of the fire damper. However if cables or other appliances are obstructing the operation of the fire damper we will note this in our report and work with you to choose the suitable option for solving the issue. Our team will only remove obstructions if it is safe to do so. Items such as cabling will not be removed without your agreement and a full health and safety risk assessment.

Our inspections will also highlight any installations that require a repair. This allows our specialists to identify any damage to the surrounding area, ductwork or if something is visibly broken or missing. All fire dampers should not interrupt the integrity of the fire wall and should be installed correctly in the direction of airflow. 

All fire dampers should also be accessible from an access point for inspection and testing purposes. If a fire damper does not fill any gaps this will not prevent the spread of a fire or smoke.

 

If you’re interested in our fire damper inspection services you can contact us today and we will be in touch with you regarding your enquiry.

 

If you would like to see more information about the other services we offer regarding fire dampers check out: