Wedging of fire doors is a widespread but also dangerous phenomenon. The small door wedges are intended to keep closed fire doors permanently open, which otherwise represent an obstacle in everyday operational life. In this way, the "annoying" opening of doors - especially when there is heavy passenger traffic - is to be circumvented. Consequently, wedging fire doors is often a reality in many areas (e.g. offices, hotels, restaurants or hospitals) to keep fire doors open.
The problem in case of fire
Fire and smoke protection doors are intended to prevent the spread of fire and smoke in the building for a certain period of time. However, this only works if the fire door is closed and thus functional. A wedged fire door is not functional in case of fire and thus does not fulfil its purpose. Fire and smoke can spread unhindered in the building.
Wedging a fire door puts it out of operation!
Wedging fire doors: Consequences
In case of fire, wedged fire doors have considerable consequences for fire protection in the building. The fire can spread unhindered. At the same time, escape and rescue routes are not long enough to be free of smoke, so that people can be harmed.
Important: Wedging a fire door is a punishable offence.
From the point of view of fire safety, the legislator considers deliberately keeping doors open to be negligent. Consequently, wedging fire doors open is punishable by law. Legal penalties in the form of heavy fines or even imprisonment are possible (§ 145 para. 2 no. 2 Criminal Code). Furthermore, wedged fire doors lead to the loss of insurance cover, as the fire protection requirements for the building have not been met.
Keep fire doors open: Solution
Wedging a fire door is not necessary at all, because there are adequate solutions for keeping fire doors open in everyday life. For example, fire doors can be equipped with hold-open systems.
Hold-open devices ensure that the door remains open during normal operation and only closes automatically in the event of a fire. In this way, escape and rescue routes remain usable and the spread of fire to other parts of the building is limited. A hold-open device for fire doors consists of a fire or smoke detector, a hold-open device (including release mechanism) and power supply.
Never wedge a fire door!
Building owners or employers are responsible for preventing fire doors from being wedged open or held open with other inadmissible objects. To this end, fire doors must be marked accordingly. At the same time, employees must be made aware of the consequences of wedged fire doors. Fire doors may only be kept open with approved hold-open systems. Retrofitting is easily possible on most fire doors.
Important: Hold-open systems for fire doors must be approved by DIBt (Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik).
In addition, the operator of the building must check all hold-open devices on fire doors on a monthly basis. Furthermore, DIN 14677 requires an annual safety inspection and maintenance of the hold-open devices by an expert.
We support you.
We install hold-open systems on fire doors throughout Germany. We also carry out regular maintenance so that functionality is guaranteed at all times.
Contact our fire protection experts so that wedging fire doors in your building is a thing of the past. We are your expert for preventive fire protection throughout Germany.
