Project Overview
Dickson Consulting carried out a passive fire protection inspection project for a student accommodation site in Brighton. The project included a detailed fire door inspection and a separate compartmentation survey to help the client understand fire safety defects, remedial priorities and ongoing compliance requirements.
The accommodation consisted of multiple interconnected residential buildings arranged as student flats, with shared kitchens, circulation routes, stairwells, service risers and ancillary spaces. This type of building requires careful fire safety management because it combines sleeping accommodation, high occupancy, shared facilities and frequent daily use.
The case study has been anonymised to protect the client and site identity while still showing the type of work undertaken and the value of detailed inspection reporting.
1. Fire Door Inspection
The fire door inspection was carried out as a non-invasive visual survey. The inspection covered flat entrance doors, stairwell doors, kitchen doors and a sample of bedroom doors, riser cupboard doors, storage cupboard doors and electrical intake or boiler room doors.
A total of 305 fire doors were inspected as part of the fire door survey. The doors were generally assessed as FD30S fire doors, meaning they were expected to provide 30 minutes of fire resistance with smoke control where required.
Fire Door Inspection Scope
- Flat front entrance fire doors
- Kitchen fire doors
- Stairwell and circulation fire doors
- Sample bedroom doors
- Riser cupboard doors
- Storage cupboard doors
- Electrical intake and boiler room doors
- Door leaves, frames, hinges, locks, closers, smoke seals and signage
Fire Door Findings
The inspection identified a number of recurring issues commonly found in high-use student accommodation buildings. Many of the doors had excessive leaf-to-frame gaps or threshold gaps, with several gaps exceeding the expected tolerances. Some dropdown threshold seals were not engaging correctly or were damaged.
The report also identified damage to door leaves, bottom edges, frames and architraves. Some doors were not sitting correctly against the door stop, and some were obstructed or required closer adjustment to ensure they closed and latched properly.
Further issues included missing or damaged screws to hinges, signs of oil leakage from hinges, smoke seals contaminated with paint, mixed seal types, missing intumescent seal sections, damaged or uncertified locks, missing escutcheons and incorrect or incomplete fire door signage.
Typical Fire Door Defects Identified
- Excessive leaf-to-frame gaps
- Excessive threshold gaps
- Dropdown threshold seals not engaging correctly
- Damage to door leaves, frames and architraves
- Missing or uncertified lock evidence
- Smoke seals painted over, damaged or missing
- Mixed seal types fitted to the same doorset
- Hinge screw issues and signs of hinge oil leakage
- Doors not closing or latching correctly
- Incorrect, missing or one-sided fire door signage
Fire Door Recommendations
The findings allowed the client to plan remedial works based on clear defect information. Recommended actions included adjusting excessive gaps, replacing or repairing damaged smoke seals, adjusting closers, replacing uncertified or damaged locks, repairing damaged leaves and frames, correcting signage and checking fire stopping between the frame and supporting structure where required.
2. Compartmentation Survey
A separate non-invasive compartmentation survey was undertaken to assess the integrity of passive fire protection and compartment lines. The survey focused on risers, service penetrations, compartment walls and areas where fire stopping defects could allow smoke or fire to spread through the building.
The compartmentation survey identified issues relating to riser protection, fire stopping at penetrations, inappropriate materials and incomplete fire stopping around frames and services.
Compartmentation Survey Scope
- Riser cupboards and service risers
- Compartment walls and protected routes
- Electrical, communication and fire alarm service penetrations
- Door frame interfaces with supporting construction
- Fire stopping condition and suitability
- Review of fire resistance expectations for risers and special risk areas
Compartmentation Findings
The survey found that some risers were configured as vertical risers. This arrangement can be acceptable, but only where the horizontal penetrations from the riser are suitably fire stopped at each storey level. The survey identified deficiencies in this area.
Several locations showed no evidence of fire stopping to door frames or service penetrations. In some areas, electrical conduits, communication cables and fire alarm services were not adequately fire stopped. Inappropriate pink foam was also identified in some locations, which was recommended for removal and replacement with suitable fire-rated products.
The survey also identified riser areas where the enclosure or panel construction did not appear to provide the required fire resistance. Some fire stopping and linear mastic details showed signs of deterioration, and some compartment drawings required review to confirm fire ratings and compartment strategy.
Typical Compartmentation Defects Identified
- No evidence of fire stopping around some door frames
- Service penetrations not adequately fire stopped
- Inappropriate pink foam used in some locations
- Damaged or incomplete fire stopping
- Riser cupboards not fire rated in some locations
- Non-fire-rated panels or walls affecting compartment integrity
- Linear mastic deterioration to wall junctions
- Compartment drawings requiring review and clarification
Compartmentation Recommendations
The recommendations included removing inappropriate foam and replacing it with suitable fire-rated materials, reviewing and upgrading riser enclosures where required, investigating fire stopping between door frames and supporting construction, servicing doors to correct gap tolerances and reviewing compartment drawings with the relevant fire safety team.
The survey also recommended that riser enclosures be upgraded where required to achieve suitable fire resistance, and that special risk areas such as plant rooms, workshops, chemical stores or similar areas be reviewed where applicable.
Why This Matters for Student Accommodation
Student accommodation buildings often include sleeping accommodation, shared kitchens, high occupancy, frequent door use, service risers, stairwells and protected escape routes. Fire doors and compartmentation are critical parts of the building fire strategy.
When fire doors have excessive gaps, damaged seals or poor latching, smoke and fire resistance can be affected. Similarly, where service penetrations or risers are not correctly fire stopped, fire and smoke may spread beyond the intended compartment line.
A detailed fire door inspection and compartmentation survey provides building managers, universities, accommodation providers and responsible persons with clear evidence of defects and practical recommendations for remedial planning.
UK-Wide Fire Safety Consultancy for Student Accommodation
Dickson Consulting is based in South East England and provides fire door inspections, compartmentation surveys, fire risk assessments and passive fire protection consultancy for student accommodation, universities, residential blocks and commercial property portfolios across the UK.
We support clients in Brighton, London, Scotland, Wales and nationwide, helping them understand fire safety defects, plan remedial works and maintain safer buildings.
Related Services
- Fire Door Inspections
- Fire Compartmentation Surveys
- Fire Risk Assessments
- Contact Dickson Consulting
Need a Similar Survey?
If you manage student accommodation, university buildings, residential blocks or multi-occupancy buildings, Dickson Consulting can provide independent fire door inspections and compartmentation surveys to support compliance, remedial planning and ongoing building safety management.
Contact us to discuss a student accommodation fire door inspection or compartmentation survey.