Where are fire doors required in buildingse

Where are Fire Doors Required?

12 November 2025

Fire safety is a crucial aspect of building management, and one of the most important factors in protecting occupants is ensuring that there are adequate fire exits. Understanding legal requirements, fire door specifications, and proper maintenance practices is essential for compliance and, most importantly, for safeguarding lives. In this guide, we explain the legal requirements for fire exits, the different types of fire doors used on escape routes, and the essential steps needed to ensure fire escapes remain accessible, visible, and compliant with safety regulations.

How Many Fire Exits Are Required by Law?

The number of fire exits required by law depends on several factors, including the size, layout, and use of a building. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, making it the responsibility of the “responsible person”-such as the employer, building owner, landlord, or facilities manager-to ensure that there are adequate escape routes for all occupants in the event of a fire.

Rather than specifying a fixed number of exits, fire safety legislation requires that there be a sufficient and suitable number of exits to allow for a fast and safe evacuation. The number required is determined through a fire risk assessment, which evaluates the building’s layout, the number of people inside at any given time, and how quickly they can exit without encountering congestion or obstructions.

For small premises, such as a single shop unit with a limited number of occupants, a single exit may be sufficient-provided that it leads directly to a place of safety and can be accessed quickly by everyone inside. However, in buildings with multiple floors, a larger footprint, or a high number of occupants, a single exit would not be adequate. In such cases, at least two exits should be available, positioned so that a fire in one area does not block both routes simultaneously.

In larger or more complex buildings, fire safety regulations require multiple escape routes to ensure that people can leave the building without excessive delay. The exact number of fire exits needed is determined based on several key factors, including:

Travel distances

This refers to the maximum distance a person should have to travel to reach a fire exit. Travel distance limits vary depending on the building type and risk level. For example, in low-risk office environments, the travel distance to an exit should not exceed 18 metres in a single-exit layout and 45 metres if multiple exits are available. In high-risk areas, such as factories using flammable materials, the distance should be shorter.

Occupancy levels

The more people inside a building, the greater the risk of congestion during an evacuation. Buildings with high occupancy, such as theatres, shopping centres, or schools, require additional exits to prevent bottlenecks and ensure a quick escape.

Building function and layout

Different types of buildings have different requirements. A hospital, for instance, must accommodate the safe evacuation of patients who may have limited mobility, requiring wider corridors, ramps, and more exits. Warehouses with large open spaces and fewer people inside may require fewer exits, but clear, unobstructed paths are essential.

The UK government’s fire safety guidance documents, such as those published by the Home Office and the Local Government Association, provide recommendations on exit provision based on different building types. In some cases, specialist advice from a fire safety professional will be required to determine the correct number of exits and ensure compliance.

Employers and building owners must conduct regular fire risk assessments to reassess exit requirements as occupancy levels or building layouts change. Failure to provide adequate fire exits can result in legal action, including fines, prosecution, and potential imprisonment, as well as invalidation of insurance policies. More importantly, a lack of proper fire exits can significantly increase the risk to life in the event of an emergency.

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