Managing fire damper maintenance: a risk based approach
Maintenance of fire dampers in ventilation systems has been in the news following an awareness campaign about the risks of incorrectly installed units. Building owners and managers can be left in no doubt of the need to inspect and test dampers and rectify installation faults – but it may not be straightforward to do so. In this article, Andrew Steel, Managing Director at Airmec, describes a risk based, pragmatic approach.
Staying on the right side of the law for fire damper safety involves regular inspection, testing, cleaning and remedial work, as well as keeping up to date records. In practice, we find that chequered maintenance histories are all too common.
Stretched budgets, often coupled with an inherited history of poor installation techniques that make fire dampers impossible to get to, are common factors. Add to that changes in the use and configuration of a building that were not fully documented by their predecessors, and building managers can lose track of where the dampers even are. Of course, none of these ‘excuses’ would stand up in a court of law following a disaster.
Where do you start to fix things? Fortunately, there is a roadmap based on intelligent and diligent application of a risk based approach to compliance management that will satisfy duty holders and budget holders alike. You will almost certainly need to work with a specialist service provider but remember that you will still hold the ultimate responsibility as a duty holder or responsible person. Choosing the right partner is essential.
Why act now?
Poor compliance with fire damper maintenance became a mainstream issue when it was discovered that some contractors had used the wrong fixings when originally fitting dampers, potentially leaving customers with dampers that compromise fire safety.
Self-drilling (TEK) screws for joining duct sections may have made installation quicker, but their melting point is too high. Collapsing ducting would not break away during a fire but, instead, could pull the damper right out of the wall so there would be no fire compartmentation.
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has now issued updated guidance, and the bottom line is that all dampers should be checked urgently. Either TEK screws must be replaced, or the risk must be mitigated in some other way.
Simply replacing the fixings isn’t as easy as it sounds. It can mean starting from scratch and working out where the dampers even are and then potentially removing the exisiting damper form the fire compartment and replacing with a new damper and fixings.
The access issue
While safety regulations require that fire dampers are inspected and tested at least annually, there are often not enough access hatches. This is especially galling because ventilation ductwork access hatches are after all fairly basic and would have been relatively inexpensive and easy to fit when ducting was first installed. In contrast, retrofitting them in a working building starts to add significant cost and disruption.
So, not too surprisingly the inspection and testing backlog has been building for years and the current imperative to address it urgently adds unwelcome pressure to severely pressed budgets.
Costs can escalate further due to lack of coordination between trades. In new installations and old alike, Airmec teams often find that access hatches have become impossible to use because other pipes or electrical cable trays have been fitted later and block them. This lack of coordination is astonishing. So much for the digital record/golden thread of information which should include all new installation or modifications.
Installing new hatches and access arrangements from scratch can be prohibitively expensive and may not even be possible for all dampers. An alternative approach is to apply risk based mitigation. Doing nothing is not an option!
Risk based mitigation
Risk based facilities management is not a new concept. It is a strategic approach that prioritises maintenance and resource allocation based on the potential risks associated with different assets so that statutory regulations to be applied sensibly and pragmatically.
By understanding the likelihood and consequences of potential failures, facilities managers can make informed decisions about where to focus their resources. As ever, it starts with risk assessment so you can understand the issues. At Airmec we have practical experience of such risk based maintenance planning works.
A risk based approach enables the estates team to achieve on-budget results without compromise on safety by considering risk factors such as:
• Is the damper in a system feeding a stairwell/escape route?
• What is the location and status of the next damper upstream in the system and is that functioning? Do you need to install another damper?
• Are there other fire safety measures that can be taken to reduce risks such as detectors/alarm systems or escape plans?
• What is the risk of fire and the likely direction of fire propagation?
• What type of ductwork is connected to the fire damper (some fire-resistant ductwork may not require a break-away joint)?
• What is the likely temperature the assembly will be exposed to given the effect of operational fire suppression systems?
• What is the risk of contaminants or pathogens within the ventilation systems?
• Is the fire damper otherwise installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s tested detail – as a piece of equipment is it adequately supported in line with the tested detail?
What does BESA say about risk based maintenance?
BESA’s 2025 technical bulletin on ductwork fire damper installation (TB59) gave more advice on legacy systems and embraces the pragmatic risk based approach described above.
It says: “It is, however, recognised that occasionally the physical constraints in place around fire dampers may hamper the remedial works associated with removal and replacement of self-drilling screws. In these instances, a risk assessment shall be undertaken to determine what action should be implemented and what control measures should be adopted, together with the level of any residual risk and how it should be managed.”
Next steps
First review your asset register to ensure that you know where all dampers are and if they are correctly installed and accessible and then plan for survey and remedial works as necessary.
Remember, if there are no inspection hatches, there has been no meaningful inspection!
