Can Fire Doors Be Held Open? Legal Devices vs Wedges
By the DC Fire & Security engineering team — installing and maintaining fire and security systems since 2010. Updated June 2026.
Quick answer
Wedged open: never legal — a wedged fire door is a disabled fire door, and it's the most common fire safety breach in UK buildings. Legally held open: yes, with devices that release on fire alarm activation — electromagnetic hold-opens wired to the alarm, acoustic devices (like Dorgard) that listen for it, or free-swing closers that restore closing on alarm. Convenience is solvable; the wedge is not.
Why the wedge is treated so seriously
Compartmentation works only with doors shut: an open fire door is a hole through a fire wall exactly where smoke and fire will travel — typically the corridor people need for escape. Enforcement reflects it: wedged fire doors feature constantly in prosecutions under the Fire Safety Order, and a wedged door found after a fire converts a defensible incident into liability. The wedge is popular precisely because closed doors are inconvenient — heavy for trolleys, isolating for staff, slamming behind residents — which is why the lawful alternatives matter.
The lawful hold-open options
| Device | How it releases | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electromagnetic hold-open (wall magnet) | Fire alarm cuts power — door swings shut on its closer | Corridors, kitchens-to-restaurants, busy circulation in alarmed buildings | Needs wiring to the alarm's cause-and-effect; the gold standard |
| Acoustic device (e.g. Dorgard) | Listens for the alarm sounder and releases | Retrofits where wiring is impractical | Battery-powered; needs sounder audibility and battery checks |
| Free-swing closer | Door swings freely in use; alarm (or power loss) restores full closing | Flat entrance doors, dementia care, accessibility needs | Resident feels no closer day-to-day |
| Transom/closer-integrated hold-open | As magnet, integrated in closer body | New installs wanting clean look | Same alarm interface requirement |
What about doors with no alarm to release them?
Hold-open devices presuppose an alarm to trigger release — in buildings without a suitable system (some small premises, stay-put residential corridors where no communal alarm exists by design), hold-open isn't available and doors must simply self-close. Acoustic devices in stay-put blocks deserve caution: they listen for sounders that may never sound communally. The right answer comes from the fire strategy: in alarmed workplaces, magnets and free-swing solve real operational problems lawfully; in stay-put blocks, flat doors get free-swing closers if heaviness is the complaint, and corridors stay closed-door.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dorgard legal?
Can kitchen fire doors in pubs/restaurants be held open in service?
Do hold-open devices need testing?
What's the fine for wedged fire doors?
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