Fire door inspection statistics 2026
By Sebastian Grabowski, DC Fire & Security, Luton. Updated October 2026.
How many fire doors fail inspection?
72% of the fire doors we inspected on a first visit needed at least one repair (339 of 470 doors, 8 first-time surveys, September 2025 to October 2026). Across all 724 door inspections, including re-inspections, 60% needed action. The most common fault was the gap between the door and the frame: 42% of the doors we measured had a gap of more than 4mm. Most failed doors can be repaired: on three finished repair programmes we repaired 140 of 147 doors and replaced 7.
The headline numbers
| Measure | Result | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Doors needing at least one repair, first visit | 72% | 339 of 470 doors, 8 surveys |
| Doors needing action, all visits | 60% | 435 of 724 door inspections, 10 surveys |
| Repair actions per failed door | 1.5 | 671 actions on 435 doors |
| Leaf-to-frame gap over 4mm | 42% | 156 of 371 doors measured |
| Gap under the door over 8mm | 25% | 86 of 343 doors measured |
| Failed doors repaired rather than replaced | 95% | 140 of 147 doors, 3 finished programmes |
Updated October 2026. Figures are from DC Fire & Security's own inspection reports. Client names are left out.
Why fire doors fail: the most common faults
| Fault | Share of doors | Doors |
|---|---|---|
| Gaps between the door and the frame, or the door out of alignment | 39% | 173 |
| Intumescent strips and smoke seals missing, damaged or painted over | 35% | about 159 |
| Gap under the door too big, or no drop seal | 16% | 73 |
| Self-closer missing, not closing the door fully, or leaking | 13% | 57 |
| Fire door signage missing | 11% | 50 |
| Locks, latches, hold-open devices and other ironmongery | about 13% | about 59 |
| Door recommended for replacement | about 8% | about 35 |
| Hinges | 6% | 27 |
| Glazing not confirmed as fire rated | 5% | 22 |
448 doors in 6 itemised surveys. One door can have more than one fault, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Government guidance says the gap around a fire door should be no more than 4mm, and a self-closer must close the door fully into the frame from any angle.
Results by type of building
| Building type | Doors needing action | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary schools, first visit | 72% | 173 of 239 doors |
| Primary and lower schools | 66% | 52 of 79 doors |
| Hotel | 78% | 101 of 130 doors |
| Block of flats | 44% | 7 of 16 doors (small sample) |
| Supported living | 6 of 6 doors | 6 doors (very small sample) |
Small samples are shown for completeness. Don't read much into the flats and supported-living rows until we have more doors.
What we found that surprised us
- In a primary school, 8 of 47 doors were not of fire-resisting construction at all. They looked like fire doors, but needed replacing with certified FD30S doorsets.
- In a 130-door hotel, 20 doors on escape routes had glazing that could not be confirmed as fire rated, and 12 had no self-closer.
- In a block of flats, all 4 riser cupboard doors had been cut for ventilation, which destroys their fire rating.
- In a school surveyed by another firm before we did the repairs, 54 of 109 doors had no certification label or record. A missing label does not by itself fail a door, but it makes the door impossible to prove.
- Painted-over intumescent strips and smoke seals came up again and again. Paint stops them working.
How this compares
The fire door failure figures most often quoted in the UK date from 2021, and also put gaps as the top reason doors fail. Our 2025–26 data agrees: gaps are still the number one fault, followed by seals and closers. Most failures are maintenance problems that a repair visit fixes, not doors that need replacing.
How we collected the data
- Inspections carried out to BS 8214 between September 2025 and October 2026, in Luton, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Reading, north London and Hertfordshire.
- Every door was photographed, gaps were measured in millimetres at the head, both sides and the threshold, and each fault was recorded with a priority.
- Figures come from 10 itemised surveys (724 door inspections). Gap figures use only surveys with full perimeter readings (371 doors). Fault shares use the 6 surveys with door-by-door actions (448 doors).
- A re-inspection after repairs counts as a separate inspection in the "all visits" figure. The 72% figure uses first visits only.
- Repair-versus-replace figures come from 3 finished repair programmes (147 failed doors).
Use these figures
You are welcome to quote these figures. Please credit "DC Fire & Security fire door inspection data, 2025–26" and link to this page. For the inspection itself, see fire door inspections, the demo report, the gap tolerance guide and what to do when a door fails. Regions: Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley, East Midlands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of fire doors fail inspection?
What is the most common reason a fire door fails?
What gap is allowed around a fire door?
Can a failed fire door be repaired, or does it need replacing?
How was this data collected?
Can I quote these figures?
Send us your report or photos
Email your fire door inspection report or photos to info@dcsecurity.co.uk, or use the form. We usually come back with a fixed price the same day. Luton, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London.
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