Frame
Split jamb or displaced stop
Force at the lock side can split the jamb or push the stop out of line, opening gaps the seals no longer close. See frames and liners.
Guide
Fire Door Repairs After Forced Entry
When a fire door has been kicked, levered or forced, the visible damage may be only part of the picture. This guide sets out the order in which the permanent works are best approached — from recording what happened to closing out the repair — and where the line between repair and replacement can fall.
First: The Opening Has To Be Dealt With Safely
If the door cannot close, latch or be secured, that is an immediate building-management issue rather than a quotation. Follow the building's emergency and security arrangements and the responsible person's direction, and obtain appropriate immediate help. Do not drill, board over or alter the door yourself, and do not leave a fire-resisting opening compromised without the responsible person knowing.
Parsec Fire Doors does not provide emergency attendance or make-safe services. Our part begins once the opening is under control and the permanent repair or replacement needs scoping and pricing.
What To Record Before Anything Is Changed
A clear record helps the responsible person, any insurer and the contractor pricing the works. Only gather it where it is safe to do so and after any police or security requirements have been met.
- The door reference or location, and whether it is a flat entrance, escape-route or other fire door
- Photographs of both faces, the full frame, the lock edge and the head and threshold
- Close-ups of any splits, displaced stops, damaged keeps or loose hinges
- Whether the door still closes fully from open and latches without help
- Any label, plug or paperwork that identifies the doorset
- Any temporary measures put in place, and by whom
Areas Forced Entry Can Damage
Keep
Torn-out or distorted keep
The keep and the timber around it take the load. A new keep in damaged timber may not hold or align properly.
Leaf
Lock-case and edge damage
Damage around the lock case or a split along the leaf edge goes to the construction of the leaf, not just its finish.
Hardware
Lock, hinges and closer
Bent hinges, a strained closer or a damaged lock body affect self-closing and latching, even if the door looks intact.
Seals
Intumescent and smoke seals
Seals can be crushed, torn or pulled from their grooves when the leaf or frame moves.
Wall junction
Frame-to-wall fixing and gap
A frame pulled from its fixings may open the gap between frame and wall. That may require assessment and appropriate reinstatement or fire-stopping to the supported detail.
Repair, New Leaf Or Complete Doorset
The decision rests on where the damage is and what the door's construction and documentation support, not on the fact that it was forced. Localised damage to a stop or keep may be capable of repair. Damage that runs through the leaf edge or lock area may point to a new leaf, and a split or distorted frame may mean the whole doorset is the clearer option. Our guide to leaf or full doorset replacement covers that choice, and repair or replacement covers the wider decision. Older damage and site alterations not caused by the incident are covered in damage, holes and alterations.
Security Upgrades After An Incident
After a break-in there is understandable pressure to add locks or reinforcement. On a fire door, those changes have to be compatible with the doorset and with keyless escape where that applies, and agreed with the responsible person. Our fire door security and locking guide explains the trade-off. We price locking changes only where the door and its documentation support them.
Who Needs To Be Involved
- The responsible person or managing agent, who decides priority and access
- Security or estates staff, for temporary arrangements and keys
- The insurer or loss adjuster, if a claim is being made
- Residents or occupiers affected by access to the door
- A specialist inspection partner, if a formal inspection or report is required
Illustrative Example
Illustrative only, not a real job: a flat entrance door has been forced. The leaf closes, but the lock-side jamb is split above the keep and the smoke seal has pulled out. The record above lets the works be scoped as a frame-and-leaf question rather than a lock change, and the quotation sets out whether a new doorset is proposed and why.
Getting The Works Priced And Closed Out
Send your photographs, door references and any report or FRA action through our contact form. We assess the door on site to scope and price the repair or replacement and return a written quotation with the VAT basis stated. Where included in the quotation, you receive a door-referenced record of what was done; see records and close-out.
Related Pages
Pages that own the related damage, frame, locking and decision questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Forced Fire Door Needing Permanent Repair?
Once the opening is under control, send photographs and the door reference. We will scope the repair or replacement and return a written quotation.