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Which fire door sign should I use?

The most common design of fire door sign is a 76mm diameter disc with a blue background and white contrasting text. There are several versions to be used in different situations:

Fire Door Keep Shut

This is the most commonly used fire door sign. It should be fitted on fire doors that are self closing and used for the passage of people. One should be mounted on each side of each door leaf. A fire door should never be held open in any way because if it’s open it can’t perform its function of preventing the spread of fire. 

Fire Door Keep Locked

This sign is fitted on doors that aren’t frequently being operated and aren’t used for passage of people. Typical door types are riser doors and small store cupboards. The door must have a lock (obviously!) but doesn’t need a door closer as you are relying on the lock to keep the door held shut in a fire scenario. This sign is usually fitted just to the ‘user’ side of each door leaf.

Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear

Sometimes in corridors it’s desirable to have fire doors in a held open position during normal use. The way to achieve this is with a door closer that is linked to the building’s fire alarm so that when the alarm sounds, the door automatically closes. This sign alerts people that the door could suddenly close, hence keep clear! It should be fitted on both sides of each door leaf. Another situation where these are used is with free swing door closers (commonly found on bedroom doors in care homes). These closers allow the door to be operated as if there’s no closer attached, but again they will revert to standard door closer mode in the event of a fire.

As a general guidance, Fire Door signs are usually fitted at around 1.5M above floor level so that they can clearly be seen.

Please do get in touch if we can help you further with fire regulations. We are trade only suppliers to commercial and refurbishment contractors, fire door manufacturers and installers, facilities management and maintenance companies.

Review of this page due March 2023. Please note that advice given is advisory only and to the best of our knowledge at time of writing. We cannot be held responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of actions taken based on this article.

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