Yes, and the test is simple enough to state in one sentence: the door has to close itself when the fire alarm sounds. Every legitimate method of holding a fire door open satisfies that condition, and every illegitimate one fails it.

That single test resolves most arguments. A wedge fails it. So does a hook and eye. So does a fire extinguisher placed against the leaf. An electromagnetic hold-open device wired into the alarm passes. In this guide we will explain where the legal duty comes from, and the devices that qualify. We cover how each one works and what maintenance they need. We also look at what enforcing authorities do when they find a door wedged open.

Why the Question Comes Up Constantly

People hold fire doors open for reasons that are entirely reasonable.

A care home needs sightlines along a corridor. Schools move a hundred children between lessons without wanting a hundred door operations. Warehouses run pallet trucks through an opening forty times a shift. In a block of flats, a corridor gets uncomfortably warm in July. And a resident with limited strength finds a heavy closer genuinely difficult.

None of these are unreasonable needs, and treating them as misbehaviour is why so many buildings end up with wedges. The problem is the method, not the motive. Where a building needs a door open, the answer is a device that holds it open and releases it on alarm, not a prohibition nobody can live with.

Where the Duty Comes From

No single line of statute says “do not wedge fire doors.” The duty assembles from three places.

Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers maintenance. The responsible person must keep fire safety measures, fire doors included, under a suitable system of maintenance. They must stay in efficient working order and good repair. A door held open by a wedge is not in efficient working order, because the measure the building relies on is not functioning.

Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 goes further in blocks of flats with common parts. It requires the responsible person to tell residents to keep fire doors shut when not in use, to leave self-closing devices alone, and to report faults or damage immediately. New residents need that information as soon as reasonably practicable, and everyone needs reminding at least every twelve months. The duty applies to every block with common parts regardless of height.

The building’s fire risk assessment ties it together by identifying which doors protect escape routes and compartment lines, and therefore which doors must close.

Tampering gets singled out in the 2022 Regulations specifically, which tells you how common it is. Removing, disabling or defeating a self-closing device remains one of the most frequently recorded fire door defects anywhere in the UK building stock.

The Devices That Qualify

Three types, all satisfying the same test.

Electromagnetic hold-open devices

An electromagnet, wired into the building’s fire alarm system, holds the door against a plate on the wall or holds the closer arm. When the alarm activates, or when the power fails, the magnet releases and the closer shuts the door.

These are covered by BS EN 1155, the standard for electrically powered hold-open devices for swing doors, rather than by BS EN 1154 which covers closers themselves. The fail-safe behaviour on power loss is the important characteristic. A device that only releases on an alarm signal would leave the door open during a power cut. That is precisely when you least want it open.

Electromagnetic devices suit doors that stand open most of the time in buildings with an addressable alarm system. They need wiring, which makes them straightforward on new work and more involved as a retrofit.

Free swing closers

A free swing closer lets the door move as though it had no closer fitted at all. People push it open, it stays where they leave it, and it behaves like an ordinary door. On alarm activation or power loss, it reverts to conventional closing action and shuts the door.

The advantage over a hold-open magnet is that the door does not need to be fully open to be useful. Residents can leave it at any position, including closed. Free swing closers solve accessibility problems particularly well. They remove the closing force during normal use entirely. That matters on doors where Approved Document M considerations and fire safety pull in opposite directions.

These suit flat entrance doors and residential corridors, and anywhere a conventional closer is the reason somebody would otherwise defeat the door.

Acoustic door retainers

An acoustic retainer fits to the door, usually at the bottom edge, and holds it open mechanically. It contains a microphone listening for the sound of the fire alarm, and it releases the door when it hears one.

The appeal is that it needs no wiring, which makes it the practical choice for retrofit in buildings where running cable to every door is unrealistic. The trade-offs are real, though. Such a device depends on hearing the alarm clearly from its position, so it needs commissioning against the actual alarm sound level at that door rather than assumed. Most units run on batteries, which makes battery management part of your maintenance regime. And background noise in genuinely loud environments can complicate reliability.

Used properly and maintained properly, acoustic retainers are a legitimate solution. Fitted and forgotten, they are a wedge with a battery in it.

What Never Qualifies

Anything that requires a person to act.

Wedges, of every material and ingenuity. Hooks and eyes. Chains. Cabin hooks. Rope. Fire extinguishers propped against the leaf. Chairs, bins, boxes and furniture. Tape over the latch. A closer disconnected at the arm. A closer removed entirely. Holding the door with a doorstop screwed to the floor.

The reasoning behind each of these is usually sound and the consequence is not proportionate to it. A single door wedged open on a stairwell can render the only escape route unusable within minutes. Smoke travels upward through a building considerably faster than fire spreads.

The specific case worth naming is the flat entrance door. A fire starts in a flat and the occupants leave, as people naturally do. A door held open by a wedge vents the fire directly into the communal stairway. The building’s stay put strategy, which depends on the fire remaining inside the flat, stops holding. Everyone elsewhere in the building was told to stay in their homes on the basis of an assumption that the wedge has just invalidated.

Maintenance, Testing and Records

A hold-open device is a fire safety measure, so Article 17 applies to it exactly as it applies to the door.

Test that every device actually releases and the door closes fully and latches when the alarm operates. Weekly alarm testing is the natural opportunity, and somebody should be watching the doors rather than only listening to the sounder. Check batteries in acoustic retainers on a defined schedule. Confirm that the closer behind a hold-open device still shuts the door properly once released. A failed closer behind a working magnet produces a door that releases and then stands open anyway.

Record all of it. An inspector will ask to see that the devices release as intended, and a test you cannot evidence counts for little.

We assess hold-open devices and closers as part of inspection programmes.

That includes the fire door surveys we carried out for South Western Railway. Doors across operational buildings see heavy traffic, and the temptation to prop them open is constant.

What Happens If an Inspector Finds a Wedge

Enforcing authorities treat wedged fire doors as a serious finding, and they pursue the responsible person rather than whoever placed the wedge.

Expect the finding to appear on an inspection report with a requirement to address it. Depending on the building and the risk, an enforcing authority can issue an enforcement notice, and in serious cases a prohibition notice restricting use of part of a building. Where a wedged door forms part of a wider pattern of neglected fire safety measures, prosecution follows.

The practical defence is not an argument about whether anyone was harmed. It is evidence that you provided a proper solution, told people about it, and maintained it. That means the right device on doors that need to stay open, and resident and staff information under Regulation 10. It also means a documented testing regime, and a record of action taken when somebody defeated a door anyway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to wedge a fire door open?

Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to keep fire safety measures in efficient working order. Wedging defeats one. In blocks of flats, the 2022 Regulations also require residents to leave self-closing devices alone. It can lead to enforcement action against the responsible person.

What is the correct way to hold a fire door open?

Use a device that releases the door automatically on fire alarm activation: an electromagnetic hold-open device under BS EN 1155, a free swing closer, or an acoustic door retainer. All three close the door without anyone needing to act.

Do acoustic door retainers comply with regulations?

Yes, when correctly specified, commissioned against the actual alarm sound level at that door, and maintained including battery replacement. They are a legitimate retrofit solution rather than a shortcut.

Can a fire door be held open during building work?

Only with an approved device, or a documented temporary arrangement agreed as part of the fire safety measures for the works. That includes someone appointed to close the door on alarm. Propping it open with a wedge for the duration of a contract is not an arrangement.

Who is responsible if a resident wedges a fire door?

The responsible person retains the duty. That is why Regulation 10 requires you to tell residents to keep fire doors shut and leave closers alone. Record that you did so, along with any action taken when somebody ignores it.

Need Hold-Open Devices Specified or Assessed?

At CFP Carpentry & Fire Prevention, we specify and install hold-open devices and free swing closers. We assess existing ones during fire door surveys, and carry out the remedial works that follow. Where doors are being propped open, we usually find the closer specification is the root cause. We work for freeholders, managing agents, housing associations, residents’ management companies and commercial building owners.

Get in touch today to discuss hold-open devices for your building.