AdashE Hospitals - Do you have a fire & smoke damper problem? If so, what should you do about it?
Hospitals - Do you have a fire & smoke damper problem? If so, what should you do about it?
By Paul Bryant on August 19, 2026
Yes. Fire and smoke dampers are a recognised compliance and life-safety issue in many hospitals due to their age, accessibility challenges, alterations, poor maintenance records, and the complexity of healthcare ventilation systems. HTM 05-02 identifies compartmentation and smoke control as critical elements of fire safety design in healthcare premises, while HTM 05-03 requires fire safety systems to be maintained in an effective condition.
If you discover a fire and smoke damper problem in a hospital, you should:
1. Assess the risk immediately: Determine:
- Which compartments are affected.
- Whether the damper is fire, smoke, or combination fire/smoke.
- Whether it serves critical care, theatres, ICU, imaging suites, or escape routes.
- The consequences if the damper fails to close during a fire.
- The priority should be understanding the impact on the hospital's progressive horizontal evacuation strategy and compartmentation.
2. Verify the extent of the problem: Carry out:
- Asset verification.
- Physical inspection.
- Functional testing.
- Cause-and-effect verification with the fire alarm system.
- Review of maintenance and commissioning records.
Many hospitals discover that the documented damper schedule does not match the installed arrangement.
The controls should remain in place until permanent remediation is completed.
4. Categorise and prioritise defects: Typical priorities:
High Priority
- Missing damper.
- Damper permanently fixed open.
- Damper unable to close.
- Damper installed outside compartment line.
- Failed actuator on smoke-control systems.
Medium Priority
- Access issues preventing testing.
- Damaged identification.
- Missing maintenance information.
Lower Priority
- Documentation discrepancies where functionality remains verified.
5. Develop an improvement programme: Create:
A complete damper register.
Unique asset numbering.
Damper locations and drawings.
Inspection frequencies.
Testing procedures.
Replacement strategy for obsolete units.
6. Review future testing arrangement: Current best practice is:
- Routine inspection and testing by competent specialists.
- Verification after alterations or refurbishment.
- Integration of damper testing with fire alarm cause-and-effect testing where applicable.
- Maintenance records retained within the fire safety management system.
As a Fire Engineer: If a hospital has a widespread damper issue, I would normally recommend:
- Undertake a 100% damper survey.
- Risk-rank defects by compartment criticality.
- Prepare an intrusive inspection programme.
- Implement interim management controls.
- Establish a phased remediation plan.
- Retest and certify all repaired dampers.
- Update fire strategy drawings and asset registers.
In healthcare premises, a failed fire damper is not just a maintenance defect. It can compromise the compartmentation strategy that patients rely on for progressive horizontal evacuation, making remediation a significant fire safety priority.
