Regulations Clarified for Counter Height Fire Shutters

 

The quick headline

If a fire-resistant roller shutter is installed in a servery hatch configuration, the manufacturer must have specific test evidence for that exact application.

If they don’t, the shutter may be:

• Outside the field of application of the fire test evidence
• At risk of compromised integrity performance
• Unable to be legitimately conformity marked for that use
• Supported by no valid test evidence for the way it’s actually installed

In plain English: it might look like a compliant fire shutter, but on paper (and in a fire test scenario) it may not be.

Why this matters (beyond paperwork)

Nobody wants to find out after a project is signed off (or worse, after an incident) that the fire shutter installed wasn’t actually tested for the configuration it’s being used in.

Fire compliance isn’t a “close enough” situation. It’s a “prove it” situation.

What Building Control is asking for

Building Control Representatives are increasingly requesting “direct test evidence” before approving projects.

It’s also worth noting that the Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is aware of the wider situation in the market.

Where HVP stands: tested, evidenced, and properly documented

Our fire shutter range is supported by direct fire test evidence:

Warringtonfire Test Report No. 552862

And because real projects don’t always behave nicely, we’ve also put the right paperwork in place for controlled variations.

If your project deviates from the tested specification

We have a Technical Assessment Report that provides flexibility for alternative countertop configurations:

Technical Assessment Report No. FPA107941r1

This includes:

• Countertop height variations (increased or decreased)
• Countertop material types classified as A1 (non-combustible) in accordance with EN 13501-1

Additional scope for modifications that would typically fall outside an Extended Application Report

Reference framework: BS EN 15269-10:2011

Servery hatch fire shutters are permitted (and this supports CE scope)

Are fire shutters also have:

Extended Application Report No. EUI-25-000555

This report clearly states that servery hatch fire shutters are permitted, and it forms the basis of product scope for CE Certification.

A polite but important warning about “alternative suppliers”

If a supplier cannot provide sufficient evidence of compliance for a servery hatch fire shutter application, then the product supplied would be considered non-compliant.

And if a supplier has previously installed servery hatch fire shutters without appropriate test evidence for that configuration, it’s worth asking questions—because it may expose the responsible parties to unnecessary risk.

What you should do next (simple checklist)

If you’re specifying or installing a fire shutter into a servery hatch application, ask for:

• Direct test evidence for the servery hatch configuration
• The relevant field of application confirmation
• Any technical assessment supporting permitted variations
• The extended application documentation where applicable

If the response is vague, missing, or “it’ll be fine”… it probably won’t be.

Need help? We’re here

If you’d like to sanity-check a specification, confirm compliance, or discuss a project detail, just reach out.

We’re always happy to provide technical support—because when it comes to fire protection, we’d rather be boring and correct than exciting and wrong.

Thank you for your continued support and business—it’s genuinely appreciated.