The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has launched a training programme for fire damper inspection and maintenance as part of an ongoing campaign to improve fire safety standards in all UK buildings
The new course, ‘BESA DW145 Fire Damper Inspection and Maintenance’, is mapped to the industry’s primary guide to good practice, DW145*, and the sector’s National Occupational Standard, BSEFSD04.
It is accredited by the specialist awarding body EAL and delivered by the BESA Academy in partnership with its training partners across the UK.
Training gains access to project sites
The hybrid training programme includes three days of practical work and assessments in a BESA-approved training centre, as well as online learning and an on-site portfolio build.
Anyone who completes the training successfully will qualify to apply for the appropriate SKILLcard, allowing them access to project sites.
Incorrectly installed fire dampers prove the need for upskilling
BESA updated DW145 in 2024 following a surge in reports that annual maintenance inspections were uncovering a significant number of incorrectly installed dampers that did not comply with manufacturers’ instructions.
Furthermore, many were damaged, had never been tested, or were inaccessible.
Therefore, the new training course focuses heavily on the role of dampers in meeting legal life safety requirements, ensuring systems comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for England and Wales, the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.
Increasing competency in fire safety across the built environment
All testing must be carried out by a competent person as defined by DW145, with tests and maintenance works supported by accurate and verifiable records and a full asset register logged showing the condition and location of each damper.
The training takes operatives through the whole process of an inspection, from checking and recording the physical condition of the damper, including any damage to blades or the frame, to the state of the actuators and penetration seals.
It includes the process of functional testing and resetting dampers, as well as interfacing with fire alarms and building control systems, demonstrating that dampers often do not operate in isolation but as part of a wider fire control system.
“When inspecting and testing fire dampers, you’re essentially verifying that they will operate correctly in a real fire scenario and maintain compartmentation,” explained BESA technical director Kevin Morrissey.
“Will they contain the spread of smoke and/or fire at the critical moment, helping to keep people and property safe?”
The industry’s wider focus on fire safety
The fire damper training also reflects the increased focus on wider industry competence and compliance across the sector.
It forms part of BESA’s wider response to the heightened attention on building safety following the Grenfell Tower disaster and is designed to support those responsible for demonstrating that fire safety systems are compliant, functional, and properly documented.
Morrissey concluded: “Unsurprisingly, UK fire authorities are taking an in-depth interest in this aspect of building safety and many clients, although not all, are now more aware of their legal and social obligations.
“This, in turn, places greater pressure on damper and ductwork contractors to provide evidence of their own competence and ability to comply with legislation – hence the need for this kind of specific, targeted training.”
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