Retail passive fire protection
Fire door surveys, repairs and installation plus fire stopping for shopping centres, supermarkets and retail parks, planned around trading hours.
BM TRADA Q-Mark certified
OneTrace digital records
Site survey and quote
Passive fire protection for retail
Retail buildings change constantly. Units are refitted, tenants come and go, and every fit-out drives new cables, ducts and pipes through walls that were built to hold back fire. Back-of-house corridors, service yards and plant rooms carry heavy traffic and take the knocks that leave fire doors out of tolerance. TECS works with centre managers, landlords, facilities teams and retailers across London, the South East, East Anglia and the East Midlands to keep those doors and compartment lines doing their job.
We plan around trading. Surveys run during quiet periods or overnight, remedial works are phased unit by unit, and escape routes are never blocked while a store is open. Every door and penetration is recorded in OneTrace, so the centre’s fire risk assessor and your insurer can see exactly what was found and what was fixed.
What the regulations require
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the Responsible Person for a retail premises must keep fire doors and compartmentation in efficient working order. In a multi-let centre that duty is shared: the landlord usually owns the malls, service corridors and shell walls, while each tenant is responsible for the doors and penetrations inside their demise. Our surveys make that split clear so remedial costs land with the right party. Read our guide to fire safety responsibilities for more detail.
Typical scope in a retail estate
Fire door surveys of service corridors, fire exits, plant rooms and tenant demise doors, with photographs and a pass or fail against BS 8214
Repairs to slammed and damaged doors: hinges, closers, seals, glazing and gaps
New FD30 and FD60 doorsets where doors are beyond economic repair
Compartmentation surveys above suspended ceilings and in service risers, where fit-out breaches hide
Fire stopping of cable trays, ductwork, pipe penetrations and linear gaps between units
Planned maintenance contracts across multi-site retail portfolios
How we work on trading sites
Our teams sign in with centre security, work behind barriers and keep fire exits usable at all times. Noisy or dusty work is scheduled out of hours, and we can split a centre into zones so the retailer, landlord and FM provider each receive their own itemised report and quote. Where a unit is between tenants we can survey and seal the shell so the incoming fit-out starts from a known baseline.
Services retail clients use most
Fire door inspections, fire door repairs, fire stopping, compartmentation surveys and planned maintenance.
Case study
At 35 King Street, Covent Garden we delivered fire stopping and compartmentation works in an occupied central London building, working around tenants and trading hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work while the store is trading?
Yes. Surveys and most door repairs are quiet enough to carry out during trading in back-of-house areas. Works on the shop floor, fire stopping above public areas and anything noisy or dusty are scheduled before opening or overnight.
Who pays for fire stopping breaches caused by a tenant’s fit-out?
Usually the tenant, under the repairing covenants in the lease. Our reports photograph and locate each breach, so the landlord can recharge the right party with evidence.
How often should retail fire doors be checked?
At least every six months for a busy centre, with monthly visual checks of fire exits by the on-site team. High-traffic service corridor doors often need checks more frequently.
Related reading: how building works can break fire compartmentation and compartmentation surveys: what to expect.
At a glance
