Asbestos Fire Doors
Suspect an asbestos fire door? Treat the material question separately from the fire-door question.
Overview
Older fire doors can contain asbestos-containing material. The safe path is to identify the risk, control the work, and then deal with the fire-door replacement or rectification as a separate technical scope. Do not drill, cut or sample a suspect door simply to find out what is inside it.
How FRS approaches it
We identify the door and gather the available age, tag, manufacturer and building information. Suspect material is treated as an asbestos risk until the material status is resolved through the appropriate process. Any removal is planned under the licensing and notification requirements that apply to that material and quantity, and carried out under our own Class A and Class B licences. The fire-door assembly is then replaced or reinstated to the project requirement, with records for both the asbestos work and the new doorset.
WA licensing, in plain terms
Western Australia has three relevant licences. A Class A removal licence covers friable asbestos, and asbestos-contaminated dust or debris beyond minor contamination; a Class A holder can also remove non-friable material. A Class B licence covers non-friable asbestos only. A Licensed Asbestos Assessor is a separate role, required on Class A work to carry out air monitoring, the clearance inspection and the clearance certificate.
The threshold most people ask about: a Class B licence is required to remove more than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos, or the dust associated with that removal. Below that figure other duties still apply, but licensed removal is not the trigger. That threshold applies to non-friable material. It is not the test for a fire door: the asbestos in a fire door core is usually asbestos insulating board, which is friable, and friable material is Class A work at any quantity. Identify the material first, then the licence class follows from it.
Supervision differs between the two. Class A work requires the nominated supervisor on site at all times. Class B requires the supervisor to be readily available. That difference is worth knowing when you are comparing quotes.
What to send us
- Photographs of the door taken without disturbing it
- Tag and frame photographs
- Building age if known
- The existing asbestos register or survey
- Any defect report
- Door schedule or drawings
- Any proposed hardware or access-control changes
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Can you tell from a photo whether the door contains asbestos?
- No. Nobody can. Age, construction and records can raise suspicion, but material status is resolved by the appropriate assessment process, not by looking.
- We only have two suspect doors. Do we need a licensed removalist?
- Possibly not, depending on the material and the quantity — the Class B licensing trigger is more than 10 square metres of non-friable material. The identification step comes first either way.
- Can we just leave the door alone?
- Often yes. Undisturbed, in good condition, asbestos-containing material is generally managed in place rather than removed. The decision changes the moment the door needs repair, modification or replacement.
- Who issues the clearance certificate?
- For Class A work, an independent Licensed Asbestos Assessor. That is a separate appointment from the removalist.
Drawings, photos or a defect report in front of you?
Send what you already have. We will tell you what else is needed before the work can be reviewed, priced or booked for site inspection.