Fire Safety and Access Control: Why Door Locks Must Release in a Fire
A secure door must never become a trapped exit. Here is how access control should work with your fire alarm and escape routes.
Access control keeps unauthorised people out, but in a fire the people inside must be able to get out quickly, without a key, a code or a working power supply. Getting that balance right is a design question, not an afterthought.
No single rule on lock types
There is no single UK law that dictates which type of electric lock must be used on every door. Instead, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Building Regulations and the guidance that supports them set out what a door must achieve. The key point is that doors on escape routes must be easy to open immediately by the people who need to use them.
Fail-safe and fail-secure
A fail-safe lock, such as a magnetic lock, needs power to stay locked, so it releases when the power is cut. A fail-secure lock stays locked without power, so it must always allow free mechanical escape from the inside. Which one suits a door depends on its role: a final exit on an escape route is very different from a store room or server room that is not part of the escape strategy.
Linking the system to the fire alarm
Guidance in Approved Document B allows electrically powered locking devices on escape routes, provided they release when the fire alarm activates, when power is lost, and when a break-glass override unit is operated, in line with BS 7273-4 and the building's fire strategy. In practice that means the access control system must be properly connected to the fire alarm panel and tested together with it.
Keep fire doors working
Fire doors rely on closing and latching properly. Locks, closers and card readers must never stop a fire door doing its job, and doors should not be wedged open. If you add new hardware, or the layout of the building changes, the access control arrangements need to be checked again.
How L.A.R. Group can help
We design and install access control that works alongside fire alarms and emergency lighting for businesses across Barnsley and South Yorkshire. Call 07778 563 429 or email info@lar-group.co.uk.
General information only. Every building has its own fire strategy, so take advice on your own premises. Last reviewed October 2026.
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