Case study

G4S - Fire Dampers

Overview

Client Name: G4S Facilities Management (UK) Ltd - LiftCo

Project Duration: 9 months (5 months surveys, 4 months remedial works)

Project Value: £250,000

G4S Liftco is the incumbent FM provider, managing 17no. community health care sites across London. As part of fire safety compliance, Hollmark were contracted to undertake fire damper inspections across the sites and complete the necessary remedial work.

Over these sites, 1300 dampers were inspected. The surveys identified a range of compliance issues requiring remediation to ensure the dampers met current fire safety standards and operated as intended in the event of a fire.

Remedial works had to be completed within a suitable timeframe, ready for the annual inspection the following year.

Onsite challenges

Due to the operational nature of the healthcare environment, access to work areas presented a key challenge. Meticulous planning was required to ensure operatives could carry out work without disrupting clinical activities or patient services.

As the sites were public and fully operational, works had to be delivered to a strictly managed schedule to minimise disruption. This required close coordination with site management and clinical teams at each location.

Operatives were required to be highly adaptable and flexible, responding to the changing demands of live healthcare settings.

Schedules were regularly adjusted where clinic rooms overran or operational priorities shifted, ensuring continuity of care was always maintained while works progressed safely and efficiently.

Importance of fire dampers

Fire dampers are a critical life-safety component, designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke through ventilation systems by maintaining fire compartmentation. In healthcare environments, where evacuation can be complex, correctly installed and maintained fire dampers are essential to protecting occupants, ensuring compliance, and supporting safe building operation.