Enhancing Accessibility and Compliance: The Role of Freedor SmartSound and Freedor Pro in Modern Fire Safety

In the evolving landscape of public sector building management, ensuring fire safety while maintaining accessibility is a pressing challenge. Heavy fire doors, essential for containing fires, often hinder mobility, especially for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Fireco's innovative solutions, Freedor SmartSound and Freedor Pro, address this dilemma, offering enhanced safety without compromising accessibility.

Freedor SmartSound: Empowering Independent Living

Fireco’s focus is on making buildings safer and more accessible. This approach is demonstrated in the installation of Freedor SmartSound at the Avondale Square Estate, a sheltered housing facility managed by the City of London Corporation.

Prior to the installation, residents struggled daily with heavy, cumbersome fire doors. “The doors were very heavy,” recalls resident Diane Romaine. “Especially when people were going out with their laundry or coming back in with shopping, they found it extremely difficult.” After Freedor SmartSound was installed, Diane noticed an immediate difference: “I find it much lighter and easier. It’s made a great difference in my life and I’m much happier.”

Freedor SmartSound is an overhead door closer that enables doors to swing freely and stay open at any angle — closing automatically upon hearing a fire alarm. The technology is wireless and quick to install, making it an ideal retrofit solution for residential environments and care facilities.

Freedor Pro: A Robust Solution for Higher-Risk Areas

While Freedor SmartSound suits low-risk environments, Freedor Pro is the next step for facilities requiring greater control, compliance, and visibility. Connected to the ProHub system, Freedor Pro units receive a dedicated radio signal to close in the event of a fire, bypassing ambient noise limitations common in audio-activated devices.

This makes Freedor Pro ideal for use in corridors, stairwells, and larger, busier buildings such as hospitals, schools, and government offices. The system complies with BS 7273-4 Category A and is tested to EN1634 on FD30 fire doors, giving building managers confidence that safety protocols are not only met but exceeded.

The ProHub can also integrate with Site Manager, Fireco’s cloud-based remote monitoring platform, offering real-time updates on door status, battery levels, and signal strength across the site. It’s fire safety management made smarter.

Making Compliance Easier for Housing Providers

Fireco's solutions also shine in housing environments where accessibility is paramount. Housing 21, a national provider of retirement housing, installed Freedor SmartSound in several schemes to alleviate mobility issues. At Granville Court, Housing Manager Nicola Conway observed: “Due to their disabilities, residents could not open the door when it was closed.” The SmartSound devices enabled doors to remain open safely. Nicola praised the rollout: “Fireco has been very efficient and responsive. The staff were polite and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend them.”

These examples reinforce how Fireco products aren’t just meeting compliance — they’re changing lives.

A Complete Range of Intelligent Fire Safety Solutions

While Freedor leads the way in accessible door technology, Fireco’s wider product range supports the complete spectrum of fire safety and compliance needs. Their range includes:

• Dorgard SmartSound: A floor-mounted, wire-free door retainer for fire doors that must remain open until a fire alarm sounds.
• DMS (Digital Messaging Service): Sends emergency text messages or visual/audio alerts to people with hearing impairments — a vital solution for inclusive safety.
• ProHub & Site Manager: The central nervous system of Fireco’s radio-activated product family. Enables remote monitoring, central control, and seamless integration with existing alarm systems.
• Fire Door Services: Expert installation, inspection and maintenance support to ensure that fire doors across your estate meet current safety standards and perform as intended in an emergency.
   

These are trusted in schools, NHS trusts, care homes, universities, and civic buildings — any space where fire safety and freedom of movement must be delicately balanced.

Simplicity and Scalability

Fireco products are designed with simplicity in mind — wireless installation, low maintenance, and intuitive operation. Their modular systems scale effortlessly, from individual homes to large multi-storey estates.

Take a Smarter Approach to Fire Safety

In today’s world, compliance can no longer be treated as a box ticking exercise. It must be dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of everyone who lives, works, or visits a building. Whether you’re managing housing stock, healthcare facilities, education settings, or government offices, Fireco’s intelligent solutions offer peace of mind, streamlined compliance, and measurable improvements in user experience.

If your organisation is ready to modernise its approach to fire safety and access control, now is the time to talk to Fireco. Discover how Freedor SmartSound, Freedor Pro, and the wider product range can help you protect people, empower independence, and simplify compliance — all without the disruption of invasive installation.