Greater London · Fire damper testing
Fire and smoke damper testing in Plashet
Fire damper testing for Plashet, with a survey first and a report with photos at the end. Call for a fixed quote.
- Buildings with no damper register
- Dampers clogged with dust or grease
- Dampers hidden with no access panel or hatch
When to call us in Plashet
Over time, dust builds up on the blade, the runners and the spring. Where the duct carries grease or cooking vapour, grease coats them too, and either can stop the blade dropping fully.
Any of these means the system needs a check-up:
- Dirty dampers that may not close
- Smoke dampers that need testing through their controls
- Fire dampers nobody can get to
- Corroded dampers in damp risers and plant rooms
Valentines Mansion, about 2.2 miles north, is one of the historic houses near Plashet, and older buildings converted to new uses often have ventilation added later.
What your quote should include
- Whether they’re fully insured
- How they set the interval to the next visit
- Whether inaccessible sections are listed on the report
- What paperwork you get at the end
How we handle fire damper testing in Plashet
Each damper we test gets a location, a result and a note of its condition. Dampers that pass are reset and left open, ready to operate, while failures are flagged with what we found. You end up with a clear record to keep with your fire safety documents. The work covers wall and floor dampers, motorised smoke dampers and offices and schools, and the jobs we see most are smoke dampers that need testing through their controls and fire dampers with no recent test record.
Across London, buildings with ducted ventilation have a fire damper wherever a duct crosses a fire-resisting wall or floor. A taller building in Plashet can have dampers spread across risers, plant rooms and ceiling voids.
Duct Doctor has been trading since 2009, and we’re a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease. We also hold CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and we carry full insurance.
- Place
- Plashet (E6, E12, E7)
- Region
- Greater London
- Reporting
- Written report with pictures
- Quote
- Fixed quote, normally within a working day
- Working hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
In-house cleaning and specialist cleaning do different jobs. Wiping filters daily and washing them weekly keeps the visible parts in order, but grease that has passed the filters is out of reach. Reaching it takes a specialist with the right equipment.
A few tasks are always specialist work: opening up ductwork, cleaning fans, drop testing fire dampers and measuring grease need training, the right equipment and safe access. That’s our job.
Also near Plashet
What else we do in Plashet
Plashet: your questions answered
Can you test school fire dampers in Plashet out of term?
Yes, and it’s the easiest time to do it. With about 55 schools and colleges on the FSA’s register within roughly a mile and a half of Plashet, it pays to plan holiday dates ahead. Send us your term dates when you ring 0345 646 2711, or send details by email, and we will fit the work in.
How do you handle parking and loading in Plashet?
We plan it in advance, so let us know about loading bays, permits and access rules at the building. If the building has a loading slot system, we will book into it.
What paperwork do we get after testing?
You get a test report recording every damper we tested, with its location, its result and any faults. It belongs in your fire safety log.
How much time does a damper test visit need?
Testing takes a morning or an afternoon for a small number of dampers, longer where there are many. Large buildings can be split over several visits, so call us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos for a quote.
Is TR19 cleaning required by law?
No. TR19® itself isn’t law; it’s a BESA specification. The law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which makes the responsible person assess and reduce fire risk, and cleaning to TR19® is the recognised way to show grease is under control.
Can testing be done without disrupting the building?
Yes. Evenings, nights and weekends are all possible, so offices, shops and schools can carry on as normal. We plan the visit around when the building is quietest.
How often should fire dampers be tested?
The guidance from BESA is at least annually, by a competent person. Dampers should also be tested when they’re first installed.
Whose job is it to make sure fire dampers are tested?
It’s the responsible person, under the Fire Safety Order 2005. Annual testing by a competent person, with written records, is a practical way to show the duty is being met.
Plashet buildings and fire safety
Food Standards Agency records list about 55 schools, colleges and universities, about 59 care, childcare and hospital premises and about 15 hotels and guest houses registered as food businesses within 1.5 miles or so of the middle of Plashet. Many buildings of this kind have ductwork through fire-resisting walls and floors, and the dampers at those points need testing at least annually. The nearest hospital to Plashet is Newham University Hospital, about 1.5 miles south. Smaller healthcare sites, from surgeries to care homes, need the same annual damper test as a hospital. London buildings tend to have dampers on several floors, so testing is typically done out of hours, a zone at a time.
The nearest hospital, Newham University Hospital, is about 1.5 miles south; healthcare buildings like it are a reminder that dampers protect people who can’t move quickly. If you manage a school site such as Plashet School, any fire dampers can be tested in the holidays.
Plashet is about 2 miles north-east of Plaistow, in Greater London. We carry out fire damper testing for commercial premises of every kind in Plashet and the rest of Greater London. 764 places in Greater London are on our list, large and small. London is in our area too, about 7 miles from Plashet.
All of E6, E12 and E7 is covered for fire damper testing, from busy streets to back roads. Local streets include Fry Road, Edith Road and Hilda Road, all of which we cover for fire damper testing. We also cover the places around Plashet: Manor Park (1 mile north-east), Little Ilford (1 mile north-east), Upton Park (1 mile south-west), Upton (1 mile west) and Wallend (1 mile south-east). Within a short drive, we also cover London (7 miles south-west), City of Westminster (9 miles west), Marylebone (9 miles west), Kensington (11 miles west), St Pancras (7 miles west) and Shoreditch (6 miles west).
Around Plashet
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around Monega Primary School, The Overdraft Tavern and West Ham Park and the streets around them. The closest station to Plashet is Woodgrange Park station, roughly 0.5 miles north. A little further out are Newham University Hospital (1.5 miles south) and Stratford Centre (2.1 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Old Ford Island and Hollow Pond.
Why act early in Plashet
Faults found early are often simpler to put right. Years of corrosion and dirt can mean the whole damper needs replacing instead. It’s better booked as a planned job in Plashet than handled as an emergency.
Whatever the type of site, the quote works the same way: how much there is, how we reach it, what state it’s in and when we can work. Ask for a fixed quote and we will go through it with you.
Why us?
- Survey first, then a fixed quote
- Every visit written up, with photos
- A fixed price before any work starts
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
See how cleaning jobs are priced and how to check a contractor.
How the job changes from site to site
Smoke dampers
Because they’re linked to controls, smoke damper tests can need some coordination. We plan that with you before the visit.
Ceiling voids and risers
Ceiling voids are where lots of dampers end up. Ceiling tiles are lifted for access and replaced afterwards.
How it works
Your staff do not need to do much on the day. A contact on site lets us in at the agreed time and points us to the system, and we take it from there. Afterwards, the area is left tidy and the written report follows. Security desks and permits-to-work are routine in London, so let us know what your building in Plashet needs from us.
- First we look at any damper register, drawings or earlier test reports.
- Dampers are located one by one and reached through their access panels.
- We release each fire damper blade and operate smoke dampers from their controls.
- We reset every damper that passes and check it’s left open.
- We report on every damper, with faults and suggested remedials set out.
How to prepare
- Clear loose items from the work area
- Name a contact who can let us in at the agreed time
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
Ask for a quote
Want a quote for fire damper testing? Please phone us on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line with a few details about the site. We’ll explain what we’d do and send a fixed quote before you commit to anything.
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When something else is needed
We will not sell you work that does not address the problem, so these are the things it won’t cover:
- Holes around ductwork in fire-resisting walls
- Fire risk assessments, which need a fire risk assessor
- Faults in the alarm or building controls that signal smoke dampers
If you are not sure, just ring 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Where we work
- Hospitals and care homes
- Offices and schools
- Wall and floor dampers
- Motorised smoke dampers
- Riser dampers
- Fusible link fire dampers
What affects the cost of fire damper testing
We quote each job individually. These are the things that affect it:
- Whether we need access equipment or extra panels
- The number of sites or systems
- Where the site is and how we reach it
- Any permits to work or inductions
What you pay reflects the actual work. That’s why every job is surveyed first, and why the quote is fixed before we start.
Asking for a quote
To help us quote quickly, please include:
- Detail shots of panels, filters and grilles
- Photos showing the whole system and its surroundings
- Any previous report or certificate
- Anything you’ve noticed, such as smells, noise, drips or poor airflow
Here’s what helps us quote: where the site is, what it is and its opening hours, pictures of the system and any previous report or certificate. Once you have those, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or email us.