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Electric door release fire door

Updated: October 2026

A fail-secure strike looks like a way to stop a stair door being used at night. An electric door release fire door decision is the opposite of that basket. On an escape door covered by the English guidance, the electric lock has to unlock when power is lost, and a listing with no fire-test report is not the hardware for a fire doorset. Prices stay on the [electric door release comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/electric-door-release). This page does not rank them. Peter F. used public UK guidance on 19 October 2026. This is not a fire-risk assessment. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A fail-secure strike looks like a way to stop a stair door being used at night. An electric door release fire door decision is the opposite of that basket.

Our top picks

effeff effeff 118E door opener

Best overall

effeff effeff 118E door opener
7.0/10about £24.41
View offer
AOWINHIT AOWINHIT adjustable electric strike

Rank 2

AOWINHIT AOWINHIT adjustable electric strike
4.6/10about £28.49
View offer
AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail secure 12 V

Rank 3

AMALOCKS SecureMyDoor fail secure 12 V
8.4/10about £32.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Escape doors in England
  2. 2.Fire resistance is a second test
  3. 3.The interface, not the coil
  4. 4.Other parts of the UK

Escape doors in England

Where Approved Document B Volume 1 applies to escape routes in England, an electric lock unlocks when the alarm operates, when power fails, and from a manual release at the door. A fail-secure strike that stays locked in a power cut fails the power-loss case. The two modes are on fail safe vs fail secure door release. Those paragraphs do not apply to flat entrance doors. That is not permission to cut a certified flat door. The Fire Safety Order 2005 puts duties on the responsible person for common parts in England and Wales. The top pick, the stay-locked 12 V unit, is a side-door product here.

Fire resistance is a second test

A door can unlock in a power cut and still be the wrong doorset if you have cut a tested leaf and frame. None of the six listings shows EN 1634 or BS EN 14846. The AOWINHIT line mentions fireproof exit doors and shows no certificate. The same absence applies to the about £32.97 top pick and the about £24.41 best value. Review count is not a furnace test. Side-door checks belong in the electric door release buying guide.
effeff effeff 118E door opener

Testsieger

effeff effeff 118E door opener
7.0/10about £24.41
View offer

The interface, not the coil

BS 7273-4:2015+A2:2023 is the code for how release mechanisms are actuated in a fire. It is not a product standard that a coil passes by being 12 V. The manual release in the English guidance is a Type A call point, the green override on the escape side. It is not the red call point that raises the alarm. A fail-secure strike with no interface, and no evidence the doorset was tested with that keep, stops here. The same stop is on how to fit an electric door release.

Other parts of the UK

Scotland’s guidance for premises with sleeping accommodation also asks for unlock on the fire warning, on loss of power, and on a manual release, and it limits the only escape where more than 60 people are involved. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service’s February 2025 note says acoustic release is not acceptable for electronically secured escape doors where the public are present. In all three parts of the UK, these listings still show no fire-test report.

Common questions

Can a fail-secure strike go on a stair door?
Not as the lock that must satisfy the English escape-door paragraphs. Those paragraphs expect the electric lock to unlock when power is lost. A fail-secure strike stays locked in a power cut. That can be the right behaviour on a stockroom with another way out. It is the wrong behaviour on a stair people have to leave. The versus page defines the two modes. This page is the reason the stair is not settled there.
What should an electric lock do when the fire alarm sounds?
Where Approved Document B’s escape-door paragraphs apply in England, it should unlock. It should also unlock on power loss or system error, and from a manual release at the door. The alarm case alone is not enough if a blown transformer leaves the door locked. Scotland’s sleeping-accommodation guidance asks for the same three kinds of release, with extra limits on the only escape and on fire-fighting shafts.
Does Approved Document B apply to a flat entrance door?
The escape-door paragraphs cited from Volume 1 do not apply to flat entrance doors. That is an exclusion of those paragraphs, not a statement that the door is unregulated. A flat entrance may still be a certified fire doorset. Cutting it for a larger strike is a question about that certificate. Common parts of a block sit under the Fire Safety Order 2005 and the responsible person, which is a separate duty from the flat door itself.
Does suitable for fireproof doors on a listing mean it is tested?
No. The AOWINHIT listing uses a fireproof-door phrase and shows no fire-test report in the fields used here. None of the other five listings shows EN 1634, BS EN 14846, or a matching certificate either. A recommended-use line is not a test report. Do not mortice any of these bodies into a rated frame on the strength of that sentence.
Is BS 7273-4 a product standard for the strike?
No. It is the code of practice for how release mechanisms are actuated when there is a fire. It covers the interface: alarm, power loss, and manual override. A 12 V coil does not meet BS 7273-4 because the voltage is printed. The arrangement around the door is what the standard is about, and these listings do not document that arrangement.

Related pages

Best electric door release

Electric door release

Electric door release buying guide: four checks first

Fail safe vs fail secure door release on a power cut

How to fit an electric door release in a timber frame

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Listing prices and review counts were read on 19 October 2026. The CDVI GAER page is an example for a different product, not a current figure for these six listings.

  1. Approved Document B Volume 1 (England, dwellings) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. BSI BS 7273-4:2015+A2:2023 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. NIFRS door release note (2025) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. CDVI: fail-safe and fail-secure (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. CDVI: guide to electronic locking (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Links Integrated Systems: electronic locking for fire doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. CDVI GAER-12CC (example current, not an ASIN in this set) (retrieved 19 October 2026)