The UK's first practical fire door training centre has officially opened in Bury.

The centre, located within Orbital 60, the site of the former Capita call centre on Dumers Lane, was opened by borough mayor Cllr Sandra Walmsley and council leader, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien.

The facility has created an initial 10 new jobs, with more in the pipeline. There is the potential for door inspection, maintenance and teaching roles on offer.

The 3,000sq/ft training academy has been launched by Fire Door Maintenance (FDM), a company owned by locks and hardware specialist, UAP.

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The site received a £750,000 investment and is also UAP's new headquarters.

The academy aims to raise the standards of fire door safety and will offer "hands on" training as well as classrooms for theory-based learning.

The training will also take into consideration the Hackitt report’s recommendations following the Grenfell Tower fire.

The inquiry into the tragedy revealed fire doors did not perform as expected.

Out of the 120 doors in the building, 106 had been replaced in 2011 and comprised different hardware from the tested door.

A number of GQA qualifications will be on offer including a fire door inspector course, followed by a course centred on fire door maintenance, and another focusing on fire door installation.

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After completion, participants will receive a GQA skills card proving their ability for when working on site.

FDM is led by former business consultant Nicola John, the firm's managing director, who has two decades of experience in the door manufacturing and construction industries.

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She said: “The training academy is the first to offer practical fire door training in the largest centre of its kind.

“The Hackitt report underlined the importance of the ‘golden thread’ and this is at the centre of our specialist training.

“Each course will underline how vital it is to source primary test evidence and the risk of changing or substituting components in a fire door.

“Providing access to fire doors and components from a range of manufacturers is a key element of the training.

“All fire doors are made slightly differently which means they need to be inspected differently too.

“Training participants will be able to learn the nuances of each product and how to identify and fix any issues.”

Cllr Walmsley added: “It’s an honour to open this impressive new facility, which is a vital development for all those involved in fire door safety.

“With extensive industry backing, FDM has created a unique teaching space providing accredited, hands-on training which could attract people from all over the UK.

“With the potential to significantly raise fire safety standards, we’re very proud to see the training academy here in Bury.”