Fire-Resisting Doors – what you need to Know

Fire-resisting doors must be effective – by their mere existence they must be of a necessary standard to ensure that the occupants of a building or space can evacuate to safety. They are required in any doorway within a fire-resisting structure.

An effective fire-resistant door (see Figure 63 below) that has been correctly specified and well-fitted will hold back fire and smoke, prevent the fire from spreading and allow the occupants the necessary time to evacuate to safety.

As well as its resistance to fire, it must also offer resistance to the fumes of hot gases and flames.

Normal timber doors will offer limited protection – only a door which has been tested and approved to a pre-determined standard will provide the necessary protection.

All fire-resisting doors are rated – the level of protection that it offers is measured by determining the length of time it takes for a fire to breach the integrity of the door assembly – this is known as the ‘E’ rating.

The principal fire-resisting door categories are;

• E20 – This indicates that the door provides 20 minutes of fire resistance or equivalent FD 20S
• E30 – This indicates that the door provides 30 minutes of fire resistance or equivalent FD 30S
• E60 – This indicates that the door provides 60 minutes of fire resistance or equivalent FD 60S

Smoke Seals – Doors fitted with smoke seals have their classification code suffixed with an ‘S’ – timber fire-resisting doors which provide protection for up to 120 minutes are available although often not required.

A smoke seal, or intumescent seal (See figure 63 above) expands in the early stages of a fire and enhances the protection given by the door – additional smoke seals will restrict the spread of smoke at ambient temperatures.

Metal fire-resisting doors are also available and they are used in certain situations where they are more appropriate – these often require bespoke frames and fixings.

Supplementary items such as hinges, door handles, securing devices and locks should be tested as part of a door set.

Glazing is often used to provide additional safety and enhance the appearance of fire-resisting doors, but this must be fitted by a qualified person.

In order to ensure compliance with their rating, fire-resisting doors must also be hung in the proper manner – the hinges must be of the correct number, size and quality to match the manufacturer’s specifications.

As well as hinge-mounted, fire-resisting doors can also be floor mounted – in this case the fixings need to comply with the composition of the door assembly including the door mounting conditions. Always check with the manufacturer to ensure compliance to the necessary standard.

Self-closing devices are found on all fire-resisting doors to ensure they will effectively close the door from any angle – this excludes those doors which are located on locked cupboards or service ducts.

Jamb-mounted closing devices may be specified in certain cases but spring hinges are unlikely to be suitable – further information is available in BS EN 1154.

Rising butt hinges are not suitable for use as a self-closing device due to their inability to close and latch the door from any angle.

Automatic open/release doors or self-closing fire doors are often used in areas which are used by significant numbers of people on a regular basis or by people with impaired mobility that may have difficulty in opening doors.

They swing free during normal use but in the event of a fire alarm the device will release the door automatically, allowing the self-closing mechanism to close the door.

Typical examples of such devices include:

• Electro-magnetic devices – these types will release when the fire detection and warning system operates, allowing a separate self-closer to close the door. These can also be located within the controlled door closing device.

• Free Swing Controlled Door – these operate by allowing the door leaf to work independently of the closing device when in normal use, although they could cause problems in areas such as corridors where the doors are likely to swing uncontrolled through drafts. This could cause injury to people, such as those with certain disabilities, the elderly and frail, or young children.

In the case of an automatic door hold open/release device being fitted to doors protecting escape routes, they should only be installed in conjunction with automatic fire detection and warning systems, incorporating smoke detectors that are designed to protect the escape routes in the building.

In all cases, the automatic device should release the fire-resisting door allowing it to close effectively within its frame when;

• Smoke is detected by an automatic detector
• A break-glass call point is triggered
• Any failure of the fire detection and alarm system occurs
• Any electrical power failure occurs.

There are alternative automatic devices available – it’s always best to have a site-specific risk assessment before considering any automatic open/release door system.

Door coordinators may need to be used if a pair of doors, with rebated meeting stiles, is installed – it is critical that the correct closing order is maintained and so they must conform to BS EN 1158.

Fire escape routes should not be fitted with any locking devices – in these cases a panic exit bar devices should be used, otherwise known as ‘Push Bars’ or ‘Touch Bars’.  For
premises where panic isn’t likely, push pads or ‘Lever Handles’ can be used.

The integrity of any fire-resisting door is ultimately dependant on the installation and workmanship – the installers must possess the necessary level of skill to do the job properly so check their accreditations.

Fire-resisting doors also need routine maintenance, particularly to power operation, release and closing mechanisms, so make sure they are serviced regularly.

If you are unsure about the quality, the effectiveness or the fitting of your fire-resisting doors, please consult a fire safety expert.

In fact, come and talk to us, we can help!

Call us on 0117 958 2070 or email enquiries@acornsafety.co.uk

We hope this helps.

NOTE: This guidance is taken from HM Governments guidance documents as part of the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

See the full and original ‘Fire Safety Risk Assessment document here