The Role Of Fire Doors In Property Safety: Best Practices & Compliance
Fire doors play an integral and essential role in passive fire prevention. Designed to withstand the spread of smoke and flames for up to 120 minutes, fire doors allow occupants to safely evacuate, and minimise damage to the structure of a property, in case of a fire.
In the UK, fire doors are legally required in all buildings, both domestic and commercial. If you manage any property, understanding the importance of fire doors is essential if you’re going to keep your building compliant and your occupants as safe as possible.
What Is The Purpose Of Fire Doors?
A fire door is a specially designed and manufactured door that is able to withstand the spread of fire and smoke for a specified period of time. This is generally 30 to 120 minutes.
The importance of fire doors in containing the spread of smoke and flames, and aiding the safe evacuation of occupants, cannot be overstated. They ensure escape routes, like stairways and corridors, are kept clear and give firefighters more of a chance to get the flames under control.
The Four Most Important Functions Of Fires Doors Are:
To save lives: Correct fire door installation helps to increase the chance that building occupants will be able to evacuate safely in the event of a fire.
To contain the fire: installing fire doors creates barriers between different parts of a building. This helps to compartmentalise the space, keeping fires contained in a single area and reducing the speed at which they can spread.
To protect escape routes: Clear, safe escape routes will help occupants to evacuate the building quickly, something that’s essential in case of a major fire. A certified fire door specialist will be able to install fire doors based on your fire risk strategy.
To minimise property damage: Fire can cause a lot of damage in a very short space of time. Containing the fire to a limited area using fire doors will significantly reduce the overall damage that’s caused to the building, and could potentially save valuable assets and infrastructure.
It’s important to note that, in order for internal fire doors to work, they need to be kept closed. If fire doors are propped open, they won’t work as they should and could let flames spread throughout your property.
Key Features Of A Fire Door
Fire doors are designed and built to withstand fire, minimise damage and help occupants evacuate safely. They are required to meet specific safety standards and fire door installation should be done by certified professionals. Key features of a fire door include:
Fire-resistant materials: Fire doors have a solid core made from materials with a natural resistance to high temperatures. This includes gypsum, vermiculite and timber. In general, the thicker a fire door is, the longer it will be able to resist the flames.
Intumescent seals: the seals that are fitted around the edges of a fire door actually expand when exposed to heat. This allows them to close the gaps between the door and its frame, preventing smoke and flames getting through.
Smoke seals: fire doors are fitted with smoke seals. These are specifically designed to stop the spread of smoke, something that’s incredibly important as, in many cases, toxic smoke can be more dangerous to the occupants of a building than flames.
Fire-rated glazing: some fire doors have glazed panels made from wire-reinforced glass, or specialist fire-rated glass, that’s able to withstand very high temperatures.
Fire-rated hardware: all hardware fitted on a fire door needs to be resistant to flames. This includes the hinges, locks, handles and any other hardware used on the installation.
Frame and threshold: as well as the door itself being resistant to flames, the frame and threshold also must be free from damage and able to withstand smoke and fire. Any gaps behind the frame must be sealed with fire stopping materials.
Labelling and certification: all new fire doors come labelled with certification marks indicating that they’ve been tested, and met, specific fire resistance standards. The labels generally include information about the manufacturer, fire rating and certification body.
The Golden Thread In Building Safety
One question we get asked a lot is ‘what is the golden thread of information in building safety?’. This is a great question as the golden thread is really important. Essentially, it refers to the idea of maintaining a consistent flow of accurate and up-to-date information about a building throughout its life cycle.
When the golden thread is maintained, any modifications or enhancements that are made to the building’s fire safety measures are accurately documented and the information passed onto future owners or managers.
R2R’s BM Trada Certification
At R2R, we take safety and high standards incredibly seriously. That’s why we are certified by BM Trada, a UKAS accredited certification body which provides independent third-party certification services for the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of fire doors. This certification signifies that our company adheres to the highest standards of quality and safety in fire door installation.
Achieving this accreditation in fire door installation shows our clients that we’re committed to compliance and saving lives, putting their minds at ease and ensuring excellent results.
Fire Door Installation With R2R
Fire doors are an incredibly important part of fire safety and passive fire prevention. Ensure your property’s safety with our certified fire door installation services.
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