Apex Plus

What is a Fire Door?

A fire door is a door that has been specifically tested and built to withstand a fire for its intended period. Fire doors compartmentalise the building to delay the spread of fire throughout a building. Furthermore, they reduce the risk of smoke inhalation, which causes the most fatalities in a fire.

Certified fire doors are given a fire-resistance rating in the form of length of time the door and its materials are able to withstand smoke and fire. This is either usually 30 or 60 minutes, other ratings are available 90,120,240 and so on.

Fire doors are fitted with a intumescent seal, which expands to fill the gap between the door and the frame, so no fire or smoke can escape through the gaps in the door. Fire doors have a number of vital safety features, but these are the two most important.

Fire doors are required by law in many different non-domestic buildings, including:

How often should fire doors be checked?

Since fire doors are important in protecting lives, it is crucial that fire doors receive regular inspections. The frequency of the inspections can depend on many factors, for example usage of the building (hospital, school. Highrise etc), risk of escape in the event of a fire, or heavy usage or doors.

Regulations surrounding fire doors

If you’re an owner of a commercial or non-domestic property, there are strict regulations and guidelines to follow, ensuring the doors can withstand a certain level of fire resistance. Fire doors should always be fitted correctly by a competent installer and installed following the manufactures installation instructions, as they’re a carefully manufactured fire safety device.

It’s also imperative that trained fire door inspectors carry out fire door inspections and trained fire door installers to fit them properly to ensure they are fit for purpose.

The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005, states that landlords have a responsibility to ensure their properties and occupants are safe. The “responsible person” has a legal responsibility under the Fire Safety Order (FSO) and can be prosecuted if they don’t fulfil their duties. This also includes the responsibility for a fire risk assessment in all non-domestic buildings, including common parts of flats or houses with multiple occupants.

How do I know my fire door is installed correctly?

1. Check the certification on the door if possible, this can be found on the top of the door or in the buildings documents.

2. The gaps around the top and sides of the door should not be bigger than 4mm and no smaller than 2mm when the door is closed. This is important to prevent smoke or fire from passing through.

3. All fire doors must be fitted with appropriate seals. The seals are developed to expand under heat and fill the gaps between the door leaf and frame. Thereby preventing the passage of smoke and fire to other compartments of the building.

4. The hinges of the fire door must be fire rated and firmly fixed making sure no screws are missing or broken. It is important that only trained installers / inspectors carry out maintenance work on fire door hardware.