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Fire rated doors |
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Buildings are compartmented to delay
the spread of fire from one area to another. The compartments are usually linked
by doors to allow for passage of ‘traffic’ around the building. Doorsets have two
important functions in a fire, when closed they form a barrier to fire spread and
when open they provide a means of escape. A well designed fire door will delay the spread of fire and smoke without causing too much hindrance to the movement of people and goods. Different parts of a building may be separated from each other, into compartments of a fire-resisting construction. Any openings leading from them will have fire doors to maintain an effective fire barrier and should prevent excessive transmission of products of combustion which can interfere with the safe use of escape routes. Every fire door is therefore required to act as a barrier to the passage of smoke and fire to varying degrees dependent upon its location in a building and the fire hazard associated with the building. |
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Consequently the functions of a fire
doors is, to provide adequate resistance to the passage of smoke and other combustion
products during the early stages of a fire. Secondly to provide a barrier to a well-developed
fire without permitting fire and excessive quantities of smoke to pass. Some doors
may be required to fulfil only the first function as they may not be subjected to
the full severity of a fire because of their location; others may have the main
aim of resisting fire penetration as indicated by the second function. Some may
have to meet both requirements. At present, fire doors are specified as smoke-stop
doors when required to fulfil the first function and fire-check and fire-resisting
doors to fulfil the second. Fire doors are engineered products that provide life and property saving functions in the event of fire. It is important that they are regularly inspected and maintained to permit them to perform at their best on the one and only occasion when they are called upon so to do. Doorsets fitted with hold open devices or swing free type closer should be closed daily, particularly overnight when there is likely to be low building occupancy. For busy 24/7 buildings (e.g. hospitals) fire doors should be closed at least weekly. All fire doors should close effectively from any angle of opening using only the door closer. |
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There are a number of reasons why doors may fail to close :-
Check that there are no foreign bodies or other objects obstructing the door.
Check that any smoke seals are correctly fitted and are undamaged.
Check the latch, if fitted to ensure correct operation and that it is suitably lubricated.
Only as a last resort should the closing device be adjusted, but this must be carried out carefully to ensure that the doors can be opened without undue force. Intumescent seals should be checked regularly, at intervals not greater than 6 months, and damaged or missing seals replaced. To maintain the design performance potential, replacement seals should be of the same brand, size and type as the original. However, any intumescent seal of the same size as the original is better than none.
Mechanical items such as hinges, locks, latches, closer, floor springs etc are likely to wear over time. Maintenance provisions should comply with the hardware suppliers’ recommendations where these are known. Otherwise, locks and latches may require occasional light lubrication. Some hinges use self lubricating bearings that will not
need additional lubrication.
Where it is necessary to replace worn hardware on a fire door, the essential items listed above should be replaced with products to the same specification as the original where possible. Otherwise hinges, latches, locks, flush bolts, closer and other items of load bearing or securing hardware should be of the same type and size as the original items and should have been proven for use in timber fire rated doorsets of the required performance. Hardware that has been successfully tested in metal doorsets may not be suitable for use with timber doorsets.
Redundant hardware should be carefully removed. Intumescent gaskets may have been used under hinge blades; lock/latch for end plates and strike plates, with some closer fittings and in flush bolt recesses. These gaskets should be replaced if possible with gaskets of the same material. Otherwise they should be retained and reused with the new fittings if they are undamaged. Intumescent gaskets or mastics used for these applications are usually the low pressure type.
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