What You Need To Know About Fire Doors

By Author: ajmfiresafety
Total Articles: 14
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Almost everyone will come across a fire door at some time in our lives. This could be at home, work or in a public building. Fire doors are important as they stop smoke and fire from spreading through the building. It contains the fire in the area where it started. Fire doors are essential to any buildings passive fire protection system.

Fire doors are responsible for saving lives and preventing further damage to buildings in the event of a fire. They contain the fire to the room where the fire started. Fire doors help keep your escape routes, enabling occupants to get outside the building safely. They also provide better access for fire rescue. They protect the building and contents, along with buildings nearby, helping reduce the risk of damage.

Fire doors help to prevent the spread of fire for a set period of time. They are constructed by material that is able to withstand fire for thirty to sixty minutes, depending on the door rating. The doors are fitted with inturnescent stripes on every edge and frame. When a fire breaks out, the heat causes the inturnescent strips to expand, filling the gap between the ...
... door and frame. This is able to seal a room and spread a fire for the time allocated by the door rating.

Fire doors are only effective when they are closed when the fire actually breaks out, which is why you need to ensure that everyone using the door closes it behind them or make it automatic, along with a sign to show it's a fire door.

A fire door is thicker than your standard door, with a solid core of variable materials. The construction depends on the manufacturer, the main part is that it must be tested and certified to withstand a fire for at least thirty minutes. Manufacturers must have their fire door designs and frames tested by an approved fire door testing centre.

Once certification is approved, every fire door is constructed to the same design and specifications. This will have a label which identified the date of manufacture the manufacturer and the fire rating.

Fire doors and the frame should hold a fire back for at least thirty minutes on a FD30 rated door or sixty minutes on a FD60 door. The doors ability to withstand a fire is greatly related to the installation, ensuring correct seals and fire rated hardware is used, this includes the fire door closers. They should be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure that they remain compliant and effective if a fire should break out.

Fire doors are legally required for properties that are for non domestic use. This means all public buildings, businesses and commercial properties. They are also legally required in residential flats or houses with multiple occupancy. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that a responsible person must manage fire safety precautions in England and in Wales.

Fire doors are not legally required in homes and bungalows. There are some exceptions, though which you must be aware of. The regulations state that home renovations with three or more floors must have a fire door in each habitable room, this includes loft conversions when they are added to a double storey home.

If you have an integral garage, leading into the home, then the door must be a fire door. A FD30 fire door, which has a thirty minute rating is more than enough for this. Flats within a block of flats must have a fire door fitted to entrances onto communal areas, this includes flats which are located on any floors more than 4.5 meters above ground level. These flats need a fire rated door between all habitable rooms, including the front door, while ground floor flats don't need internal fire doors, as long as each room has a way of evacuating. There will still be a need for a fire door opening onto a communal area, such as the corridor.

About Us: AJM Fire Safety is a leader in fire door inspections, installations, maintenance and training. This is a well established company, operating from their base in the West Midlands, providing reliable and efficient fire door safety services at competitive prices. The company offers FDIS inspections, BM Trade Q-Mark accredited installations and BM Trade Q-Mark accredited maintenance. AJM Fire Safety offers a professional service with innovative approach and glowing online reviews. They also assist clients with RFID technology to achieve compliance. Full details on the company and the range of high end fire safety services they provide can be out at https://ajmfiresafety.com.