The essentials of glazed fire doors
Article Updated: 22/08/2018
In this introduction to glazed fire doors, we’ll cover the minimum standards that apply, the technical specifications, some of the options available, and the target markets – essentially everything that you initially need to know in order to make an informed decision.
Let’s start by introducing the relevant standards that apply.
PAS 24 (Product Assessment Specification)
Here’s a summary taken from our own web-site:
PAS 24 is an enhanced security standard that can assess whether a doorset can withstand a series of measured manual and mechanical tests to deter the opportunistic intruder. PAS 24 is recognized by Secured by Design. Secured by Design is an official UK Police initiative which aims to reduce burglary and crime by better design solutions.
Now let’s go into further detail.
You can effectively work on the premise that PAS 24 gives you a guarantee that the door meets minimum standards, and furthermore that compliance to these standards has been independently audited.
The standard relates to:
Enhanced security performance requirements for doorsets and windows in the UK. External doorsets and windows intended to offer a level of security suitable for dwellings and other buildings exposed to comparable risk and the specific and the relevant material specific standard for general performance referenced in BS 6375 Parts 1, 2 and 3.
Note that PAS 24 is a minimum standard, in common with most British Standards. In other words the least you can expect is compliance.
BS 6375
Referenced above, this standard covers the following categories:
- BS 6375-1: 2009 Performance of windows and doors. Classification for weathertightness and guidance on selection and specification
- BS 6375-2: 2009 Performance of windows and doors. Classification for operation and strength characteristics and guidance on selection and specification
- BS 6375-3: 2009 Performance of windows and doors. Classification for additional performance characteristics and guidance on selection and specification
Secured by Design
This is the official UK Police flagship initiative supporting the principles of ‘designing out crime’.
It focuses on crime prevention in homes and commercial premises, and promotes the adoption of minimum security standards covering a very wide range of products and applications.
Useful links
So why would I want a glazed fire door that meets these standards?
Clearly doors with such a specification are installed to serve a certain purpose, or purposes. As the name implies, first of all they provide some protection against the spread of fire and smoke. Secondly, as indicated in the standards, they provide some protection against opportunistic attack. Thirdly, and as a useful by-product of the first two, given the fact that by definition they will be of high specification and solid construction, they will provide some acoustic protection too.
Now let’s look at each of these in turn.
Protection against the spread of fire and smoke
The doors are FD30 Minute fire-rated. You’ll find lots of information on fd fire doors around the website but essentially this means that the door provides roughly 30 minutes of protection. You may also find the Fire Safety Advice Centre a useful source of reliable information.
Protection against opportunistic attack
Clearly no door – or any other construction for that matter – can ever provide 100% protection, especially against the very determined intruder with specialist tools and with time on their hands. That said, a glazed door that meets PAS 24 will, at best, deter the intruder completely (perhaps along the lines of “this is too difficult, let’s go somewhere else!”), and at worst take them so long to get in that they are either apprehended or cause only minimal damage.
Acoustic protection
Because of the solid construction of the doors, they will provide acoustic protection to Rw 33 dB. We’ve got a detailed acoustic doors section which looks at acoustic and soundproofing in more detail.
Rw is the Weighted Sound Reduction Index – a number used to rate the effectiveness of a soundproofing system or material. Increasing the Rw by 1 translates to a reduction of approximately 1dB in noise level; therefore, the higher the Rw number, the better a sound insulator it will be.
Where might a glazed fire door be installed?
There are several types of environment where glazed fire doors meeting this specification and providing this level of protection might be installed:
- local authority housing (both refurbishment and new build projects)
- high end specification apartments
- domestic private owner dwellings
but essentially they can be installed anywhere where the specified levels of protection are either required by law or desirable.
Enfield Doors
Remember that it’s always a good idea to talk to the experts, who can give you sound and pragmatic advice underpinned by years of successful installations. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 020 3199 5861 or send us an email through the contact page.
