The Power Of 30 Minute Fire Doors
In any commercial or public building there are legal requirements for fire safety – these include the installation of fire rated doors that are manufactured and tested to a specific standard to adhere to, and comply with, the mandatory safety specifications for fire prevention and control. It is not just commercial buildings and workplaces that should take these precautions – it is advisable to install such fire rated doors in your home as well, to protect lives and property! Here are some features and characteristics to help correctly identify fire rated doors:
Fire Doors Function
The main function of fire doors is to offer protection for any occupants of a building in the unfortunate event of a fire outbreak. They are designed to restrict the spread of the fire and all the harmful elements such as flame itself, heat, and the potentially life-threatening smoke, and to prevent these from seeping into any adjacent areas or rooms to the initial ignition area. Containing the fire outbreak to one space will help protect all identified escape routes needed for an effective emergency evacuation of the building, reduce the damage to the building itself and its contents, and to ‘buy’ the vital time for the fire department to arrive and deal with the outbreak effectively.
Fire Door Materials
Fire rated doors are constructed from materials that are specifically designed to offer greater fire resistance than that of a standard door. Fire doors will have a solid core construction often made from particleboard, chipboard, or in some instances, aluminium, steel, or solid timber. Although these fire doors are effectively ‘reinforced’ they can be finished to a high aesthetic standard and appear as other standard internal doors. The minimum standard for a fire door is an FD30 door – these are usually 45mm thick as opposed to a standard internal door which is typically 35mm or less in thickness – an Fd60 door is thicker again at typically 54mm. Fire door ratings increase as to the necessity of their position and use – Fd30’s are 30 minute fire doors offering protection from, and containment of, all the harmful elements of a fire for a minimum of 30 minutes timeframe – FD60 fire doors provide 60 minutes protection, FD90 fire doors provide 90 minutes protection and so on.
Fire Door Tests
All fire doors need to be thoroughly tested and certified to prove they are fit-for-purpose before they can be installed – these tests are set by the health fire safety industry and specified in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 standard. Regulations for all buildings specify that the requirements for fire rated doors are to provide protection for building occupants for minimum times that are dictated by the level of fire door being manufactured – as stated earlier, an Fd30 fire rated door must provide this protection for a minimum of 30 minutes, an Fd60 fire rated door for a minimum of 60 minutes and so on. It is not the door alone that must be fire resistant to specific levels – the whole door installation set, including frames, seals, and all door furniture (the ironmongery such as handles, hinges, door closers) must be fully tested as a complete assembly to qualify for official registration and certification. Formal confirmation of the testing process and results must be supplied by the door manufacturer.
Intumescent Seals
One of the most important features of a fire door is the intumescent seals. These seals, or strips, are vital components of an effective fire rated door – they are manufactured from materials that are poor conductors of heat, which effects by them ‘swelling’ immediately on being exposed to excess temperatures. When these strips expand, they quickly seal the gap between the door frame and the fire door itself, therefore preventing the spread of flames, heat, and potentially toxic smoke to any other adjoining room or area to that of the fire outbreak.
It is worth noting that new official fire safety guidance is to be published in October 2023 – speak with an established and respected fire door manufacturer or supplier to ensure that your building is meeting these vitally important fire safety standards.
Enfield Doors – for bespoke and commercial fire doors
Enfield Doors, are an established bespoke door manufacturers in the UK trading for many years and manufacturing doors of all types to every environment across industry and the home. Their knowledgeable and experienced staff can advise you on all aspects of soundproof doors including manufacture, installation, maintenance and security. If you would like further information on our company, please contact us and we will respond as quickly as possible. We look forward to helping you.
