Introducing FD30 Fire Doors

As we’ve seen in many of our recent articles, fire doors play a vital role in successfully managing the impact of a fire starting, by preventing the spread of the fire and by enabling people to evacuate quickly and safely.

As we’ve seen, fire doors come in all sorts of specifications, depending upon where they are installed.  Considerations would include the environment – how likely is it that a fire will break out, and how severe would the consequences be – and also the likely number of people affected.

To take extreme examples merely to emphasise the point, a fireworks or chemical factory employing hundreds of people would clearly be viewed differently to, say, a small library with two members of staff.  That’s not to say, of course, that the safety of the two library staff is any less important, only that different measures need to be taken … and it would be remiss of us to ignore the fact that a the books in a library can of course be immensely valuable in their own right, but that’s for another day …

Fire doors are typically rated by the number of minutes they can hold back the fire for, with a typical range being between 30 and 240 minutes.  So, in the example above, the small library would probably require a door towards the start of the range.

Don’t forget, however, all the regulations that we’ve mentioned on several occasions, and you’ll need to take into consideration additional requirements if members of the public may need to use the doors (think of public buildings, schools, hospitals etc.).

So let’s look now at the specification of 30 minute FD30 fire doors. For starters:

• 44mm Certified core to BS 476 Pt22:1987 or BS EN 1634-1:2014
• Intumescent strips in the frame or the door (not both)
• Certified glazing (insulating /non-insulating)
• Available as a pre hung assembly

Please note the following:

• The fire doors must be installed by a competent person
• If a 2 storey building has a door leading from an integral garage into the house, it must be a fire resistant door.
• New build or renovated properties with 3 storeys or more, including loft conversions, must have a fire doors to every habitable room off the stairwell
• Intumescent strips are commonly fitted around the inner edge of the frame but can be installed in the top and sides of the door leaf if requested. Double doors will require one or more intumescent strips in the meeting edge of one leaf
• It is important to note that if you are replacing or upgrading an existing door then it is very important to determine if the existing frame has intumescent strips fitted and whether they are in first class condition. If they have been painted over or are damaged in any way then they must be replaced. If the frame does not have intumescent strips then these can be fitted to the door leaf perimeter for you.

Talk to the experts

Our team of experts is always on hand to guide you through all the regulations and give you sound and pragmatic advice based on years of experience and successful installations.

If you would like further information on our company please click here; alternatively you can find out more about our fire doors, or you can go straight to our contact page when we will respond as quickly as possible.  We look forward to helping you.