Encyclopedia

of Home Improvements

*Fire Doors*

Why Do We Need Them?

The concept of keeping the occupants of some domestic and most commercial buildings safe in case of fire relies upon separating whole buildings into smaller 'compartments', thereby keeping the fire in the compartment where it starts, and/or by creating safe, fire protected routes to aid escape.

This is done by making the walls, ceiling etc. of that compartment or escape route 'fire resisting'. Of course, as people go about their day-to-day business they will want to pass from one compartment to the other - hence the need for fire doors. It is obvious that, for fire safety to be maintained, these doorsets must have the same fire resistance as the rest of the compartment or escape route.

What is 'Fire Resistance'?

The fire resistance of a doorset is specified in terms of minutes, normally expressed as two separate figures. One figure is the time for which, in a fire resistance test, the doorset would hold back the passage of flames and hot gases ('integrity'), the other being the time for which the door face that is not exposed to the fire would keep its
temperature below a specified value ('insulation').

Installation

1) In order for a fire door to work properly in a fire, it must be installed carefully, so that the gaps around the leaf are not too large, and it is capable of self-closing reliably
2) Any gaps between the frame and the surrounding construction must be 'fire stopped' using appropriate fire resisting materials.
3) Self-manufactured door frames must use timber carefully selected for its quality, density and moisture content.
4) Installing a fire door is not a job for the joinery novice.

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