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Ensuring Fire Doors Perform When The Heat Is On

Simon Castle from construction and refurbishment company, Chisholm & Winch, discusses the importance of compliant safety door installation.

Since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, the construction sector has taken significant steps to ensure fire safety is embedded in the specification process for new buildings. We have seen increased due diligence in material selection and new legislation on cladding materials for residential buildings.

But the need for increased vigilance on fire safety goes beyond cladding specification, residential buildings and new developments. In the commercial sector, there is also a need to focus on delivering high standards of fire safety in both new and existing buildings.

Fire doors play a key role in this and, if they have not been correctly specified or installed, compartmentation and fire safety could be compromised. That’s why fire doors must always be installed and maintained by an accredited fire door contractor, whether they are being retrofitted as part of a safety upgrade, installed during a refurbishment or form part of a new build project.

Why Are Fire Doors So Important?

In an office environment, fire doors play an important role in reduce the risk of fire spreading and causing a risk to life by slowing down the rate at which fire, smoke and heat can spread, allowing time for evacuation and limiting damage to the building and its contents.

Fire doors are rated by the amount of burn time they provide to protect people and assets on the opposite side of the door. So, an FD30 door slows the spread of fire for 30 minutes, while an FD60 door offers 60 minutes’, etc. It is also important to consider other performance criteria that may be required from the fire door specification. Along with the ability to prevent fire spreading, fire door ratings may also include protection from the spread of smoke, which is often spreads faster than flame and can hinder evacuation. Fire doors may also have insulation ratings to protect occupiers from the spread of heat and stability ratings to indicate resistance to collapse due to heat. All these elements are important markers of how well the choice of fire doors will uphold the building’s compartmentation.

All fire doors must be specially-manufactured, tested and certified, so the quality and performance of the door itself is never in question and, because it is the core that does all the hard work, fire doors are available in a variety of attractive styles and finishes.

No matter how well-made and appropriately specified the door, however, if it has not been correctly installed, the integrity of the fire-rating will be compromised and the risk to occupants will only become apparent when a fire occurs.

Certified Skills and Quality Assurance

Correct installation and regular maintenance of fire doors are essential in ensuring in-situ performance matches product test data. An accredited fire door installer can help with product selection, sourcing doors that match both the aesthetic and the fire safety strategy for the building. This product selection process is important because the level of fire rating required may vary for different areas of the building, depending on factors such as the number of storeys above ground, proximity to stairs and occupancy levels. It’s important that the doors chosen meet fire safety requirements without incurring unnecessary additional costs due to over-specification.

There are a number of fire door installation certification bodies, including FIRAS and BMTRADA. Chisholm & Winch is a BMTRADA certified contractor, which means that all our installations are certified under the BMTRADA Q-Mark Fire Door Installation Scheme. This scheme stipulates that an individual within the installation company must take responsibility for the training and workmanship of all operatives installing fire doors, ensuring quality assurance and installation to the manufacturer’s guidelines. The scheme provides clients with peace of mind because it not only ensures the installation team is suitably trained and qualified, but also that their competence is continually assessed by an independent body.

Amongst the skills required for safe fire door installation is the correct use of fire mastic around the door frame and the use of intumescent foam to seal any air gaps around locks and hinges. The priority is to create a fireproof barrier that works with the fabric of the fire door to seal door openings against the spread of fire.

Often, installation of electronic door opening and locking systems is included in the project. These are programmed into the fire detection and alarm system. This means that specific fire doors can be locked automatically, aligned to the fire alarm zone triggered, ensuring effective protection during evacuation.

Inspection & Maintenance

Whether fire doors are being installed in new or established locations as part of a refurbishment, or there are existing fire doors in the building, routine inspections and maintenance are just as important for door sets as they are for fire extinguishers and alarms. By working with an accredited installer on the routine maintenance, FMs can identify and rectify any issues, which not only ticks the box for compliance, but makes the building safer for all users too.