The Importance Of Fire Doors
You’ve probably heard of fire doors but do you know how important they are for fire safety? Fire doors are essential to saving lives by stopping the progress of fire through a building, this blog will explain how these doors work and what your doors should have to work properly, along with how Fire Stoppers can help you do this.
Fire doors have 3 main functions; to reduce the amount of oxygen (oxygen fuels a fire), to keep escape routes clear of fire and smoke and to allow people to leave the building when in use. Not only are they a key part of fire safety, but they’re also a legal requirement! According to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, fire doors are a legal requirement in all non-domestic properties like businesses and residential flats.
Typically fire doors can resist fire for up to 30 or 60 minutes depending on the type of door and its materials. They’ll also have an intumescent seal to further seal fire and smoke for as long as possible. Due to the nature of its job, fire doors need to be installed correctly in order to be the most effective. Similarly, fire doors need to be maintained and repaired regularly to ensure they are up to standard at all times.
These checks include:
- Hinges
Fire doors should have three hinges that need to be checked. The hinges need to be fixed securely, and not have any loose or missing screws; the hinge attaches the door to the frame, so they need to be fixed and secure.
- Being able to close
Does the fire door close properly? The door should be able to fully close by itself, not with you pushing it. Quite simply, if the door can’t do this it’s not going to be effective in a fire, and there is most likely an issue with the hinges, latch or door itself.
- Intumescent seals
The intumescent seal is a vital part of a fire door, this seal will help ensure the door can withstand its full time in a fire, so if a part is missing or if any are damaged they need fixing.
- Gap measuring
Unsurprisingly, if there are large gaps around the door, more than 4mm, fire and smoke could spread through and the fit of the door, seals or hinges need to be fixed or replaced. If the door is looking bowed, it’s not going to be as effective.
- It’s certification
Fire doors should be certified as fire doors, there should be a label on the door and/or on your paperwork stating this. This is the same for any glass in the doors, it needs to be certified to ensure it is fire-resistant.
How we can help
Here at Fire Stoppers, we can install fire doors, and inspect and repair them. Our qualified professionals can do this for you, in fact, we’re currently going for Bluesky Certification for third-party accreditation in the installation of fire doors. Our experts can give you peace of mind that your fire doors are up to standard and will give you those precious extra minutes to escape should the worst happen. Click here to learn more about this service.
Want some more fire safety tips and advice? Head to our blog to look through our other posts.
