Everything You Need to Know About Fire Doors

Fire doors are an essential part of any building’s fire safety strategy, designed to slow down the spread of fire and smoke, providing crucial time for occupants to evacuate safely. Whether you’re a homeowner, landlord, or responsible for a commercial property, understanding fire doors and their legal requirements is key to ensuring safety and compliance. In this article, we’ll explore what fire doors are, how they work, legal obligations, and best practices for their maintenance.

What Are Fire Doors?

A fire door is a specially designed door that helps prevent the spread of fire and smoke between different parts of a building. Fire doors are made from fire-resistant materials such as timber, steel, or glass and come equipped with various safety features to protect people and property.

Key components of a fire door include:

• Intumescent Seals: These expand when exposed to high heat, sealing the gaps around the door to block smoke and fire from passing through.

• Self-Closing Mechanism: Fire doors must be fitted with a closing device to ensure they remain shut when not in use. This is critical as an open fire door provides no protection.

• Fire-Rated Glazing: If the door includes glass, it must be fire-resistant to match the door's fire rating.

  
  

The purpose of a fire door is not to prevent a fire entirely but to hold it back long enough to allow for safe evacuation and give firefighters time to contain the blaze.

How Do Fire Doors Work?

Fire doors are part of a building's passive fire protection system, which helps compartmentalise a building to limit the spread of fire and smoke. When installed correctly, fire doors slow the fire's progress, ensuring safe passage through escape routes and limiting the spread of smoke, which can be even more dangerous than the fire itself.

Fire doors are rated based on how long they can withstand fire. The most common fire door ratings are:

• FD30: 30 minutes of fire resistance

• FD60: 60 minutes of fire resistance

• FD90: 90 minutes of fire resistance

• FD120: 120 minutes of fire resistance

  
  

The rating of the door indicates how many minutes it can resist fire before failing. For example, an FD30 door will hold back flames and smoke for at least 30 minutes, allowing crucial time for evacuation.

Legal Requirements for Fire Doors

In the UK, fire doors are a legal requirement in many types of buildings, particularly in multi-occupancy dwellings and commercial premises. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the 'responsible person' (e.g. the building owner or manager) is required to ensure that fire doors are properly installed and maintained.

Key Legal Considerations Include:

• Escape Routes: Fire doors are essential on escape routes, such as stairwells and corridors, to ensure safe passage for people exiting the building.

• Building Compartmentation: Fire doors are required to create compartments that contain fire within a specific area, preventing it from spreading rapidly.

• Homes with Multiple Occupants: In domestic properties like flats or shared houses (HMOs), fire doors are legally required between living spaces and escape routes.

  
  

It is important to ensure that all fire doors are certified and comply with relevant British Standards, such as BS 476 and BS EN 1634, which cover fire door testing.

Installing and Maintaining Fire Doors

Correct installation is critical to the effectiveness of fire doors. Even a high-quality fire door can fail if it is not fitted properly. Installation should always be carried out by a qualified professional to ensure that the door complies with legal and safety standards.

Ongoing Maintenance

Fire doors must be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure they function correctly. The Fire Safety Order requires regular fire risk assessments, which include checking fire doors for wear and tear. Common points to check include:

• Seals: Ensure that the intumescent and smoke seals around the door are intact and free from damage.

• Self-closing Mechanism: Test that the door closes automatically and securely without obstruction.

• Hinges and Frames: Check that the door is securely fitted within its frame and that the hinges are tight, with no missing or loose screws.

• Gaps: The gap between the door and the frame should be no more than 4mm. Gaps wider than this can allow smoke and fire to pass through.

  
  

Regular inspections and prompt repairs are essential for maintaining the safety features of a fire door. Neglecting maintenance can render even the best fire doors ineffective.

Common Fire Door Mistakes

Unfortunately, many common mistakes can compromise the effectiveness of fire doors. Some of these include:

• Propping Fire Doors Open: Fire doors should always remain closed unless fitted with an automatic release mechanism that closes the door when the fire alarm is triggered.

• Painting Over Seals: Painting or tampering with the intumescent seals can prevent them from expanding during a fire.

• Removing Self-Closing Devices: The self-closing feature of a fire door is critical for ensuring that it does its job in an emergency. Removing or disabling this feature can be life-threatening.

  
  

Conclusion

Fire doors are a vital element of fire safety, designed to protect lives by containing fire and smoke within a building. Whether you are responsible for a residential or commercial property, understanding the function, legal requirements, and maintenance of fire doors is crucial.

Regular inspections, adherence to fire safety laws, and the correct installation of certified fire doors are all essential components of an effective fire protection strategy. By doing so, you ensure that your building is as safe as possible in the event of a fire.

For more information on fire door regulations and fire safety, head to our blog page.