What is a Fire Door?

A fire door is a door specially made from heat-resistant materials that creates a physical barrier against fire and smoke.

Fire door systems are essential to maintaining the fire safety infrastructure of any building. You might have seen the emergency lighting signs guiding you to the fire door exits. Or, you might have used a fire door regularly without noticing. Through using a fire risk assessment, fire doors can be seamlessly integrated within the building without compromising the building’s design or layout. Fire door retainers and closers can also be discreetly fitted to your fire door to improve the building’s circulation without affecting the protection of the building.  

What is the Purpose of a Fire Door?

Fire doors are designed to withstand the immediate effects of fire to slow the spread of smoke and flames.

Internal fire doors create extra separation between building occupants and developing fire danger. By limiting the scope of fire, professional firefighters can target the affected area quicker whilst people have extra time to evacuate the burning building safely. If other emergency exit routes have been compromised by fire, the fire door will offer people more time to calmly react.     

Where Are Fire Doors Found?

Fire doors can be found everywhere! From schools, hospitals and care homes, to cinemas, bars, flats and offices, internal fire doors are a crucial part of any public building’s fire safety.

Fire doors are a highly versatile barrier against fire threats that can be non-invasively installed throughout a building. In buildings accessible to the public, internal fire doors are typically located in every doorway that leads to an escape route. They may be required for rooms that have a higher risk of a fire starting (such as server rooms or areas that contain flammable liquids) or for thresholds that lead to corridors and stairways. Remember, fire safety equipment should always be adapted to suit the needs of the space. If you are unsure where your fire door should be installed, or worried that the fire door may become an obstacle, the responsible person can perform a risk assessment to check the needs of the space.

What Are the Different Types of Fire Door Ratings?

The different types of fire doors are determined by rating. These ratings range from FD30 to FD120 and essentially stand for how long a fire door can last when exposed to fire. So, for an FD30 fire door, the door will last up to 30 minutes. 

Fire doors can be adapted to suit the environment they are protecting. This is done by adjusting the rating of the internal fire doors. Some buildings require higher-rated fire doors than others. For example, in a hospital which holds lots of vulnerable patients having fire doors with higher ratings is crucial. The higher-rated fire doors give the entire hospital extra time to react and get people to safety.

Can You Paint a Fire Door?

Yes, fire doors can be painted with regular paint. However, you must be careful that paint coats are not too thick. This is to avoid impacting the efficiency of the door.

The versatility of fire doors is increased by having the option to paint the door. The main thing to avoid is limiting paint coats and painting over the seals and hinges of the fire door. Getting paint over these areas can damage the fire-resistant quality of the material and affect the integrity of the door. If the painted layers are too thick, they also might impact how the door opens, closes and traps heat.  

What Are The Legal Requirements For A Fire Door?

In the UK, the legal requirements for fire doors are illustrated under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, The Fire Safety Act 2021, The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Building Regulations.

Alongside the UK regulations for fire doors, the required rating of each fire door will vary depending on the industry. The best way to ensure that your fire doors are complying with the legal requirements is to perform a Fire Risk Assessment. This will determine where to place each fire door, what fire hazards may occur, and which fire door rating is most suitable for the area.

What Are the Different Types of Fire Door Accessories?

Fire Door Intumescent Strips

To prevent the spread of fire and smoke, intumescent strips and cold smoke seals should be fitted at the top and bottom of every fire door leaf.

Automatic Drop-Down Seals

The seal is crucial to preventing the spread of smoke. Smoke can do more damage than fire as it obscures vision, can slip beneath regular doors, vents and window cracks and can cause long-term respiratory problems. In the presence of fire, the seals will automatically drop down to reduce the passage of smoke. The seals should always comply with BS 476 Pt 20 and 22.

Intumescent Fire Grills

Normally the intumescent fire grill allows fresh air to circulate through the door. However, in the event of a fire, the intumescent expands fusing the grille into a solid block that stops the fire from spreading. This fire door accessory must be in place to allow the door to comply with BS EN 1634-2 and BS 476 Pt 22.

Fire Door Automatic Closers

All fire doors should be equipped with an automatic door closer. A fire door closer achieves two things: first, it controls the speed of the door. This prevents fire doors from swinging suddenly and causing harm to others. Remember, though, that the strength of the fire door closer depends on the fire door gap. The fire door must always have a gap wide enough around the base so that it can swing open and close freely. Second, a fire door closer removes the stress of physically closing the fire door. A fire door can cause panic and make people forget to check things like fire doors being safely shut. The fire door closer removes this worry by automatically closing the fire door for you.

Fire Door Retainers

Fire door retainers are another crucial fire door accessory. In some buildings which have high volumes of people, the building circulation must not be compromised. This means that all doors must always remain open. A fire door retainer is fitted to the fire door and uses an electromagnetic system to hold the door open. Once a fire alarm is triggered, the retainer will automatically release the door. This deters building occupants from propping fire doors open whilst maintaining the efficiency of the door.

Fire Door Handles

Fire door handles must always be easily usable. The handles need to remain in good working order so the fire door can comply with BS EN 12209.

Fire Door Hinges

3 sets of fire-rated door hinges are commended for each door leaf.

Fire Door Signage

A sign for the fire doors should always be fitted to both side of the door. In an emergency like a fire, the potential of danger can cause panic. Therefore, ensuring all fire safety equipment including fire doors are correctly signed offers clear guidance to building occupants. Emergency lighting may also offer guidance to fire doors.

How Often Do You Need to Service Your Fire Door?

Fire doors must be serviced at least once every six months.

Fire equipment servicing is a simple but effective method to thoroughly assess the quality of your safety equipment. Although you can leave six months between each check the more regularly you service your fire doors the more you can trust in the integrity of the equipment. It is also recommended that you check your fire door more frequently for the first year of use.

Do You Need to Get Your Fire Door Serviced by a Professional?

It depends. When servicing your fire door, you must always work with a professional. However, the responsible person can lead these checks if they feel confident that they can apply the legal fire safety requirements to their fire door.

The responsible person is fully entitled to lead the servicing of their safety equipment. However, these checks must be done thoroughly to a high standard. If you are unsure about what you need to do you must seek professional advice.

A Checklist for Your Fire Door

Regularly checking your fire doors are compliant is crucial to maintaining their safety. Below is a simple checklist you can follow to make sure all safety requirements of the fire door are met.

Conclusion – The Importance of Fire Doors

Fire doors are a vital fire safety component of any building. Internal fire doors limit the scope of fire and smoke, enable extra separation from developing fire threats and ultimately keep building occupants safer. To maintain the lifesaving quality of your fire door, you must regularly assess the state of each door. Regular servicing of the fire door alongside performing thorough Fire Risk Assessments helps maximise the fire safety they provide.

Here at OHEAP, our team of safety experts understand how to keep fire safety affordable, accessible and simple. For more information on creating total fire safety, check out our many other blogs.