What Is a Fire Door and Why Is It Important?

May 21, 2022 12:00 am Published by Leave your thoughts

Install a fire door if you want to fireproof your home or business passively. These doors are specially made to prevent or slow down the spread of smoke or flames in case of a fire. They are made from gypsum, aluminum, timber and steel. Sometimes they come with ceramic or borosilicate windows, which are highly fire-resistant compared to regular glass, and fitted with anti-shuttering wire mesh.

The doors are fitted with flush frames, and any gaps are sealed with a silicon fire-resistant sealant to make them even more fireproof. An intumescent strip, which expands when heated, is fitted at the base to avert smoke from leaking underneath. The doors are also fitted with smoke seals to avoid the passage of smoke during the early stages of the fire.

What’s the Importance of a Fire Door? 

For starters, fire doors limit the amount of oxygen available in the event of a fire, hence slowing down smoke and fire spread for a specific period. This gives you extra time to exit the building. However, fire doors aren’t entirely fireproof.

Fire doors come in different grades. The grades are based on how long the door can withstand fire. Most doors can last up to 30 minutes (FD30), 60 minutes (FD60), 90 minutes (FD 90) or 120 minutes (FD120). FD60 and FD30 are mainly used for residential and office buildings, while FD60 protects high-value buildings such as service centers and archives.

Most people pay more attention to the element of preventing fire spread and ignore the significance of the prevention of smoke inhalation. According to statistics, most people who die in fires do so due to smoke inhalation.

Fire doors also help protect personal assets and property while the firefighters are trying to combat the fire. They also act as shields for escape routes so that people can evacuate or be evacuated quickly.

Do I Need a Fire Door In My Flat Or House? 

According to the state’s regulations, if you are renovating or building a home with three floors or more, you should have a fire door. These fire doors must be fitted in any habitable room next to a stairwell. This rule also applies to a loft conversion with an extra floor added to a two-story building.  

Any door leading to an integral garage from your home must also be a fire door. An FD30 door is fit for this purpose. Since fire doors reduce fire spread, they can be fitted in high-risk areas such as the kitchen, boiler rooms or other areas with combustible materials.

If you have always wanted to know about fire doors, hopefully, you have learned what you needed to know. When properly installed and maintained, fire doors play a vital role in preventing fire and smoke spread, and saving lives. They are an integral part of developing a fire protection system and a vital requirement for most premises, including public buildings, residential homes, factories, and offices. However, they are not 100% fireproof, and therefore caution should be taken when handling combustible materials at all times at home or the place of business.

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