There is a common misconception that when there is a fire in a building, that’s it. The whole building goes up in flames and if you are lucky enough, you can escape the building in the right amount of time. As a fire protection company, we would like to explain exactly how that is not the case, and one of the most crucial parts of this protection is fire doors.
What are fire doors?
Fire doors act as a barrier to protect, isolate, and delay a fire in a building from spreading throughout. They are specially made to resist fires for as long as possible, ensuring the best possible protection and safety for those within. The doors can be made from a variety of high fire-resistant grade materials, like wood and steel. When the doors are fitted, the remaining gaps around the door are filled using a fire-resistant sealant (https://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-protection/fire-doors-for-beginners/). To ensure that the doors are always closed, they are fitted with a spring contraption. All these aspects are to make sure no smoke or fire spreads into the room.
How do fire doors act in a fire?
In the event of a fire, when a door is exposed to temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius, the sealant around the edges of the door expands, sealing the given room from being exposed to smoke, heat, or fire.
They have a specific rating that outlines the estimated time that they can resist fires in minutes. There are four ratings: FD 30, 60, 90, and 120. FD 30 and FD 60 doors are used for most residential and commercial premises as these provide ample time to allow fire services to act and exit plans to be executed. FD 90 and FD 120 doors are used for rooms with more delicate interiors, for example, archives or sensitive document holdings. The timing of the door resistance is crucial as it can be the difference between life and death and minimise damages to the property.
What fire doors do we use?
Fire Containment Limited only uses the highest-grade fire doors available to us, which we source locally and from sustainable sources. We take all aspects of not just fire safety, but also sustainable practices in our stride.
Now we can see that fire doors are the key step in breaking down that misconception and show how they can isolate and delay fires and help save lives.
