A fire
door test which replicates the seven most common defects spotted in social
housing flats and apartments shows just how quickly those doors will fail if
incorrectly specified and installed.
As part of Fire
Door Safety Week (25 September – 1 October), the BWF-Certifire Scheme has released a dramatic video
of a fire door burn test.
The video
compares two almost identical fire doors with the same fire rating – FD30,
meaning the door should provide at least 30 minutes of protection. This is the
most common integrity rating for UK fire doors.
One door
is correctly specified and installed, but the other has a series of faults
which are frequently identified:
- The door
is secured with only two, non-fire rated, standard hinges (For a standard
height fire door, a minimum of three hinges should be installed to prevent the
door from warping in a fire.)
- There are
excessive gaps between the side of the door and the frame. (The gaps around the
door should be less than 4mm once the door is shut.)
- Intumescent
and smoke seals are missing. (These are vital to the fire door’s performance as
they fill the gap between the door and frame when the door is closed.)
- The door
has a non-fire rated letter plate. (Letter plates must be suitable for use on
the specific fire door and detailed on the fire door certificate as a
compatible component. Letter plates must also be fitted in the correct location
within the fire door leaf and fitted with the correct intumescent protection
and fixings.)
- The air
transfer grille does not have an intumescent block fitted inside.
- Intumescent
edge protection is missing around the glazing bead.
- A non-fire
rated panel was installed above the door.
The video
shows the incorrectly specified fire door failing long before the 30 minutes it
should last, highlighting the importance of correct fire door installation and
maintenance. Without the protection of intumescent interlayer and intumescent
seals, the faulty door allows smoke to pour through the gaps after just four
and a half minutes.
Hannah
Mansell, BWF technical manager and spokesperson for Fire Door Safety Week,
says: “This test is not an academic exercise. This is about life and death.
Just imagine being in front of a faulty fire door, relying on it to buy you
time to be saved from a fire, and seeing it fail before your eyes.
“Fire
doors are in almost every building where we work, live and sleep and they are
often never given a second thought. But they must be specified, fitted and
maintained correctly with compatible components that have been third-party
certificated. This is the only way to ensure that the fire door performs to its
intended fire rating. Every tiny detail and every split-second counts.”
All
BWF-Certifire members offer third-party certificated fire doors and components
that have been rigorously assessed and audited. Through the scheme
approximately 2.5 million fire doors are tested and certified each year.
This
year’s Fire Door Safety Week campaign is raising awareness of the critical role
of third-party certificated fire doors in high-rise buildings, houses of
multiple occupancy and other types of shared accommodation.
