FUNCTION OF FIRE DOOR

The doors capable of preventing or reducing the spread of smoke and fire are called fire doors. Even
though these doors are not entirely resistant to fire because they are made of combustible materials
like wood or metal with gypsum, a fire resistant core, they can slow the spread of fire for a longer
period of time. This will allow the occupants to have time to escape the building before the flames
engulf the structure, giving the firefighters ample time to put out the flames and allow them to save
properties and assets from getting burned.

Fire doors have types of fire rating which is measured according to its ability to withstand heat and
flames for a certain period of time. Labels or marking are placed on the door, which can either be
fastened or embossed to indicate their rating. Some countries like the United States have
independent governing bodies that set standards on how these doors must be constructed, tested
and installed. The time ratings for combustion vary but the standard ratings range from 20-90
minute doors. The fire door to use depends on the space. Selecting the door would also depend on
the wall installed. To ensure the effectiveness of fire doors, they must be installed on fire resistant
walls. The fire rating of doors to use should be equal to three fourths of the wall’s resistance. For an
instance, a wall that has a two hour fire resistance period should hold a 90 minutes fire door. This
method ensures that the door will serve its purpose more effectively and will not quickly combust in
case of fire.

Not all fire doors are made from one solid material as some may have a window. The glass or
transparent material which serves as a window has to be tested as well for its ability to contain fire.
The door hardware, frame and sealants to use should also be within certain specifications for a door
to still be considered fire rated. During installation, it is ideal that only contractors specialized in
fixing fire doors perform the installation to ensure its effectiveness in holding smoke and fire. If a
professional would not be able to do the job, the person installing the door should follow the
instruction carefully to successfully execute it.

Even though fire doors go through strict inspection before they are made available to the market, it
would not be able to do its purpose due to improper usage. Fire doors are often left open because
fire is not usually anticipated. It is possible that before one noticed that there is a fire happening, it
may be too late to shut the door as the smoke and fire might have already spread all over the
structure. To avoid this tragic scenario, fire doors can be equipped with automatic shut door feature
where it will close once a fire is detected. To guarantee protection, some door is kept closed or
automatically shuts when opened.

Fire door only slow the spread of fire and smoke so one should not fully entrust himself to it. It can
only allow one to have time to exit the building premise in case of fire. The time a door will last as
knowing when it started would be hard to determine when it started burning especially when
people are in fear.
COMPONENT OF FIRE DOOR
Fire doors may be made of a combination of materials, such as:

 Glass sections

 Gypsum (as an endothermic fill)

 Steel

 Timber

 Vermiculite-boards

 Aluminium

 GI

Both the door leaf (the swinging panel of the door) and the door frame are required to meet the
guidelines of the testing agency which provides the product listing. The door frame includes the fire
or smoke seals, door hardware, and the structure that holds the fire door assembly in place.
Together, these components form an assembly, typically called a "doorset" which holds a numerical
rating, quantified in hours of resistance to a test fire. All of the components of the fire door assembly
must bear a listing agencies label (with the exception of ball-bearing hinges which meet the basic
build requirements of ANSI 156.2 and NFPA 80) to ensure the components have been tested to meet
the fire rating requirements
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
Construction of a fire door
FD30 (30 minutes) fire doors are usually 45mm thick, as opposed to the standard door
thickness of 35 mm, FD60 (60 minute) fire doors most commonly used in commercial
settings are normally 54mm thick. Specially constructed fire doors can have a rating of 4
hours or more.

Most fire doors have a solid core construction which can include: particleboard, chipboard,
flaxboard and solid timber. The assembly of a fire door can vary greatly, some have: a
timber framing around the core with a laminated veneer; others have a lipping (5-20mm
thick) around the core with a veneer on top; and in some cases a plywood, veneer or MDF
facing is glued on to the core without framing or lippings. There is no preferred construction
method, as long as the desired fire rating is achieved

Frames
All door frames have to be constructed of steel or equivalent materials and insulated in
compliance with the desired standard of insulation. The material used for frames need to
have sufficient thickness in order be robust and rattle free, suitable for the location and
intended use. Door edges and door frames shall be reinforced to provide protection against
damage from handling of goods.
During a general fire test for doors, special attention needs to be paid to the possible
deformation of door frames. The maximum displacement of each corner of the door leaf
relative to the door frame is important to record but it is not an FTP code failure criteria.

Windows
The application of windows on a fire and blast rated doors is an optional feature. The fire
rating of a window is required to be of the same fire rating of the door. Depending on the
fire rating, the glass of the window is of a certain thickness. Glass for “A” rated windows
have to have a thickness of 43 mm, whereas “H” rated windows have to have a thickness of
140 mm.
Windows that are installed in e.g. “A” class doors are considered to be part of the door, thus
have to be tested within the appropriate door. According to IMO FTP 2010, the approach
adopted for testing windows shall generally follow the requirements for testing “A” class
doors where relevant and appropriate.

Hinges
All door hardware generally have to be of stainless steel, unless specified otherwise. Visible
surfaces have to have a brushed finish or a glass grit blasted finish because of visual matters.
On blank stainless steel, you often see tracks of finger prints and with a brushed or glass grit
blasted finish this issue is solved.
Fire and blast rated doors have to be provided with at least three hinges. Doors of a greater
size would require at least four hinges.
“H”, “J” and “A” rated doors need to have hinges constructed of a material having a
minimum melting point of 950oC (1742oF) unless it can be shown by the fire test that
material having melting point below 950oC do not affect the performance of the door
negatively.
The hinges of “B” and “F” rated doors must be constructed of a material with a minimum
melting point of 850oC (1562 oF). If there are any materials used with a melting point lower
than 850oC, a fire test must prove that the performance of the door is not affected
negatively.