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24/7 Emergency Service
December 01, 2021
Fires pose a major threat to the safety of every property. As far as protecting your home, business, or office is concerned, fire extinguishers can only do so much. Technological advancement has provided smart fire detection and prevention devices like sprinklers, fire alarms, and smoke detectors to help protect lives and valuable assets. In this article, we consider why fire-rated doors are a good choice in protecting your assets.
What is a Fire-Rated Door?
Fire-rated doors refer to doors that are specially created to withstand flames and smoke and prevent their spread during a fire outbreak. They are designed to play a vital role in protecting lives and property and are commonly installed in public and commercial buildings to create compartments and delay the spread of fire from one portion of the building to another.
Fire-rated doors are unique, they possess special characteristics that distinguish them from ordinary doors. Allowing them to withstand raging fire for as long as possible. Manufactured with excellent fire-resistant materials, they also prevent the entry of smoke, which contributes to a lot of fire-related deaths. In almost all commercial buildings, it is a legal requirement to install a fire-rated door.
A sign such as "Fire Door, Keep Shut" should be displayed on all designated fire-rated doors in a building. The law is intended to compartmentalize structures and limit the spread of active fire through a building. In a building, fire doors can be installed at strategic locations where fire-resistant is required. These locations may include; escape route or stairs, along with the building compartments or lobby. The goal is to provide a safe level of fire resistance in case of an outbreak. In private buildings, fire-rated doors should be installed in areas where the risk is greatest, such as kitchens or rooms with lots of electrical equipment.
Fire-rated doors are built from various components; the door is made from timber and covered with fire-resistant glass that can withstand extreme heat from a fire for at least an hour. You can use a flame-resistant seal to cover the gap between the door and frame; the seal expands at temperatures above 200°C, blocking the spaces around the doorframe during a fire-outbreak.
The performance of fire-rated doors is not in its ability to withstand fire by itself; it is measured by how well its components work effectively as a unit against fire-outbreak. These components include fixings, door leaf, door linings, intumescent seal, and vents.
Fire Resistance Ratings
The primary function of a fire-rated door is to contain a fire-outbreak and keep it from spreading, they provide an opportunity for people to exit a building during fire outbreaks, by withstanding the flames for a short period. Regular doors cannot withstand prolonged fire heat and can become an entryway for the spread of fire. However, a fire door can be treated and assigned ratings based on how long it can withstand heat from a fire.
All fire-rated doors have a fire-resistant rating. This is the measure of their ability to withstand excessive heat in a fire outbreak. Fire-rated doors resistance can be rated from A to C, where Class A fire-rated doors provide the greatest degree of fire resistance and C is the lowest. These class ratings are determined by time-sensitive tests conducted by experts, where the door resistance to fire ranges from 15 minutes to as high as 2 hours.
Conclusion
With hundreds of fire-door styles and customization options available, 843 Locksmith understands that there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all, in installing fire-rated doors for your home or business. This is why our team of expert locksmiths are just one call away to provide a risk assessment of your building and suggest the most suitable fire-rated doors. Call us today to book an appointment.
