What are the legal requirements for a fire door?

What are the legal requirements for a fire door?

What are the legal requirements for fire doors? Building Regulations specify that in homes over two storeys high, every door of a habitable room leading to a stairwell must be a fire door (this does not apply to toilets or bathrooms). Fire doors are also required between the house and integral garage (if applicable).

Do fire doors have to have seals?

Do I need to fit seals on my fire door? ALL fire doors MUST be fitted with the appropriate seals. They are designed to expand under heat, and fill the gaps between the door leaf and frame, thereby preventing the passage of smoke and fire to other parts or compartments of the building.

Who can carry out fire door inspections?

Fire Door Inspection London Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person in your building/s should carry out regular checks of the fire doors within your premises to ensure fire doors are repaired and maintained as fit for purpose.

What is the maximum gap allowed under a fire door?

Gaps between fire doors and the door frame should never be more than 4mm or less than 2mm. It’s recommended to aim for a 3mm gap to ensure adequate room for the intumescent strips to activate in the event of a fire, and for the smoke seal strips (if installed) to not get damaged by the opening and closing of the door.

Where fire doors are required?

A fire door is always required in buildings other than dwellings, such as offices, factories, etc. In these cases, access to protected corridors which are used as a means of escape must be protected from fire by the use of fire doors.

Do all fire doors have smoke seals?

It is generally accepted that to provide the required level of fire resistance, all fire doors should be reinforced with either intumescent strips, cold smoke seals or a combination of both. According to the British Standard 476 fire safety standards, most doors need to be S-type (smoke sealed) doors.

Does a fire door need a threshold?

BS 9999 recommends for fire doors with cold smoke control that the threshold gap should be either less than 3mm in height or should be fitted with a threshold seal. When speaking with manufacturers, however, a common statement is that a fire doors gap of up to 8 mm underneath the door is permissible.

Are fire door inspections a legal requirement?

E.g. once per week/month. Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO/FSO) makes it a legal requirement to ensure that fire resisting doors and escape doors are correctly installed and adequately maintained in order for them to be fit for purpose.

Are fire door inspections mandatory?

Do Fire Doors Need Maintenance? Just as any other product that has been designed to save lives, fire doors need to be inspected often to make sure they are functioning properly. They should be inspected just as a smoke detector or fire alarm is regularly checked.

What is the minimum time for which a closed fire door will protect you?

In serving to compartmentalise a building and/or preserve an escape route, the function of a fire door, when closed, is to provide resistance to smoke/fire for a minimum specified length of time. Typically, this is 30 minutes or 60 minutes (FD30 or FD60).

Do fire doors need to be sealed?

ALL fire doors MUST be fitted with the appropriate seals. They are designed to expand under heat, and fill the gaps between the door leaf and frame, thereby preventing the passage of smoke and fire to other parts or compartments of the building.

What are the regulations for fire doors and other openings?

However, when it comes to fire door and other openings inspections, there are also the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Standards and the International Fire Code (IFC) regulations that must be considered.

What size seal do I need for a 30 minute door?

If this cannot be achieved, the intumescent seals may be fitted into the door edge. The recommended seal size for most modern 30 minute doors, other than doorsets, is 15mm X 4mm. The recommended seal size for most modern 60 minute fire doors is 20mm X 4mm, or 2 No. 10mmX4mm.

What is the minimum threshold gap for a fire door?

If this information is not available it seems reasonable to permit a gap of up to 8mm for general fire doors (eg FD30). If you have a requirement for cold smoke control (eg FD30 s) your threshold gap should be 3mm or less, or you should fit a threshold smoke seal (most commonly in the form a drop down seal).