Which Doors Need to be Fire Doors?

Fire doors are an essential part of passive fire control in commercial buildings, helping to slow down the spread of smoke and flames to other parts of a building. They help make the safe evacuation of any occupants more likely, while they also enable the fire and rescue service to attend and tackle the fire before too much damage is done. This means that any door that forms part of an escape route needs to be a fire door.

If you think you might need fire doors at your commercial premises, this article will help you to understand how they work, the regulations surrounding fire doors, which doors at your premises should be fire-rated – and where you can get top-quality fire doors in and around London and Surrey.

How do fire doors work?

Fire doors are made from materials that allow them to withstand fire for a specified amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes. They are also fitted with an intumescent strip that expands under heat to fill the space between the door and its frame, sealing the room to contain the fire and prevent the smoke and flames from spreading further. This means that fire doors must always be kept closed when not in use and should be fitted with an automatic closer.

What are the fire door regulations?

Fire doors in commercial buildings are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in the case of existing buildings and by Building Regulations Approved Document B in the case of new buildings.

Approved Document B states that fire doors should conform to BS 476-22:1987 or BS EN 1634-1:2014. The Fire Safety Order does not contain any specific regulations regarding fire doors – their use, location and fire rating will be determined by your fire risk assessment – but it does say that, like other fire safety equipment, they should be “subject to a suitable system of maintenance and…maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”.

Which doors need to be fire doors?

In a commercial building, fire doors are employed to provide a safe escape route through a building. This could either be a vertical escape route that directs people towards a stairwell, or a horizontal escape route with compartmentalised spaces, such as rooms and corridors that are on the same floor.

So that this can work effectively, every element of the fire door needs to have the same fire rating as the door itself – that can include the frame, hinges and handle, together with any glazing or decorative fire door finishes that might have been incorporated. 

Here at Scutum London, we don’t just supply and install top-quality fire doors, we can also provide the essential maintenance as stipulated in the Fire Safety Order, whether that’s on a one-off basis or on an annually scheduled contract.

If you’d like to get some expert advice on your need for fire doors, or you’d like one of our professional advisers to make a free site visit to assess your existing fire doors, then please get in touch with us today. Our team works across South East England, including in and around London and Surrey.