Fire Safety Regulations for Fire Rated Doors

No matter what industry you work in, fire safety is always of paramount importance. A critical element of fire protection is a fire rated door.

Fire rated doors help slow the spread of fire, ensuring that occupants have additional time to escape while minimising fire and smoke damage to property. In the UK, there are stringent fire safety regulations surrounding the performance of fire doors.

But what are the fire safety regulations in the UK?

Fire safety in buildings across the UK is regulated through Building Regulations, particularly Approved Document B (Fire Safety) which sets out the requirements for fire resistant doors. It is also essential to comply with European standards for products that will be used for fire and smoke control.

• EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016: This standard applies to external doors and windows and ensures they meet performance criteria for characteristics like safety, weather resistance, and energy efficiency. For fire-rated doors, it confirms that they meet these standards while offering fire protection.
• EN 16034:2014: The European standard specifically governs the fire resistant and smoke control characteristics of doors. It outlines performance requirements which are critical to maintaining building safety during a fire.

UK regulations require fire-rated doors to meet specific time thresholds for fire resistance. For example:

• FD30: Provides 30 minutes of fire resistance.
• FD60: Provides 60 minutes of fire resistance.
• FD120: Provides 120 minutes of fire resistance.

Fire doors are tested to these standards and certified by accredited bodies to ensure that they can withstand fire for the specific amounts of time.

Our range of single and double fire rated doors are designed and manufactured to comply with rigorous fire safety standards, including EN 14351-1:2006+A2:2016 and EN 16034:2014. They offer up to 120 minutes of fire resistance (FD120), making them suitable for a wide variety of commercial, industrial and residential applications where fire safety is a top priority.

Our fire rated doors have undergone comprehensive testing according to EN 16034:2014, which sets the performance criteria for fire and smoke control in doors. This European standard guarantees that our premium fire doors provide effective resistance to fire for up to 120 minutes (as per the F120 rating).

In fire-rated applications, doors are tested for:

• Integrity - How long the door can maintain its structure and prevent the passage of flames.
• Insulation - How well the door can prevent heat transfer to the non-fire side.
• Smoke Control - The door’s ability to prevent the passage of smoke, which is often the biggest cause of fatalities in a fire.

Our fire rated doors meet all of these criteria. That means that they not only block fire but also help prevent the spread of smoke. In turn, this makes our fire rated doors ideal for internal fire doors, multi occupied residential buildings and external fire doors.

Fire rated doors are ideal for high-risk areas where longer periods of fire resistance are crucial, such as:

• Industrial or commercial buildings with hazardous materials.
• High rise residential buildings where evacuation may take longer.
• Public buildings with large numbers of occupants, such as schools, hospitals, or shopping centres.

FD120 fire doors are designed to withstand fire for up to two hours, significantly reducing the risk of fire spreading and offering occupants time to evacuate safely.

The doors are built using fire-resistant materials that meet the rigorous standards required for compliance with EN 16034:2014. Key components include:

• High-density fire-rated cores: The core material is designed to resist high temperatures while maintaining structural integrity.
• Intumescent seals: These seals expand when exposed to heat, effectively closing the gap between the door and its frame to prevent fire and smoke from passing through.
• Fire-rated ironmongery: Hinges, locks, louvers and all other fire door accessories are all certified fire-rated components to ensuring that they perform under extreme conditions.

Fire-rated doors, once installed, need regular inspection and maintenance to ensure they remain effective over time. We recommend that you schedule regular inspections of all fire doors to check for issues such as worn seals, damaged hinges, or misaligned closers that could compromise the door’s performance. This is crucial for maintaining compliance with fire safety regulations and ensuring occupant safety.