56 • FIRE SAFETY & SECURITY
An open & closed case for fire doors
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FIRE DOORS ARE A VITAL PART OF fire prevention design and products in our buildings, both private and public. What do locksmiths need to know about this vital piece of fire safety equipment? We find out more from Phil Gallager of Astra Door Controls.
A correctly fitted and functioning fire door can help to suppress a fire by restricting the amount of oxygen available to it and will restrict the spread of fire- a closed fireresisting door is designed to endure direct attack by fire for a specified period of time. This should slow and check the spread of fire through the building, gaining time for active fire protection resources to perform. It will also protect escape and continue to provide some protection for fire fighters entering the building. A vital part of any commercial or public building’ s fire safety programme and the focus is now on fire doors and the people responsible for their specification, installation, and upkeep.
And that’ s where locksmiths come in. What do they need to know about fire doors? Where should they be fitted? What actually constitutes a fire door making it different from a regular door?
Some items of building hardware are essential to ensure that the fire-resisting door stays closed in its frame in a fire emergency. Products fitted as“ Essential” items include:
• pivots or hinges- these attach the door onto the frame, and hinges might also help to stop it bowing
• a door closing device- an overhead or concealed door closer – suitably sized- ensures that the door closes reliably, and stays shut
• and / or a latch / lock- in some cases, a latch or lock takes on the role of holding the door shut( in lieu of the door closing device).
These items must be carefully selected to ensure that they will perform their role satisfactorily. Most other items of building hardware on the door perform a function not directly associated with its fire performance(“ non-essential”), but they must in no way impede or reduce the door’ s ability to withstand fire attack for the specified time. This also requires careful selection. Too often, holes are drilled through fire doors with no thought as to the consequences.
A door closer- defined as a door closing mechanism where the energy for closing the door is generated by the user opening it, when released returning it to the closed position – is perhaps the least familiar item of the essential hardware for locksmiths.
At Astra, we fit thousands of our concealed closers on social housing, commercial and public building projects every year and find that in many cases it is a struggle make fire doors work correctly while still complying with the Equality Act and Building Regs – let alone Secured by Design and PAS 24 compliant.
The strength or size( opening and closing force) of the door closer is critical to this. The closer must be strong enough to close the door and latch it reliably to comply with fire regulations. But it should not be so vicious that users fight to open it – often getting so fed up with struggling to open a fire door that they will often attempt to disable the closer – leading to the door not complying with fire requirements: a vicious circle.
Locksmiths need to assess many factors into account when selecting the size of closer for a door – the weight of the door, the prevailing environmental conditions, air pressure, the use of the door, and, critically, the width of the door. We encounter many narrow doors with a Size 3 on flat entrances that are nigh-on impossible to open, especially for older and disabled tenants.
Front doors to flats need to be fireresisting and self-closing under Approved Document B( Fire Safety) and we are often asked if jamb mounted concealed closers are suitable for these situations. In short, the answer is yes! They can be fitted on 30- and 60-minute fire rated doors but the closer should be CE marked( where applicable) and fire tested in accordance
Philip Gallagher, Astra Door Controls
with BS EN 1634-1:2000 and BS EN 1634-1:1999 and it goes without saying that they must conform to the fire test evidence for the door they are fitted on. In fact, a concealed closer can be used on any door with a light to medium traffic flow in many of the applications where overhead closers are used.
The role that fire doors play in saving lives and protecting property is undeniable, so it is vital that they are correctly specified, installed and maintained.
GLOSSARY OF CLOSER TERMS FOR LOCKSMITHS:
• Backcheck: a closer may moderate the opening action to prevent damage to the door, closer or frame if the door slams open or is blown open.
• Closing Force: the power which the closer exerts on the door to close it. Usually measured in EN sizes from 1 to 7.
• Closing Speed: the speed at which the door closer allows the door leaf to close
• Door closer: a door closing mechanism where the energy for closing the door is generated by the user opening it, when released returning it to the closed position
• EN 1154: EN1634 – 1: Fire resistance and smoke control tests for door, shutter and, openable window assemblies and elements of building hardware.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL. CO. UK | NOV / DEC 2017