Types Of Fire Doors

Fire doors keep you safe.

Fire doors stand between the occupant of a building and a fire. There are different types of fire doors. If the contractor of a building has placed the wrong kind in the wrong place, people might not escape the building during a fire.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Fire Doors

Fire doors are measured in the length of time they keep the flames away. They range from doors that can keep flames out for 20 minutes to sturdy doors that will keep people safe for three hours or longer. The doors with the highest flame resistance are used between buildings or divide a large building into several protective zones. Doors which can keep fire out for 90 minutes are located in stairwells, boiler rooms or exterior doors which protect the inside of the building from a serious fire threat outside. Sixty-minute doors divide apartments or condos within a building. Doors with lower ratings are used between rooms or where the fire danger is light to moderate.

Steel Fire Doors

Steel doors in fire-resistant frames provide excellent protection from fire. They're available in single or double doors with panic bars, finger plates or drop bars. Often these doors exceed the three-hour rating and have ratings of four and six hours.

Glazed Fire Doors

Sometimes it's necessary to look through the door without opening it. A glazed window in the door cuts down on the use of the door and provides an easy way to see if it's safe to open the door during a fire. Fire doors come with windows made of ceramic or borosilicate glass, wire mesh glass or a layer of liquid sodium sandwiched between two panes of glass. Smaller glass panels tend to be more resistant than bigger ones. It's important to use a fire-resistant glazing system to hold the window in place.

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