Fire Safety Doors
Fire safety doors are specially made doors that are used to help contain fires in certain areas of buildings. The walls that are around the fire doors are made to be fire resistant in order to form a protection system in the case that a fire breaks out. These are given hourly ratings that will show the amount of time they are able to withstand the conditions of a fire.
There are many different types of materials which are used in the production of these doors. These materials include; timber, steel, and various types of natural minerals. Although not all of these are listed as ‘fire proof’ they do have the ability to delay the fire and to keep it from spreading quickly throughout the entire area.
The most fire resistant part of the fire safety door is the frame. This is more commonly produced with strong construction and special seals that help to keep the smoke from passing through to the other areas of the building. The hardware used on the door is tested in order to make sure that it is able to withstand the high heat.
Each door that has been produced is given a fire rating based on the materials and hardware used to construct the entire thing. This rating will be determined upon the ability it has to withstand against the damage and high heat exposure of a fire.
A door that is able to last three to four hours will usually be used around walls that will separate two buildings or two very large parts of the building in order to withstand a much longer period. The ninety minute to hour doors are commonly used on stairwells like those found in apartment buildings. The smaller the area that the door is used in the lower the fire rating will be.
Other types of fire safety doors will be designed with windows that have also been given a fire rating. The window is used to give people the chance to know whether or not they are able to pass through the room and the fire safely. It is made using mesh or ceramic glass.
It is not uncommon for people to use these doors for other purposes or to keep them open for long periods of time. This makes them completely useless and unable to contain any fire that breaks out. Rather then keeping them open they should be kept closed at all times and only used in emergencies. Doors that have to be used for entryways should be given a device that will automatically close it when a fire breaks out.