
According to National Fire Protection Agency, local fire departments responded to nearly 1.4 million fires that accounted for 3,500 civilian deaths, 15,200 civilian injuries and $21.9 billion in property damages last year. Every 23 seconds, a fire department in the United States is responding to a fire. As you can see, fires are a big problem and can cause serious harm and damage.
Fire-rated doors, also called fire-resistant doors, play a big part in a building’s passive fire protection system. Learn more about fire-rated doors and why you need them for your business.
Fire-rated doors are designed to slow or stop the spread of fire and smoke. This is achieved through their designed features and material makeup.
The term “fire-rated” means that the door is designed not to combust during a specific time frame in an average fire. It takes at least 20 minutes for one of these doors to start to give way, which is much longer than the average door. Ultimately, these doors buy extra time during a fire and prevent rapid spread.
There are different kinds of fire-rated doors. Fire-rated doors come in an abundance of styles, so the difference that matters is the fire rating and level of protection. This is typically displayed within the product name or description.
For example, an FD30 stands for a fire door built to resist fire for up to 30 minutes. An FD30S is a fire door that also resists fire for up to 30 minutes and resists smoke from passing through. Therefore, the 30 is the fire rating, and the FD and S stand for the level of protection. Here are the most common time ratings for fire doors:
Laws and regulations regarding fire doors vary depending upon states, cities, townships and municipalities, so be sure to check your local fire-rated door requirements. However, some general requirements are enforced no matter where you are located. Here are some common basic requirements:
You may be wondering if you need a fire-rated door for your business. Fire doors are required for all commercial businesses within the United States. Buildings with businesses that need a kitchen, such as restaurants, hotels and hospitals, will always have fire-rated doors. Other elevated risk areas include laundry rooms, large electrical equipment rooms and workshops. However, fires can start almost anywhere.
The number of fire doors you need is also an important factor to keep in mind. How many doors you need depends on the layout of your particular property. While there are no set specifications, there are some guidelines for installing fire doors. Fire-rated doors should be at:
Whether your business is required to install fire-rated doors, they are always a great precautionary step to take when it comes to protecting yourself, your employees and anyone else in your establishment.
What level of fire resistance rating you need depends on the location and the fire rating classification of the wall where the door is being installed. Here are some of the required door ratings for specific areas of a building based upon location and purpose:
It is always important to make sure your doors are functioning properly, meeting requirements and ready to perform their best in an emergency. More specifically, check these five areas of the door:
If you need fire-rated doors for your business, consider Manhattan Door. We offer several different door cores, including fire-rated wooden doors and our exclusive diet core. View the specifications for all of our doors and request a quote. If you have any questions, please reach out to us today!