Door Industry Journal - Spring 2013

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Doors are a key component in ensuring essential fire protection and in allowing time for employees and tenants to escape a building fire. David Hindle of Ingersoll Rand examines the vital role doors can play in protecting assets and saving lives. Media reports into fires in residential or commercial properties usually focus on cause, but all too often the critical issue of how quickly the fire spreads is overlooked. A well contained fire allows employees and tenants the opportunity to evacuate a building. A poorly contained fire can rip through a building at an astonishing pace leaving inhabitants little or no time to escape. The fire at Lakanal House, a block of flats in Camberwell, London, which occurred in 2009, is a case in point. The initial cause of the fire is thought to have been a television set but the role that doors and door surrounds in the building played in allowing the fire to spread have been highlighted at the subsequent inquest. A fire expert who testified at the inquest was of the opinion that the fire was only of ‘medium growth rate’ until the door of flat 79 collapsed into the corridor because the hinges could no longer support it. Once the door collapsed the fire became ‘extremely severe’. In the words of the expert “you would normally expect to see the upper portion of the door to be damaged, but the entire height of the door was charred throughout.” The stairways and corridors within a building can act like a chimney, allowing fire to spread quickly from one level to another. By isolating the fire and preventing it from spreading and reaching these areas, fire doors not only buy occupants valuable time but also protect people and property from fire damage and the harmful effects of smoke. It is clear that at Lakanal House the door failure, whilst not a cause, was a contributory factor in allowing the fire to spread and thus blocking escape routes. The key regulation for building owners is the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2006. RRFSO as it is generally known - has a significant impact on the way passive and active fire protection elements of a building are specified, installed and maintained. Critical fire safety responsibilities move from fire agencies such as the fire service to building owners and operators. Under the RRFSO, building owners must ensure - and be able to demonstrate - that fire safety precautions are not only in place but are continually reviewed and monitored. Responsibilities include a range of requirements such as regular fire assessments, implementing clearly defined evacuation procedures and ensuring adequate signage. The key requirement however is ensuring that all doors are fit for purpose in the instance of fire. In practice this means that emergency doors must open in the direction of escape; sliding or revolving doors must not be used as emergency exits and emergency doors must not be locked or fastened in such a way that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may need to use them in an emergency. One option that building owners and specifiers should consider is fire resistant steel doorsets. The key advantage of doorsets is that both doors and frames are manufactured and tested together. In the past steel has been regarded as a rather aesthetically unappealing option, however more appealing designs as well as the inherent durability advantages are making steel a popular option. Crucially, steel has excellent fire resistant properties, built into the design and, unlike wood, is unaffected by moisture. This ultimately ensures that the doors will not warp, swell or rot and will therefore retain their fire resistant properties. The key attributes of steel doorsets can be found on the door itself and the frame. Building specifiers should be equipping buildings with doors made of fire rated core material of at least 50 mm leaf thickness; that are equipped with high quality hardware, true vertical lock seam joints and have top and bottom rails welded into position. In addition, the frame should have infill which is fire insulated, have proprietary frame smoke seals and be equipped with stainless steel ball bearing hinges. 48 THE door industry journal spring 2013 fire & security A BULWARK AGAINST FIRE