When selecting doors for your building, one of the most important considerations is fire safety. Choosing fire rated doors that meet legal requirements is crucial to protect occupants and buildings in the event of a fire.
But what exactly makes a door certified as fire rated?
For a door to be classified as fire rated, it must demonstrate resistance to fire through rigorous scientific testing. In the UK, this testing involves exposing doorset samples (including the door leaf, frame, hardware etc.) to extremely high temperatures that replicate an advancing fire.
Certified facilities monitor how well each component withstands the intense heat over time. The duration for which the doorset prevents the spread of flames, smoke and heat determines its fire rating.
Based on testing, fire rated doors receive a classification indicating the timeframe they successfully endured exposure during assessments. Common UK ratings include FD30, FD60 and FD120, meaning 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120 minutes respectively.
These ratings refer to the doorset integrity as a whole package – if any section like glazed panels or frames fails prematurely, the entire doorset solution fails. Know that while a door itself may have an FD60 rating, weaknesses around it can massively impact the real-world performance.
All components must meet standards outlined in Britain’s national Building Regulations as well as third party certification criteria for the advertised classification to remain applicable. Ongoing quality checks ensure consistency.
The materials used in manufacturing fire doorset components also matter when achieving certain fire resistance levels. Specialist fire doors tend to utilise steel, tempered glass and other non-combustible substances engineered to tolerate extreme heat.
In addition to fire resistant materials, certified fire rated doors also integrate other key properties:
Certified fire doors must have self-closing devices that reliably pull the door fully closed after being opened, without anyone having to manually shut it. This vital functionality prevents doors accidentally remaining open, which would remove their protective fire sealing.
Special heat-reactive seal strips installed along door frames and edges swell rapidly when exposed to higher temperatures. This expansion blocks gaps and holes that would otherwise allow smoke and fire to bypass the door through cracks or warped fitting spaces.
Integrated rubber, bristle or polymer strips create physical barriers at closed door perimeter gaps. These obstructions prevent contaminated smoke from flooding into adjacent rooms, allowing extra evacuation time.
Steel door frames and infill side panels made using special materials that conduct heat slowly help protect surrounding wall integrity. This reduces chances of the frame itself igniting from excessive nearby heat.
Both internal and external doorsets can meet fire rating standards. Since external doors weather more exposure over their lifespan, certification accounts for durability against environmental factors like sunlight, moisture and storms.
Internal fire doors see regulations requiring self-closing mechanisms and other safety precautions to avoid fire containment zones being mistakenly left open within buildings. Necessity depends on proximity to fire exits and separations between risk areas.
A ‘fire rated door’ refers to an entire doorset solution certified to resist fire for a duration verified through rigorous testing. Bradbury Group produces an exceptional range of steel doors purpose-designed and tested to deliver validated fire protection from 30 minutes to up to 4 hours.
Our fire doors, including the Capital45, M2M+ and M2M+Express, prevent the spread of fire and smoke, providing occupants with additional escape time while maintaining compartmentalisation across buildings.
Available for both internal and external applications, our fire doors carry certification from globally recognised organisations, Certifire and Efectis.
Additionally, our range of security doors come with optional internal and external fire ratings, providing both protection from opportunist attacks and fire.
And with our in-house manufacturing, Bradbury fire rated doorsets lead the industry as bespoke solutions crafted to your exact specifications. Speak to our advisors today about your project’s fire door requirements!
