How Do Fire Doors Work In Apartment Buildings?

Multi-occupancy residential buildings are, like most buildings, always at risk of fire. However, this risk is multiplied when you consider the amount of dwellings that exist within one of these apartment buildings.

Reports show that in 2020, local fire and rescue services were called out to 156,128 fire-related incidents. Of these, 28,000 were fire-related incidents in these types of dwellings.

Because of this ever-present risk, architects, contractors, building owners/managers and landlords have a responsibility to ensure that their fire doors are suitable, which means knowing as much as you can about the world of fire safety.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, how do fire doors work? You are already making the first step to being fire responsible, by asking questions and seeking answers.

In this post, we’ll be exploring how fire doors in apartments work from a technical perspective and some key considerations for anyone involved in the design, specification or maintenance of a fire door in an apartment building, helping to keep your buildings safe and regulated.

In The Event Of A Fire, How Do Fire Doors Work?

A fire doorset is passive safety device that has been precisely engineered to perform a handful of critical functions in the unfortunate event of a fire. We refer to a door set (doorset) rather than a fire door, as the latter term only usually refers to the ‘fire door’ leaf i.e. the core of the door.

A doorset, on the other hand, encompasses every part of a functioning door, including the frame, locks, fixings and fire-resistant features such as intumescent strips.

The three main functions of a fire door in the event of a fire are:

• TO safeguard escape routes, so the fire or smoke does not reach these areas, allowing people to evacuate safely
• TO protect parts of the building and occupants by limiting the spread of fire and compartmentalising it
• TO allow for safer fire-fighting by fire and rescue services

As mentioned, fire doors in apartment buildings are a form of passive fire safety. This means that they act as an ordinary door until subjected to a fire event. The design of a fire doorset ensures that before the heat hits the door, any smoke is withheld by the smoke seals. These work immediately, prior to the activation of any intumescent protection.

When the heat meets the door, the intumescent system (such as seals or strips) expands and seals the gaps in the doorset.

These strips work by sealing the gaps between the door leaf itself and the door frame. The intumescent strips hold the leaf in place allowing it to become a barrier, preventing the fire from getting into or out of the affected room or compartment.

Within a multi-occupancy residential building such as an apartment block, the performance of the intumescent seals greatly reduces the damage and danger of a fire.

By sectioning off the fire area, a fire doorset not only protects other occupants and areas of the building, to allow escape but buys time for fire and rescue services to be signalled.

When specifying fire doors, always ensure you seek advice from an expert, such as RW Doorsets. They will ensure that the correct intumescent detailing, including size, quantity and location of the intumescent strips is correct.

The Role Of Glazed Fire Doors in Apartments

Glazed fire doors are simply doorsets that have vision panels equipped with fire-resistant glass. Whilst specifying vision panels can simply be an aesthetic choice for multi-occupancy residential buildings, however, they do have a more practical function too.

Approved Document M advises that fully glazed doors or vision panels are required in entrance doors, doors in corridors and in passageways in public buildings.

There are also advisories stating that any door leaf wider than 450mm must be provided with a suitable vision panel. For DDA regulations these doorsets must have a zone of visibility, between 500mm and 1500mm from the finished door level.

When specifying fire-resistant glass in fire doors, you have the option of deciding between insulation and integrity glass. In some cases, the building’s fire strategy will dictate which of these, or in some instances both will be needed.

The two types of fire-resistant glass are:

• Integrity Glass prevents fire from penetrating the doorset but will not stop heat penetration. Therefore, there is a risk that any materials may eventually gain ignition on the opposite side.
• Integrity and Insulation Glass is designed to stop the transfer of heat whilst providing protection in the event of a fire.

Do You Need A 30, 60, 90 Or 120 Minute Fire Door In Your Apartment Project?

Fire-resistant doorsets are specified by their resistance and this is measured by minutes (specifically 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes).

The level of fire resistance for doorsets is determined by the fire strategy designed by a fire prevention expert, who will closely assess the building requirements.

For example, the main routes of escape will need a higher fire rating (e.g. 60 minutes or 120 minutes). In contrast, a toilet or bathroom may only need a 30-minute door, if any fire rating at all.

Typically, in residential buildings, you’d specify an FD30 or FD60 fire door at the entrance to each apartment. An FD60 or FD120 doorset would more commonly be used in corridors to contain fires long enough for residents to evacuate, as well as to allow emergency services enough time to react.

Key Considerations For Fire Doorsets In Apartment Buildings

In general, when specifying fire doors, the same key considerations apply regardless of the environment or setting. However, there are some key points to bear in mind that are specific to apartments, which we will briefly cover here:

• Vision panels may need to be carefully considered if the fire door adjoins an escape route
• Consider acoustic performance carefully as costs can increase exponentially over 35 RwdB in single sets and 33 RwdB in double sets
• Choose a finish that is robust and easy to maintain or repair
• Avoid concealed closers to cross corridor doorsets. They are often abused and fail (or damage the door leaf) more frequently
• Only use doorstops where necessary and avoid door-limiting stays. The former is a trip hazard and, if fitted incorrectly, may leverage the door leaf off the hinges, the latter, if forced, will damage the frame or door leaf

With recent changes to fire regulations, it’s also hugely important that you understand the functionality of a fire doorset. Under the new changes coming in the Fire Safety Regulations 2022, responsible persons must carry out more regular checks of the building’s fire doors.

We would ALWAYS recommend you seek out expert advice during this time, to ensure that these inspections are carried out by trained individuals. Failing to correctly maintain your apartment building’s fire doorset could lead to serious legal issues or expensive costs down the line.

Some experts offer maintenance & service packages which cover your regular inspections, including a scheme for offering free repairs if and when they are needed.

So, How Do Fire Doors Work?

The responsible specification in apartment buildings requires you to have a firm understanding of the workings of a fire doorset.

This understanding will not only help during the specification or selection of a fire doorset, but as well as in the maintenance of your building, to ensure they are working to the manufacturer’s specifications.

At RW Joinery, we specialise in the manufacture, installation, and maintenance of fully certified performance doorsets.

If you’d like to discuss fire doorsets or your project in more detail, feel free to talk to an expert today. From manufacture to installation, partnering with an expert team of fire door specialists, ensures you are assisted from conception to completion.

With RW Maintain you are also covered long after installation, with maintenance & service packages which cover all your new and existing doorsets for regular inspections and further repairs and replacements in the event of damage.

Speak to an expert today, we are always happy to help or answer any questions. Simply fill out the form below or call us on 0161 480 8722.