Fire door Components

Fire door

^{From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_door}

A fire door is a type of door or movable barrier used as part of a passive fire protection system within buildings to prevent the spread of fire or smoke between separate sections. It is usually the only means of allowing people to pass through a fire-resistant wall.

Components

Fire doors may be made of a combination of materials, such as:

* timber
* steel
* gypsum (as an endothermic fill)
* vermiculite-boards
* glass sections

Apart from the door leaf (the swinging panel of the door) there is the door frame which also has to meet fire rated regulations, intumescent strips, smoke seals, door hardware and the structure that holds the fire door assembly in place. Together, these components form an assembly, typically called a "doorset" which holds a rating, in hours, specifying the amount of time it is able to resist a fire at a given temperature. All of the components of the fire door assembly must bear a listing agencies label (with the exception of ball bearing hinges which meet the basic build requirements of ANSI 156.2 and NFPA 80) to ensure the components have been tested to meet the fire rating requirements.

Door hardware

Door hardware includes, but is not limited to:

* Automatic closing devices.
* Ball bearing hinges.
* Positive latching mechanism.

Seals

Edges of a fire door usually need to have fire rated seals which can be composed of:

* An intumescent strip, which expands when exposed to heat
* Neoprene weatherstripping
* Gaskets to prevent the passage of smoke

Intumescent seals are crucial in maintaining the performance of a fire resistant door, and as such, the correct seal should always be used. Seals may vary in chemical composition, expansion rate, expansion volume, and/or charring characteristics.

Windows

Some fire doors are equipped with internal windows which also have a rating, or have been incorporated at the time of the door test and be subject to the overall door's product certification. Fire-resistive windows must remain intact under fire conditions and hose stream impact resistance, and can include:

* Wire mesh glass
* Liquid sodium silicate fills between two window panes
* Ceramic glasses
* Borosilicate glass

Wired glass typically withstands the fire, whereas the sodium silicate liquid also acts to insulate heat transfer, due to the endothermic action of this chemical.

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Fire Door 防火門, 防火玻璃門 產品認證 (PCCS-FD) - recognized by the HKCSL (Hong Kong Certification Services Limited) to ensure the door quality as well as performance reliability.