Fire Doors – What you need to know

The elements of the world have always been a challenge to mankind as human beings have been striving to gain control over the elements by their power, wisdom and vision. Fire is an element that is so difficult to control when it gets out of bounds and it grows from dangerous to lethal in no time. Fire doors, hence, play such an important and crucial role in your safety and wellbeing and count among the essential things in life that you would rather not compromise on. Fire doors are extensively used to prevent fire that sets off in one part, from spreading on to the other regions – and they are also meant to provide a safe exit path for residents and others from the fire affected building. And as with most other dangers of life and their safeguards, the role played by fire doors in making our world safer should never be underestimated. Fire doors, though commonly known by the terminology, are made of a range of materials that are known to be fire resistant. Steel, gypsum, vermiculite boards and glass components form the major materials, apart from timbre, to be used in the manufacture of fire doors. It is not in every company’s abilities to manufacture fire doors as their manufacture and distribution are limited and heavily restricted by the appropriate testing agencies. There are strict guidelines to be followed and stringent conditions to be met by the manufacturers, as specified by the testing agencies, in order to pass the test and to be certified as fire doors. Further, it is not just the doors that would make a difference, as even the edges of the fire doors would have to be completed with fire rated seals – these seals should be capable of expansion to prevent the passage of smoke and should come in handy at fire prevention. Fire doors could also include ones that come with in-built windows. However, even the windows would have to satisfy specifications as stipulated by the testing agencies – they should be incorporated at the time of manufacture and should be strong enough to remain intact during the actual fire conditions, specifications which would be tested by the testing agencies before the fire doors are commercialised and marketed. The main functions of dire doors would also include the ability to control the temperature on the other side, though it is permissible for the doors to take a beating and to be partially destroyed during the fire process.