- What are fire doors?
Fire doors and FR doors (fire-resistant doors) are technical doors that allow us to minimise the risks of fire and its propagation.
The ultimate purpose of these types of technical doors is to reduce the impact of an accident in a building. Fire doors and FR doors are particularly resistant to fire which means they take longer to burn and therefore lengthen the time needed by a fire to spread from one room to another.
How do they perform in a fire?
Some of the components of wood fire doors and FR doors are made of intumescent materials (which swell when exposed to heat) blocking any airways between rooms separated by these technical doors. This ‘sealing’ occurs with the fire doors and FR doors the flow of oxygen that feeds the fire and preventing the flames from spreading rapidly from one room to another.
- Are they thicker than normal wood doors?
Yes. Normally, wood fire doors and FR doors tend to be thicker, they are made of fire-retardant chipboard and have solid wood edges that take longer to burn.
- Which fire doors are used the most?
The most commonly used wood fire doors and FR doors have EI1 30-C5 (RF-30) and EI1 60-C5 (RF-60) certification under the UNE EN 13501-2-2009+A1 standard and are widely used in shops, hotels, hospitals, schools, health centres, etc. For example, Spanish hotel rooms are required to use fire doors or FR doors with EI1 30-C5 (RF-30) certification. In other types of buildings and projects the use of fire doors or FR doors is determined by the architect according to applicable laws and the building’s security plans.
- What do the RF-30 and RF-60 indications mean?
The FR-30 and FR-60 indications refer to the number of minutes the fire takes to propagate from one room to the next through the fire doors. Thus, in case of fire, the FR doors with an FR-60 rating guarantee that the fire will not penetrate through them for at least 60 minutes.
- In Spain, are they called EI1 60 – C5 or EI1 30 – C5?
In Spain, the most widespread term is set out by Royal Decree 314/2006, of 17 March 2006, which approves the Technical Building Code and which determines that FR 60 or RF 60 doors can be called, for example, EI1 60 – C5 doors.
In this case, the letter ‘E’ refers to the integrity of the door and its ability prevent the passage of flames or gases, the letter ‘I’ refers to the insulation of the door and its ability to prevent the transmission of fire due to heat transfer and the number 1 clarifies that during testing, measurements were made at a distance of 25 mm from the pane (or 100 mm when the number is 2). Finally, the number 60 refers to the number of minutes during which the door will hold, preventing the spread of fire and C5 clarifies that the door withstands a durability test of 200,000 cycles.
- Can 60 minutes make a difference when it comes to putting out a fire?
If we add the fire resistance of all the fire doors or FR doors in a building, the difference in propagation time is very important and is key to successfully putting out the fire.
- Can wood fire doors doors be two-leafed?
From the point of view of architectural needs fire doors or FR doors can be single or double doors, with or without a crossbeam, opening left or right and can even be provided with a view hole made of special FR glass. In addition, with regard to aesthetics, fire doors or FR doors come in all types of finishes, with all types of hardware (hinges, handles, pins…) and accessories (panic devices, springs, door stops, finger protectors, kick plates, etc.) that you may need.
- Is there any law in Spain I should take into account when using fire doors?
The current regulations applicable to building in Spain determine the use and maintenance of the fire doors or FR doors. These are some of the most important standards to take into account:
– CTE/ DBSI: Technical Building Code
– RSCIEI: Safety Regulations on Fire Fighting in Industrial Premises
– Corrections-RD2267-2004-RSCIEI
– Directive 89/106/EEC: CE Marking of Building Products
– Maintaining Pedestrian Doors with fire protection functions
- Why use wood fire doors?
The fire doors or FR doors that are made of wood offer all the advantages of technical doors but with the aesthetic value of wood. In architecture and decoration, safety should not be at odds with beauty, and wood fire doors or FR doors, with their wide range of available finishes, offer the possibility of including this safety element in a way that is almost imperceptible or unidentifiable, practically becoming just another decorative element.
- What more information do you need when I order wood fire doors? Where do I find it?
To help in your decision to buy fire doors, you may also need information on available finishes, standard sizes (both of the opening and the door) as well as manufacturing lag times for these doors depending on the type of finishing required. In Spigogroup site you will be able to obtain all this information and, if you wish, you can also download the technical data sheet of the Spigodoor fire doors; a single document extending all this technical information with details on handing criteria, fixtures and available accessories, special systems, etc.
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