Fire proof doors aren’t always strong against their nemesis and they also might reach a point of breakdown because of constant use. A good option to stop these events from happening is to conduct a fire door inspection. In fact, you don’t need to make efforts with regards to these things since inspections for these fire protection fixtures are mandated by the Australian building code. Inspections are done to make sure that your fire doors are working properly and of course to promote fire door maintenance.

Inspectors have the capabilities in terms of carrying out minor setbacks and repairs. He can also make necessary adjustments to the doors to make it pass the regulations. Make sure that these inspectors are licensed and authorised by the government. Also, another great tip is to contact inspectors from an already established fire doors dealer. This way, you don’t have to pay extra for third party companies that will conduct the same inspection.

One of the most important parts of a fire door is its frame. It is one crucial component and it should be properly installed. Moreover, every door frames should be well maintained in accordance to the standards that are mandated by the fire door regulations. These doors should be subjected to regular inspection on a regular basis.

There’s a reason why fire doors should be given a thorough inspection. These doors no matter show strong they would look can actually fail because of heavy use. Especially if these doors are installed on high traffic areas, these fixtures are mostly subject to frequent openings every single day. These doors are also installed in hospitals which are always used without stop on a daily basis.

Now, if there are about a hundred openings in one day, these doors should be inspected at least once in every 3 months. It will guarantee sure fire door maintenance like tightening loose components and fixing certain gaps on frames caused by daily use. Also, inspections are done to make sure that the doors are still within the standards of fire door regulations. Certain measurements should be maintained to make sure that these doors are ready for action any time trouble comes.

An ample space should be given between the bottom and bottom edge of the fire door to make sure that smoke can be prevented from seeping out in the gaps. Smokes are the ultimate killers during fire outbreaks as it can intoxicate a person who inhales a significant amount of it.

Hot smokes can burn the airway and because of lack of oxygen, the victim might just pass out leaving the flames that come along free to burn the body up. This is the main reason for most of the casualties in burning buildings and fire doors have a significant role in preventing these types of situations.

Wherever you go, fire outbreaks are one of the most feared catastrophes. It could be in the form of building or forest fire, it could be caused by nature, freak accident or even man made. However, one thing will always remain and that is the severity of its damage. For thousands of year, countless of lives have been taken by this blazing element. And for years, every nation concerned has tried their best to prevent these things from happening. With the help of modern touch, fire alarms, high tech fire extinguishers and other fire safety mechanisms were made. One of the most popular among these would be fire doors.

Unlike the ordinary once that you commonly see, a fire proof door is made from different specialised materials. They are made for one purpose and that’s to prevent the spread of fire to the entire establishment. Aside from the wood that most doors are commonly made of, a fire door has some added coatings of non-combustible materials making it strong against the blazing flames and thick smoke. This would now enable any person inside the establishment to run for safety. Since fire doors also have limits, they are classified according to their ratings or how long they can withstand against the fire.

However, there’s only one thing that would make a fire proof door fail, if it’s left open during the outbreak. Here, no matter how strong and expensive these doors are, if they’re not closed properly, they will be rendered useless and the establishment will still be burned down as fast as how the fires would go about. A fire door should always be closed or it should have an automatic closing mechanism that goes off when fire alarms would be triggered. These doors should close tightly to stop the smoke from transferring to other parts of the building.

Smokes are the real killers during the fire outbreak. What makes them so dangerous is that they can easily suffocate a person and burn his or her airway and will become unconscious. Flames would consume you later. So, to stop these things from happening, fire doors should have seals that would swell when stimulated by heat. If the fire door seals are working properly, smokes and flames would stay inside one room until they’re controlled by fire fighters while the victims could easily go for safety.

Fire doors should regularly be inspected by the proper authorities. They can be agents from the government or third party companies which at times are fire door firms that would offer certain fixes once they see non-compliance on your fire safety doors. It might be a burden to some business owners but it’s actually for a good cause since fire doors should always be ready for action. Failing to comply with the standards that are being given by the building code of Australia might lead to the closure of the business.

If you’re buying a door that’s to be used for non-domestic structures, you are usually required to purchase fire door. The scope of this term now includes all apartments of flats. Now, even if you own a residence or a domestic building as long as it has a third floor or more, you are still required to have a fire door installed.

Fire doors are essential because they are a form of what we call passive fire protection. They are very much essential to prevent fire from spreading all throughout the building. This means a lot as you’ll get to save more property as well as lives. There are thousands of lives taken away by just mere fire outbreaks. This is the reason why there’s a huge need to have the right fire proof door installed correctly.

These fire doors will divide a certain building in different sections to stop the wild spread of fire on a specific time or fire door rating. Also, these doors should easily allow people to pass through them and go for safety. The minimum fire rating for doors to be used would be 30. So, getting an FD 30 means that it can hold off fire and smoke for about 30 minutes which is already an ample time for small building occupants to get out from the premises and go to safety.

Australia has made certain regulations with regards to the type of doors that should be installed. It’s highly important that the company you chose to attach these fixtures is aware of these things. They should be the one to tell you the standards that should be followed to avoid certain problems.

Every fire door has a rating. This rating is a form of certification that these doors are compliant to what is prescribed in the guidelines of the Australian government. This also means that these doors are tested in the harshest conditions and are able to survive them all according to each one’s limits. But even if these doors are certified, the proper way of installing them plays a very important role as well. If it’s not done perfectly, it can affect the whole protection process during times of emergencies. That’s why instructions should be clear and should be followed accordingly. This is to make sure that the doors are will perform on their optimum level during fire.

Also, intumescent seals play an important role on these matters. For these types of doors to work efficiently, there should be a precise measurement of the gap between the door leaf and the floor or the sides. This gap should also be secured because smoke or flames can get in here as well. This is where intumescent seals come into play. When hot temperatures are placed on these seals, they automatically expand thus covering the gap and therefore sealing the door for fire prevention and containment.

We already know the importance of fire doors in every establishment that we own. However, what matters most is the way we install these doors not more so with the brand. Although both are equally important, following the standards especially fire door regulations can lead us to a safer situation. The reason is that these regulations and standards are already tested and proven. The government is making huge efforts so as to minimise the damages caused by fire outbreaks. So, to help you get started with laying out your plans, here are some of the recommended points in installing your fire door.

Before installation

First of all, before having your fire rated doors installed, make sure that the company that you hired is a licensed one and should also be qualified to do fire safety door installation as well as certification. Secondly, you should make sure that the fire doors that are being installed are near or on the fire wall. This is an ideal one to preserve the fire rating of your door as well as the wall itself.

Third, make sure that the door frames as well as all the hardware adheres to the recommended, tested and approved prototype for that particular door and its accessories. Lastly, communicate with your builder and make sure that the fire door installation is in accordance with the fire door requirement for that particular door.

During installation

You have to remember that you fire door must receive a proper fire door rating the moment the installation is complete. The reason is that if you don’t meet with the standards for the certification, you’ll have to repeat the process all over again and you don’t want that, right?

Upon installation, make sure that the door leaf is being installed and hung the proper way. There should be no more than 6mm from any edge for the door. If there’s a need to trim more than 6 mm, you will have to have your fire doors customised to fit with your sizing needs. There should also be a 3mm clearance between the fire door and the frame at the head of the stiles. If it’s more than the prescribed measurement, it’s considered non-compliant. There should also be 10mm clearance and not less than 3mm clearance between the floor and the door itself.

The sill of the door should be made of noncombustible materials like concrete. Also, the locks as well as the closing mechanism of the doors should have been fire tested and certified. Make sure no deadbolts are being installed on the fire doors themselves because it’s against the Australian Building Codes.

After installation

Fire sources can come from either of the two, man-made or natural occurrence. Sometimes, fires are done in the forest to allow for regrowth of certain plants and these are usually started by nature itself through lightning or a super-strong heat of the sun. Fires are also very useful for human use as without it we can’t have our foods cooked, melt metals for industrial and residential use and many more. However, if these fires cannot be controlled, they can affect a lot of lives and even damage everything we own. Without proper preparation such as fire doors, all these will be rendered nothing.

Fire doors are needed for our ultimate protection and safety. There are standards that should be followed when it comes to fire rated doors. This is determined by a fire door maintenance inspector who checks if everything is well within the standards as prescribed by the Australian legislation.

To make sure that these fire safety doors are always on top of their condition, here are the parts that fire door inspectors usually check.

Surface and frame

Your fire doors shouldn’t have any open holes or breaks especially on its surface because it can affect its ability to stand against flames. A small crack on the door is already a huge opportunity for fires to spread its terror which will render your fire door useless. You have to know that fire doors are usually coated with materials that would slow the fire down and will give you an ample time to evacuate or until the fire rescue arrives.  It’s usually measured in minutes.

Vision light frames and glazes

These parts of your fire safety doors should be intact and strongly attached. Not all doors have these parts but you should make sure that these are properly maintained to avoid hustles.

Door and hinges

There fire door parts that aren’t combustible and can function without damage and breaks. However, it’s better to have these parts checked so as to make sure everything’s in perfect condition should any untoward events happen.

Measurement and clearance

Some fire door inspectors are keen about measurements and a little high or off in the standard measurements will end to certain recommendations. For example if they find out that your clearance is more than ¾ of an inch, they would recommend you to have it replaced or repaired until you have reached the desired measurement that does not exceed the standard that is required. This is only fitting because a small discrepancy in measurement can mean a huge thing during fire and it’s important that you fix it while everything’s still perfectly fine.