A Guide to Fire Door Performance

1. The role of fire doors

Introduction
Fire doors are integral to the safety of our
built environment but, arguably, the majority
of building users don’t think about their fire
performance properties. People spend around
90% of their time indoors and, naturally, expect
buildings to be functional, comfortable and -
most of all - safe.

For everybody using them unthinkingly, day in

and day out, a door is a door! For specifiers and
installers, however, it’s important to understand the
role of fire doors and what quality and performance
should be expected from them should the
unthinkable happen.

This guide describes the key performance criteria of

fire doors and the role of third-party accreditation, as
well as summarising applicable regulations and test
standards.

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1. The role of fire doors

Fire doors: one piece of

the complete picture
Many areas of any building’s design are involved
in providing effective fire safety.

Resistance to fire spread and fire penetration; the

behaviour of materials in a fire; means of warning
and escape; access for the fire services - all of these
areas are addressed by national building regulations
and must be given appropriate consideration at
design stage and on site.

There is no justification if all but one of those areas

achieve the required standards; that ‘one’ could be
the thing a building’s occupants rely on most.

The construction industry’s success relies on quality

communication between the many parties who
deliver its projects. In fire safety, as in all things,
putting the onus of responsibility on one person or
one part of the ‘decision making unit’ makes that
delivery harder.

With pressure on specifiers to be confident in

their product choice, and pressure on installers
to make sure the specification is delivered, it’s no
exaggeration to say collaboration has taken on
greater importance.

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2. What are fire doors?

Definition
Formal definitions of what constitutes a fire door
can be found in British and European Standards,
and in national building regulations. They are
worded in slightly different ways, but all basically
refer to a door, combined with its frame and
furniture, that is capable of meeting the required
standard for restricting the passage of fire and/or
smoke, when closed.

Door terminology
In the same way that the definition of a fire door can
vary slightly depending on the source, so to can the
terminology used to describe fire doors and their
components. Accuracy when specifying, purchasing
and installing doors can avoid confusion and help
ensure the right level of performance in the finished
building.

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2. What are fire doors?
In any given situation, the word ‘door’ might be used generically to
describe some or all of the following terms:

Door leaf – the primary component of a doorset or door assembly, to which ironmongery
or door furniture can be attached, and which is hung in the frame.

Doorset – a complete unit of fire door components to the required specification,

including the door leaf in its frame, from a single supplier, fitted up and factory-assembled
by the manufacturer.

Door assembly – still refers to a complete fire door unit, but differs from a doorset in that
the components can be from different sources. Ideally, all of the elements would be third
party certified, but it’s not a legal requirement.

Other components
As part of a doorset or door assembly, some or all of the following will be
required in addition to the door leaf. The exact specification will depend on
the building type, the location of the fire door within the building and the
regulatory requirements imposed as a result.

• Door frame or lining

• Smoke seals
• Lock
• Door closer
• Glazing
• Intumescent seals
• Threshold seals
• Hinges
• Air grille
• Signage

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2. What are fire doors?

Passive fire protection

The act of containing fire (and smoke, where necessary) means fire
doors contribute to ‘passive’ (as opposed to ‘active’) fire protection.
Restricting the spread of fire relies on ‘compartmentation’, or areas
enclosed by fire resisting construction.

Containing fires in this way gives occupants the time to escape or provides
refuge to those with limited mobility, allows safe access for emergency
services, and aims to minimise damage to the building.

Fire door ratings

Fire doors are rated for their resistance, and therefore the contribution
they make to compartmentation, in terms of the number of minutes -
30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. This can be measured using either British
Standard or European Standard test methods.

The rating for a fire door relates to the complete assembly. That means the
frame, intumescent seals, smoke seals (if required), lock, hinges, glazing
and any other optional door furniture required for the application, all
working in conjunction with the door leaf itself to achieve the necessary
performance.

It’s important to remember that a fire door is only as good as the

surrounding construction. Take a fire door positioned in the corridor of a
hotel or hospital, for example: it might achieve the required rating, but if
the wall above it - including what extends above the level of the suspended
ceiling, where services may pass through it - does not achieve the right
level of resistance then fire could bypass the door.

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3. Overview of fire doors in
national building regulations

Building regulations -
England and Wales
Part B of the building regulations in England
is supported by two Approved Documents:

Approved Document B1 applies to dwellinghouses

Notable requirements include the provision of fire doors between the
house and an integral garage, and to loft conversions. Furthermore, when
houses have more than two storeys (i.e. a floor of the house is above the
threshold of 4.5m above ground level), there’s a requirement for fire doors
as part of providing ‘protected stairways’ and means of escape from the
upper storeys.

Approved Document B2 covers buildings other than dwellinghouses

It details how fire doors should be used in flats as part of providing
appropriate means of escape, and also stipulates ratings for integrity
similar to B1.

England and Wales have traditionally shared the same building regulations,
but in recent years devolved powers have resulted in new Approved
Documents in Wales. Although they feature some differences to their
English counterparts, the tables describing the performance of fire doors
are the same.

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3. Overview of fire doors in
national building regulations

FD20 rating in England and Wales

The table in Appendix B of the English and Welsh Approved
Documents still refers to a fire door rating of FD20 being acceptable
in some circumstances. It used to be possible to specify fire doors
offering dual classification of twenty or thirty minutes; a door rated as
FD20 would be accepted as FD30 if fitted with intumescent seals.

To achieve an FD20 rating without intumescent seals, however, required

extremely careful fitting of door leafs within their frames. Achieving this
consistently when fitting doors on site, and then expecting the tolerances
to be maintained throughout the door’s service life, was extremely unlikely.

The Building Control Alliance’s (BCA) Guidance Note 9, published in 2013,

suggests that construction industry practice has not changed very much.
In a section on intumescent seals, it says the installation of FD30 fire doors
in site-made frames without seals remains common and continues to be
accepted where the Building Control Body is satisfied it will provide a
suitable level of protection to escape routes.

In establishing the BWF-Certifire Scheme, the British Woodworking

Federation (BWF) and fire door manufacturers decided that FD20 fire doors
would not be sold without intumescent seals - essentially meaning that an
FD30 door had to be purchased to achieve FD20.

In 2017, the BWF’s response to the Independent Review of Building

Regulations called for the FD20 standard to no longer be recognised by the
construction industry.

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3. Overview of fire doors in
national building regulations

Other building
regulation requirements
Although fire doors predominantly contribute
to fire safety, their location and use may
mean having to satisfy other areas of building
regulations. Noise, ventilation, thermal
performance and energy use, access (including
vision panels) and security are all dealt with
elsewhere.

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3. Overview of fire doors in
national building regulations

Other fire safety legislation

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and
Wales, the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and the Fire Safety
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, all impose duties on owners
or other ‘responsible persons’ in non-domestic buildings to meet
minimum fire safety standards, carry out risk assessments and maintain
fire management plans.

This is distinct from the requirements of building regulations, but relies on

compliance with building regulations to be confident that management
plans can be carried out effectively.

Similarly, designers and installers need to be aware of their responsibilities

under the Construction Design Management (CDM) regulations. Those
responsibilities include foreseeing and eliminating risks as far as possible
at design stage, ensuring the flow of safety information throughout the
project, and handing over fire door maintenance instructions to the end
user.

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3. Overview of fire doors in
national building regulations

Building regulations -
Scotland
Section 2 of the Technical Handbooks (Domestic and Non-Domestic)
covers fire. Fire doors with ratings of 30, 60 and 120 minutes are
referenced throughout where enclosure, compartmentation and means
of escape is described.

Building regulations -
Northern Ireland
Guidance on fire safety in Northern Ireland is contained to just
one document. Table 4.5 of Technical Booklet E describes different
locations for fire doors and the performance expected of them,
established in accordance with the same British and European
Standards.

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4. Fire door standards
and testing

BS 476
National building regulations describe how our built environment
should perform in the event of a fire, but how are products and
components tested to check that performance is achieved? British
Standard 476 is split into many different parts, all of which detail fire
test methods for construction products.

For fire doors, the most commonly referenced test is part 22: “Methods
for determination of the fire resistance of non-load bearing elements of
construction”. The test is done on the entire door unit to check that all of
the components work together, and it is this test that determines the FD30,
FD60 etc. rating so critical to specification.

What that rating doesn’t do is address smoke leakage. We’ve already noted
that different seals are needed to help a fire door deal with smoke, so it’s
perhaps no surprise that the respective testing falls under a different part of
BS 476.

BS 476-31 has the catchy title: “Fire tests on building materials and
structure. Methods for measuring smoke penetration through doorsets and
shutter assemblies. Method of measurement under ambient temperature
conditions”. Passing this test adds an (S) to the fire door’s rating, and
means it can be used in any situation where the regulations demand
combined fire resistance and smoke leakage performance; for example,
FD30(S).

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4. Fire door standards
and testing

EN 1634
This European Standard covers testing for fire resistance and smoke
leakage, producing even more unwieldy titles, such as this for Part 1:

“Fire resistance and smoke control tests for door and shutter
assemblies, openable windows and elements of building hardware.
Fire resistance test for door and shutter assemblies and openable
windows”.

Its test methods generate results that bear inevitable similarities to the
British Standard testing. Fire resistance is given an integrity rating, E, in
terms of duration. Smoke leakage, meanwhile, covered by Part 3, uses an
Sa suffix. A fire door tested to EN 1634 might therefore be rated E30 or
E60Sa, for example.

These similarities lead to suggestions that the classifications are

equivalent to one another, but it’s important to remember that national
classifications do not automatically equate to a European Standard. If an
EN 1634 designation is required then the fire door must have been tested
accordingly.

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4. Fire door standards
and testing

BS 8214
Revised in 2016, this code of practice for
“timber-based fire door assemblies” gives
recommendations for their specification,
installation and maintenance. It is referenced
by other industry documents and third party
certification schemes.

Recognised as something of a benchmark, it was

important to bring BS 8214 in line with BS 9999
(code of practice for “Fire safety in the design,
management and use of buildings”, which gives
scope for more advanced approaches to fire
safety design for buildings that warrant it). Its
recommendations apply to fire performance and
smoke control but do not cover security, ergonomics
or any other functional performance.

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4.1 Other related standards
When researching fire doors for the purpose of installing or
specifying them, the wide array of door-related standards
generally can be confusing. In terms of fire performance,
BS 476, EN 1634 and BS 8214 are the most important
documents. However, depending on application, the
requirements of other standards may come into play. Some
it’s worth being aware of include:

BS 6375
Split into three parts, this standard deals with the
classification of windows and doors in terms of
weathertightness, operation, and other areas of
performance like basic security.

Although it doesn’t specifically reference fire

performance, a fire door may still have to comply
with aspects of BS 6375.

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4.1 Other related standards

EN 14351 and
EN 16034
CE marking has been an important step in giving
confidence that construction products meet
the standards they claim to meet. Ultimately,
harmonised standards limit the potential for
dangerous non-CE marked products to enter the
supply chain.

These two European Standards apply to windows

and exterior doors. There is currently no harmonised
standard for interior doors. For that reason, third
party accreditation remains the best means of
ensuring a fire door does what it claims.

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5. Third-Party accreditation

Why certification
matters
Fire doors are complex products. The more
components that a door requires due to its
location, the more important it is to be confident
that everything will work in harmony - which
means knowing it comes from a trusted source.

Accreditation schemes are a big piece in the

jigsaw puzzle of specifying and installing fire doors.
Manufacturers can claim their products have been
tested to the standards we’ve already talked about,
but accreditation schemes offer the reassurance that
products are consistently designed and produced to
the right quality and performance.

That reassurance extends to meeting the required

regulatory standard too, although national building
regulations fall short of requiring third-party
accreditation. However, Approved Document B does
make reference to it.

Clear and informative labelling of fire doors is a

significant part of the schemes we’re about to
look at, and one of the most visible aspects, but
there is much more to the schemes than might be
immediately obvious.

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5. Third-Party accreditation

BWF-Certifire
Operated and managed by the British
Woodworking Federation in partnership with
Warrington Certification, the BWF-Certifire
Fire Door and Doorset Scheme has over 150
members. It was established by the fire door
manufacturing industry to raise the standard
of fire doors and promote the use of certified
products.

Including both volume manufacturers and smaller scale producers of fire

doors, BWF-Certifire represents over 75% of the fire doors sold in the UK.
Identification and traceability are key tenets of the scheme. Members are
listed in a scheme directory as well as having their contact details published
on the scheme label with the fire door rating and identification numbers.

Membership is sought by fire door manufacturers whose products are

tested to BS 476 and/or EN 1364; licensed converters who make alterations
to door leafs to help create doorsets or door assemblies; and suppliers of
certified components.

All are required to operate a Factory Production Control System (FPCS)

in accordance with Technical Schedule 10 (TS10), and undergo annual
audits to maintain their Certifire Scheme accreditation. Manufacturers
and converters must attach a scheme label to every door produced and
adjusted; manufacturers must also agree to retest their products at intervals
set out in TS10 and provide detailed installation instructions for every door.

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5. Third-Party accreditation

Exova BM TRADA
Q-Mark
The Q-Mark certification scheme comes in many
forms, covering a vast array of construction
products. There are versions for acoustic
windows, insulation and engineered systems, as
well as battens, rafters and paint, and many more
besides.

After satisfying initial type testing, manufacturers

and installers must produce product specifications
and installation instructions. Having satisfied
production control requirements of the scheme, an
initial factory audit will take place and a certificate
issued once all requirements are met. Q-Mark
certification is valid for three years, maintained
through periodic factory and product testing audits,
and a recertification audit in year three.

Rather than a label, Q-Mark certified fire doors

feature a coloured plastic plug fixed to them. The
outer colour indicates the period of fire resistance,
while the inner ‘tree’ colour denotes the fire door’s
status. The frame may have its own plug, the inner
colour of which shows that the frame is approved as
matching the door.

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6. The role of primary test
evidence

Like any construction product, results of

testing carried out on fire doors apply to
the specific configuration of components
subjected to an individual test. Third-
party accreditation gives reassurance
that fire doors are accurately tested for
performance during the production
process, but sometimes it is necessary
to call upon test reports themselves, or
‘primary test evidence’.

Referring to test evidence can act as

a final check that the door assembly
or doorset delivered to site meets the
performance specification - or it can help
to determine if a non-standard design
will give the required performance.

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6. The role of primary test
evidence

Variations on a theme
It’s highly unlikely, particularly in large buildings,
that a single model of fire door can be specified
throughout a project. A variety of applications
means using a variety of fixtures and fittings -
but the sheer number of possible combinations
makes it impossible for door manufacturers to
test every variation.

In such situations, a ‘job specific’ assessment may

be undertaken. Using a manufacturer’s existing pool
of test data, a suitably qualified assessor can apply
their expert knowledge and determine the suitability
of extending the scope of the results to incorporate
the proposed alternative.

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6. The role of primary test
evidence

Keeping assessments
appropriate
Guidelines for this sort of assessment continue
to be developed so as to ensure a clear line of
traceability from the agreed solution, back to the
primary test evidence. A central requirement of
job specific assessments is that only primary test
evidence may be referenced.

Extending the scope of primary test evidence is

established practice, but extending the scope of
assessments based on an already extended scope
would be inappropriate.

The more primary test evidence a manufacturer can

call upon, the wider the potential for extending the
scope of results, and the greater the certainty about
the suitability of any individual solution. Having a
large pool of test data to draw upon has another
benefit: it extends the scope for manufacturers to
work with specifiers to offer custom fire door designs
and configurations.

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7. Specifying fire doors

Use of the door

Is the door an external or internal one?

Does it need to meet Secured by Design standards or

accord with PAS 24?

Is it on an accessible route and therefore expected to meet

the requirements of Approved Document M / Section 3 /
Technical Booklet R?

Does it require vision panels? What sort of glazing options

need to be considered?

Is it on a heavily trafficked route where the door is likely to

be subjected to poor treatment?

So many questions!...

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7. Specifying and installing
fire doors
No single answer
Fire doors can be, and generally are, required in any building. That
has led to the creation of a wide array of designs suitable for use in
anything from heritage restoration projects to contemporary buildings,
and everything in between.

That puts a lot of pressure on specifiers to be confident in identifying where

fire doors are required and what rating they should achieve, but it also
gives them the opportunity to set the tone from the beginning of a project
in terms of performance expectations.

Product substitution is a consistent thorn in the side of the construction

industry, causing ‘performance gaps’ in any number of areas when
specifications are not strictly adhered to. Fire doors are no exception, and
it is important that specifiers insist on adherence to their choice of product
quality - especially where accreditation schemes feature.

Configuration of fire doors

Fire doors can be single or double leaf, or even feature a half
leaf. Door leafs may open in one direction only (‘single acting’), or
both directions (‘double acting’); either way, the correct seals and
ironmongery must be provided for the door to perform as intended, as
different configurations require different solutions.

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7. Specifying fire doors

Materials and finishes

Developing a wider range of materials suitable for manufacturing fire
doors is a big reason why more design options now exist. Fire doors
were traditionally made from solid timber but, while those are still
available, flaxboard and wood composite door cores now comprise the
majority of certified fire doors.

Moving away from solid timber has reduced the weight and cost of fire
doors, while maintaining similar burn rates to achieve the same ratings.
Door cores are covered with moulded skins, veneers or laminates, or
painted or stained, to suit aesthetic and performance requirements.
For example, thermoplastic or PVC finishes suit hygiene-conscious
environments such as hospitals.

Apertures and glazing

There can be many reasons for needing an aperture, including vents,
letter boxes and even spy holes. By far the most common reason,
however, is to provide vision panels. Any glazing panels should be
created by the manufacturer or licensed converter, should be the
approved size as tested and certified, and should use the correct, fire
rated, intumescent glazing system.

Apertures in a fire door should never be cut on site, since it creates a weak
point and invalidates test results and certification.

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7. Specifying fire doors

Door hardware
Accreditation schemes address door hardware,
giving descriptions of the type, material,
dimensions and fixings of building hardware
which can be used without making the
certification meaningless.

Code of Practice: Hardware for Fire and Escape

Doors, jointly published by the Door & Hardware
Federation and the Guild of Architectural
Ironmongers and on the 4th issue at the time of
writing, offers advice on selecting hardware for fire-
resisting doors and doorsets.

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8. Installing fire doors

Ensuring performance
A high standard of installation maintains a fire door’s resistance and
maximises its service life. As we have seen, third-party accreditation
requires manufacturers and installers to provide detailed installation
instructions to ensure the tested assembly is recreated on site.

Meeting the test conditions is important: a door intended as a single leaf

only, or as single acting only, should not be installed as a double leaf or
double acting door. Successful performance in one configuration does not
automatically translate into successful performance in another.

Advantage doorset?
Fire doorsets are typically supplied to site having been assembled by
a specialist in a controlled environment - all that remains is for them
to be installed into the structural opening created on site, and the
instructions are naturally simpler.

Because they come ready-assembled and have a higher initial cost,

doorsets also seem to be handled with greater care on site.

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8. Installing fire doors

Important reminder
Apertures in a fire door should be prepared by an appropriately
certified company, whether the fire door manufacturer or a licensed
converter. They should never be cut on site.

Fire Door Installer Register

In the same way that manufacturers seek third-party accreditation, so
to can installers. The BWF also manage the Fire Door Installer Register,
which is open to contractors who are members of an approved fire
door installer scheme. The three voluntary schemes recognised by the
register are:

FIRAS, operated by Warrington Certification.

IFCC, operated by IFC Certification Ltd.
Exova BM TRADA Q-Mark fire door installers’ scheme.

The aim of all these schemes is to reassure specifiers, contractors and

building owners/users that fire doors have been installed correctly and will
perform the same in use as they do in testing. Certification demonstrates
the competence of the installer, which is maintained through regular site
visits for the purpose of audit. Details of all installations are also logged,
giving a complete record and traceability of work.

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8. Installing fire doors

Beyond installation
The BWF Certifire Scheme, in a joint venture with the Guild of
Architectural Ironmongers, launched the Fire Door Inspection Scheme
in 2012. It was Europe’s first fire door inspection scheme, and aims
to improve knowledge about fire doors and show the potential
consequences of getting it wrong.

The FDIS gives expert advice to property owners, building managers and
‘responsible persons’. It also provides online training and resources, which
can lead to a Diploma in Fire Doors and, beyond that, a route to become a
Certificated Fire Door Inspector. An FDIS Certificated inspector is uniquely
qualified to inspect fire doors and identify where any upgrades or remedial
works are required.

Exova BM TRADA have also extended their Q-Mark certification to those

who engage in the maintenance of fire doors, giving an extra layer of
assurance to fire door performance.

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9. Summary

At first glance, the range of fire door options, combined

with the related terminology and various performance
standards, can be daunting and a little confusing. This
guide gives a clear introduction to fire doors and -
hopefully - inspires a little confidence in anybody dealing
with that aspect of a building’s fire safety design.

Fire doors remain just one part of a whole series of fire

safety measures that must be kept in mind from the outset
of a project. For manufacturers, specifiers and installers,
being an expert in every area of fire safety is impossible, so
equally important is having confidence in the chosen door
manufacturer and knowing they can be asked for further
guidance when needed.

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10. About Soundcraft

The fire doors supplied by Soundcraft are compliant with

British Standards and supported by the Q-Mark fire door
installation scheme.

For more information on fire door installation, contact

our technical team on 0800 988 1875 or email
technical-sales@soundcraft-doors.co.uk

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 For more information on
Fire Door installation
please contact us at
www.soundcraft-doors.co.uk
or give our technical team a call
on 0800 988 1875

Orchard Building, Hewitts Road, Chelsfield, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7QL

T: 0800 988 1875 | F: 01959 532544
E: technical-sales@soundcraft-doors.co.uk