Fire Doors and Shutters
Fire doors and shutters close openings in fire compartments and must close automatically in the event of a fire so that the surrounding wall retains its required fire resistance rating.
Function and types
Any opening in a fire-resistant wall – for people, vehicles or material flow – weakens its effectiveness unless fitted with an equivalent closure. Fire doors, roller shutters and dampers are therefore given the same or only marginally lower fire resistance rating as the surrounding wall, and are usually combined with hold-open devices that release automatically on alarm.
Operation and maintenance
The most common deficiency found in practice is a fire door permanently wedged open or blocked, for example with a doorstop or stored goods, which renders the closure ineffective in an actual fire. Hold-open devices, door closers and seals require recurring inspection; damaged or improvised repairs invalidate the door’s approval.
Insurance relevance
Checking fire doors and shutters is a standard item during a risk survey, since non-functioning closures effectively defeat the compartmentation set out in the fire protection concept. Recurring deficiencies in this area are treated as an indicator of inadequate maintenance management more broadly.