When was the last time your fire door was inspected?

Fire doors should be inspected on an annual basis according to the 2007 Edition of the NFPA 80. Some buildings such as schools and hospitals are subject to heavy traffic and the doors can be subject to misuse, these facilities should be inspected more often.

As part of the overall fire security protection, fire doors should be in full working order to stop the spread of deadly fire, smoke and toxic fumes. Your facility can be at risk if the fire door assembly is not working properly. All doors, including swinging, vertically sliding, rolling doors and horizontally sliding doors need to be tested for functionality.

Fire door ratings are used to rate the time a fire door resists a fire from spreading. It is calculated from minutes to hours. The higher the rating the longer the door can resist the spread of fire or smoke. The fire rating of the wall is also used to calculate the fire door rating.

According to the 2007 Edition of the NFPA 80, when inspecting a fire door the following should be taken into consideration.

• No holes or breaks in the door or frame
• Glazing and glass kit/glass beads are intact and securely fastened
• Door, frame and hardware are in proper working order
• No missing or broken parts
• Door clearances are within allowable limits
• Door closer/spring hinges are operational and door is self-closing
• Door is self-latching in the closed position
• Opening is not equipped with auxiliary hardware items which interfere with operation
• No field modifications have been performed that void the label
• Gasketing and edge seals, where required, are present, continuous, and of the proper type for a fire door

When installing a fire door properly, the follow-up inspections should be a smoother process.

Reasons fire doors are not in compliance:

• Painted or missing fire door labels
• Kick down door holders
• Fire doors blocked to stay in the open position
• Broken, defective or missing hardware items (latch bolts and/or strike plates, closer arms, cover plates, etc.)
• Poor clearance dimensions around the perimeter of the door in the closed position
• Auxiliary hardware items that interfere with the intended function of the door (barrel bolts and dead bolts, etc.)
• Area surrounding the fire door assembly blocked by furniture, equipment and/or boxes
• Fire exit hardware installed on doors that are not labeled for use with fire exit hardware

Keep your fire doors on the priority list for ongoing inspections and maintenance. Use a qualified professional fire door inspector, problems can be identified and fixed quickly and easily.

Call One Source Security today, 800-570-6478, with your fire door inspection questions.