SAFETY & SECURITY 65


WHY FIRE DOORS NEED PROTECTION


Mike Sutcliff e from Vanquish Hardware protection discusses why fi re rated hardware needs protection; what that protection looks like, and what housebuilders and developers need to look out for


F


ire doors and fi re rated hardware such as locks, latches, hinges, door closing devices,  ush bolts, handles, cylinders, eye viewers and letter plates must be manufactured and tested to stringent standards to ensure they operate as intended in the event of a fi re. Essential hardware plays a vital role in the performance of the fi re door, for example, fi re doors must be held closed by a spring or electrically powered door closer to prevent the spread of  ames and heat to adacent rooms. nly fully certifi ed doors with a CE ark, supported with a Field of Application and third-party certifi cation can be classifi ed as fi re doors. Certifi cated hardware provides proof that the products resist fi re during a full-scale fi re test, and it is vital that all essential hardware fi tted to the fi re door is CEUKCA marked and has been tested to a relevant ritish or European standard such as   or E -, otherwise it will invalidate the fi re door certifi cation. hen hardware is rebated into a


fi re door assembly, however, the integrity and performance of the system is compromised.


etal locks, latches and hinges function as heat conductors and transfer heat through the timber fi re door, which reduces the time it takes for the doorset to reach integrity failure. This should not be the case with a carefully engineered fi re safety device that is critical to the fi re safety of a building.


PERFECT PROTECTION All hardware installed on fi re doors must be fi tted without compromising the integrity of the assembly and this is critical where hardware is rebated into the doorset.


Adding intumescent protection to


rebated hardware greatly reduces the rate at which heat transfers through the fi re door.


Intumescent protection provides additional insulation around metallic components and helps to resist the transfer of heat from one side of the door to the other. ‘Intumescent’ refers to a material that reacts to high temperatures experienced during a fi re and expands to many times its original volume, fi lling any voids created when rebating for the hardware with an insulating foam.


WHAT KINDS OF INTUMESCENT MATERIAL ARE THERE?


onoammonium hosphate is suitable for a wide variety of hardware and expands up to ninety-fi ve times its original volume at temperatures above C with no pressure. ilicate-based Intumescent has


similar expansion and is suitable for up to -minute applications. ased on alkali silicates  which begin to swell at temperatures above C  it emits water vapour as it expands which creates a cooling effect and is used in fi re door perimeter seals, glaing and penetration sealing of pipes and ventilation elements. raphite-based Intumescent features layers of graphite with ionic compounds trapped in between which, upon heating, quickly vaporise forcing the graphite apart. It has an activation temperature of C and expands up to thirty times its original volume to fi ll any voids from rebating. For example, highly- exible and insulating graphite-based intumescent can be extruded and cut into almost any shape and has a working life of more than  years. uitable for up to -minute timber fi re door applications,


ONLY FULLY CERTIFIED DOORS WITH A CE MARK, SUPPORTED WITH A FIELD OF APPLICATION AND THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS FIRE DOORS


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