Everything You Need to Learn About Testing Fire-Rated Doors
Posted on: 24 June 2020
It is easy to limit yourself to sprinklers, alarms and other conventional devices when you think about fire protection systems. However, do you know that you can use other features and fittings to enhance the levels of fire safety in your commercial space? Fire-rated doors are a good example. The doors come as an assembly that effectively compartmentalizes smoke and flames or provides safe egress against extreme radiant heat. Fire-rated doors mitigate the risk of injury and property damage by a large margin, and you are better off learning a thing or two about them. Here is what you need to know about testing them:
The Temperature Rise Test
Radiant heat is a significant risk factor when a fire breaks out. The heat can lead to severe injury to the occupants in the building if they are in a space where the heat can radiate and get to them. The same applies to property, which can melt or warp as the heat radiates. Therefore, temperature rise tests are imperative for fire-rated doors. The tests involve subjecting the doors to high levels of heat. The non-fire side's temperature is measured over time and the door is given a rating depending on the period that it can hold off the heat. For example, a door rated with a half an hour rating can hold off the heat for this period before you witness a rise in the temperature of adjacent spaces.
The Fire Endurance Test
The fire endurance test focuses on the length of time that a fire-rated door can withstand an actual fire before physical damage occurs to its structure. In this way, you can be certain that the fire will not spread beyond the door for a certain period of time, which helps when instituting rescue and loss mitigation measures. For example, the door can be exposed to extreme temperatures for a period of one hundred and eighty minutes. If the door remains intact and holds off flames for this period, it will receive a fire endurance rating of one hundred and eighty minutes.
The Smoke and Draft Control Test
If you plan to add fire resistance corridors or hallways in your space, you must control smoke and drafts during an outbreak. The fire-rated door undergoes a test to rate how long it takes before it allows smoke to infiltrate an area that has not been affected by the fire.
Contact a company that offers fire testing services to learn more.
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