Eviction of people is the most important thing to do during fire incidents in residential and commercial buildings, and anything that can buy some time at that moment, helps a lot in that process.
Fire-rated doors help, and here is how they do that:
From 20, 40 and 60-minute fire doors in Sydney, which are made of solid material, are made and tested in a controlled environment to resist spread of fire and smoke for the respective of time so that occupiers of a building where fire breaks out are evicted safely and securely.
With that said, these doors are tested in a controlled environment, meaning there is no hard and fast rule, they would last during actual fire for the said period of time they had resisted the fire in the test.
In real fire application many other factors might contribute towards higher heat intensity, smoke density and spread.
So, with that factors on mind fire-rated doors, which in testing last for 60 minutes in protection from spread of fire and smoke, might not do so in real fire environment.
Still fire-rated doors offer a great amount of support during the fire incidents. They time and again have proven to be fire and smoke resistant to a certain level, sometimes more time than they are prescribed for.
They are particularly suitable for commercial buildings, offices and dormitories, where a large number of people live and move. In case of fire they needed to be evicted quickly and safely, and door seals in Sydney are good to buy some time for that.
Fire rating of these doors depends on the material they are made from. Those made from single and solid wood pieces are more fire resistant than those, which are manufactured from composite.
Nonetheless, fire-rated doors, made from any material, are tested in the laboratory environment to show the required level of resistance.
And it is not just people, fire resistant doors, are also good to protect property during firefighting process. They facilitate firefighters in time and space to extinguish fire freely.
There is still no 100 percent guarantee and word; how long a fire-resistant door would put up a fight against spread of fire and smoke. Those helping eviction process should remain vary of this fact and carry out eviction as quickly as possible.
Also, all fire safety and residents’ health and safety rules and principles should be observed completely, even when and where fire-rated doors are installed.
Generally, these doors are installed at entry points on main pathways and offices so as to offer resistance to spread of fire from one place or one room to another room quickly and freely.
They are not just sound in structure but beautiful too in finishing. If you ever thought of getting them installed at your home, be sure they would not ruin facial outlook of it. They are as elegant and beautiful in design as other doors.
In addition, you get the added sense of protection to your family and property, and there is nothing worthier than that.