Fire Doors serve a special function in a building – they are there to both contain a fire and to help extinguish it. All too often we find Fire Doors that have been modified or their automatic functions circumvented. This can lead to the catastrophic loss of life and cause additional damage to a building, so we want to see that they are used properly.

Fire & Smoke Containment

Fire Doors are a special assembly of components that collectively are engineered to prevent, or at least delay, the spread of fire from one compartment of a building to another. If the door is not closed, and held closed, it cannot serve this purpose.

Supplementary protection that Fire Doors provide is that they contain the smoke and toxic gases generated by a fire. The fuel load in most theatres is heavily laden with foam-based materials, plastics, and other unidentified elements that create a wide variety of toxic chemical compounds when burned. Many of those that survived the recent fire in the The Kiss Club in Brazil have suffered significant breathing problems due to the gases produced by the burning ‘acoustical’ foam (not really acoustical foam, but was used for that purpose, just like the tragic fire at the The Station Nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003).

Starving the Fire

Fire requires oxygen to sustain combustion. When you close-off all the doors to a building compartment, it drastically reduces the availability of one of the key components needed to continue to burn. A fire will naturally self-extinguish once it has consumed the air in a room (this is not to say it can’t re-ignite as soon as a door is opened and fresh air is introduced – this is why you leave post fire alarm entry into a building to the professional fire-fighters – they know how to deal with these situations).

Props are for shows, not Doors

No doubt about it, Fire Doors are inconvenient. They are, however, much less inconvenient that dying, or having your theatre destroyed. They get in your way when you are trying to move through a building. A minor price to pay.

All too often we see a variety of objects used to prop a door open. Some are temporary, like boxes, mic stands, flag pole bases, STAGE RIGGING COUNTERWEIGHTS, and wedges jammed under the base. Other methods are more ‘modifications’ to the door, like disconnecting the automatic closer arm, adding a flip-down stop, or tying the door to a nearby object. Either way, the door cannot close on its own, and that is a violation of any Fire Safety Code.

There are only three legal ways to hold a Fire Door open:

• A person stands there and holds it (the theory being that in the event of a fire, the person will release their grip on the door and it will close), or
• Have the door held by an electro-magnetic latch that is tied to the Fire Alarm System (the theory being that the fire alarm system will be activated and the door(s) will all automatically closed), or
• In some instances, Fire Doors can be held open by a fusible (meltable) link that would separate in the presence of a burning fire. These are commonly seen on overhead coiling Fire Doors and gravity-operated laterally sliding Fire Doors (not common in new facilities, but sometimes found in older venues.)

Of the tree door holders mentioned, the first one is the one that can respond the most quickly to a fire. The others all have a delayed reaction that can prolong the amount of time until the protective system reacts and allows the Fire Door to close.

• A fusible link does not react to smoke or a fire on the other side of the stage or shop, so it may not activate for a long time leaving the door open for smoke to escape and for fresh air to enter.
• An electro-magnetic door holder is controlled by the Fire Alarm System, so if there is only a Smoke Detector, it will not trip until the smoke is detected, or if there is a Rate-of-Rise Heat Detector, it may not know that there is a smoldering fire that has not yet erupted into a burning conflagration. Some electro-magnetic door holders are equipped with a manual door release button near-by.

Hold on there, Buddy

When there is a fire, the hot gases expand and create a higher air pressure on the inside of a door, so Fire Doors must have latches that effectively hold the door closed against the pressures of the expanding gasses. This is why placing gaffer’s tape over the door latches or bailing wire on the door operator handle to hold the latches so that they don’t catch is forbidden.

A Pre-emptive Strike

One of the most effective things you can do around a facility is to KEEP FIRE DOORS SHUT. “A closed mind gathers no knowledge” – and a Closed Door doesn’t let Fire & Smoke Out and Air In.

Fire Doors require regular testing, inspection, and maintenance, too.

NFPA 80 Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives is the reference document that defines the periodic checks that must (most jurisdictions abide by this standard) be performed. This involves numerous tests and check that must be recorded for each Fire Door in a facility.

• Testing the door closer to see that it closes the door on its own, and within a prescribed maximum time. The ADA defines what the minimum time for an automatic door closer is so that disabled people can get through a door before it slams shut on them.
• Checking the automatic door closer to see that it is even there and connected.
• Testing the latches to see that they are present and the door actually stays closed. This includes both the bolt on the door and the receiver (strike plate) in the door frame.
• Checking to see that the Fire Door label (usually on the root of the door leaf and the door frame) are present and legible. Painting-over the labels is a violation of the Fire Code.
• Checking to see that the door has not been modified with kick-down stops, hooks, slide-bolts, dead-bolts, or other mechanisms that would prevent the door from closing and latching, or prevent it from being opened in an emergency.
• Testing the door operator system (crash-bar, push-bar, handle, or knob) is intact, operational, and that there are not any loose or missing guards, guides, and covers.
• Checking the gaps around the top, bottom, and sides. There are limits to how wide the gaps are allowed to be.
• If there are glass lites (vision panels), check to see that they are intact and not cracked, broken, or missing.
• Checking to see that no combustible materials are attached to the door.
• Checking to see that there is clear passage to and through the door. In some venues the Fire Doors may exit into an alleyway – and invariably someone will park a vehicle right in front of the door rendering it useless.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• ADA tests include making sure that the forces required to operate the door are not excessive.
• Although not a fire code requirement, if the door is equipped with acoustical seals to keep noise transmission to a minimum (this is always a good idea in theatres and shops, these seals need attention, too. They can become bent, torn, dislodged or may have been removed by people not understanding there purpose.

If you are interested in more Fire Door knowledge, visit: http://idighardware.com/category/fire-doors-3/. This sites’ authors are true Fire Door experts – they invented most of the hardware and closers you see in use today.