8. Doors and Fire Ratings
Chapter objectives
1. Chapter Overview
2. What Are Fire Ratings?
3. Door Assembly Ratings
4. Fire Penetration Ratings
5. “Path of Egress” Doors
6. Electrified Locks and Fire Ratings
7. Chapter Summary
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
If you are going to have a career designing, installing, or maintaining access control systems, you will need to thoroughly understand doors and fire ratings. Fire ratings are the metrics used by licensed underwriting agencies, government entities, door/frame manufacturers, installers, and fire code officials to judge the worthiness of a given door and frame assembly to withstand a fire for a certain time period.
Doors and frames are fire rated together as an assembly, not individually as pieces. The integrity of the door assembly is critical to the success of the assembly to achieve and maintain its fire rating. Any penetrations into the door or frame will affect the ability of the assembly to hold its rated resistance to fire and smoke penetration.
Certain doors in a facility are considered “Path of Egress” doors. These are the doors that one must go through to get from the fire emergency to the safety outside. Such doors are dictated by building code and are designated as Path of Egress doors by the architect.
Electrified locks can have an effect on door assembly fire ratings. It is essential to understand how security door/frame modifications can affect door assembly fire ratings to ensure that no changes are made to the door assembly that could void the door assembly's fire rating.
All information in this chapter should be taken as informational only and must be reviewed for approval with the local Fire Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Information from The Steel Doors Institute was used as a resource for much of this chapter.
If you are going to have a career designing, installing, or maintaining access control systems, you will need to thoroughly understand doors and fire ratings. Fire ratings are the metrics used by licensed underwriting agencies, government entities, door/frame manufacturers, installers, and fire code officials to judge the worthiness of a given door and frame assembly to withstand a fire for a certain time period.
Doors and frames are fire rated together as an assembly, not individually as pieces. Certain doors in a facility are considered “Path of Egress” doors. Electrified locks can have an effect on door assembly fire ratings. All information in this chapter should be taken as informational only and must be reviewed for approval with the local Fire Authority Having Jurisdiction. Information from The Steel Doors Institute was used as a resource for much of this chapter.
Keywords: Access Control Systems, Agencies, Assembly, Code, Design, Egress, Electrified Locks, Fire, Install, Maintain
Author Information:
Thomas L. Norman, CPP, PSP, CSC, Executive Vice President, Protection Partners International
What Are Fire Ratings?
Basic Fire Egress Concept
According to Section 7.1.10.1 of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 2006 edition: “Means of egress shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.” This is clear and unambiguous language indicating that the security system must take second place to Life Safety during a fire emergency.
How Should This Be Done?
NFPA 72, Section 6.16.7.1, The National Fire Alarm Code (NFAC), 2007 edition, states: “Any device or system intended to actuate the locking or unlocking of exits shall be connected to the fire alarm system serving the protected premises.” Additionally, NFPA 72, 2007 edition, Section 6.16.7.2, states: “All exits connected in accordance with 6.16.7.1 shall unlock upon receipt of any fire alarm signal by means of the fire alarm serving the protected premises.” NFPA 101, 2006, Section 7.1.9, Life Safety Code, clarifies this further: “Any device or alarm installed to restrict the improper use of a means of egress shall be designed and installed so that it cannot, even in case of failure, impede or prevent emergency use of such means of egress, unless otherwise provided in 7.2.1.6 and Chapters 18, 19, 22, and 23.”1
1A good article on this subject appeared in Electrical Contractor Power & Integrated Building Systems online magazine, April 2008. This article, titled “Low-Voltage Opportunities in Healthcare” by Allan B. Colombo, a 32-year veteran of the security and life-safety markets, explains these principles in excellent detail.
Exceptions
There are two broad exceptions to these standards. The first of these includes “Free Mechanical Egress” electrified locks and the second is called “Delayed Egress Locks.”
Free Mechanical Egress locks do not rely on any electrical signal to allow egress; that is, one can simply turn the handle or push a bar and exit, no matter what state the electric lock is in (locked or unlocked). Three types of locks fall under this classification:
• Electrified Mortise or Electrified Cylinder Locks
• Door Strikes
• Electrified Panic Hardware
The second class involves a special lock called a “Delayed Egress Lock.” This class of lock inserts a short delay, accompanied by an alarm before exit is allowed. Use of these locks requires a special variance granted by the local Fire AHJ. We will cover all these locks in Chapter 13.
Fire Penetration Ratings
Door assembly ratings are related to wall fire ratings. There is no need to place a fire-rated door into an unrated wall. Walls are rated by the “time” (in minutes or hours) they can withstand fire or smoke penetration. 2
Wall ratings are
• 4 hour:
• Walls that separate buildings or divide a single building into individual fire areas
• 2 hour:
• Walls that enclose vertical spaces such as stairwells and elevator hoist-ways
• Exterior walls where there is a potential for severe fire exposure from the exterior of the building
• 1 hour:
• Walls that separate occupancies within a building
• Corridors or room partitions
• Exterior wall that could be exposed to a light or moderate fire from the exterior of the building
• Walls where smoke and draft control is required
Similarly, door assemblies (frames, doors, hinges, locks, etc.) are also rated for their ability to withstand fire and smoke penetration. The fire rating of the wall into which the door will be fitted determines the required fire rating of the door assembly.
Door assembly ratings are
• 3-hour (180-minute) doors:
• Used on 4-hour Walls
• 1-1/2-hour (90-minute) doors:
• Used on 2-hour walls that enclose vertical spaces such as stairwells
• Used on 2-hour walls where there is chance of severe exposure to a fire from the outside of the building
• 1-hour (60-minute) doors:
• Used on 1-hour walls that divide occupancies within a building
• 3/4-hour (45-minute) doors:
• Used on 1-hour walls where there are openings or room partitions
• Used on 1-hour walls where there is a chance of light to moderate exposure to a fire from the outside of the building
• 1/3-hour (20-minute) doors:
• Used on 1-hour walls where smoke and draft control is required
• Not Fire Rated — doors rated “20 Minute Tested without Hose Stream”
Hose Stream Test
The additional rating category of 20 Minute Tested without Hose Stream should not be confused with a 20 Minute Fire-rated Door. The Hose Stream Test is required on all doors rated 45 minutes or higher and is required by ASTM E 119, ASTM E 814/UL 1479, and ASTM E 1966/UL 2079, all of which affect fire stopping measures. The Hose Stream Test was developed to protect firemen from collapsing structures resulting from metal doors, frames, and stairwells becoming brittle when exposed to fire. The Hose Stream Test is conducted by applying a stream of water from a fire hose to a burning door, stair assembly, or fire stop compound (at a wall penetration).
The Hose Stream Test provides an indication of impact, erosion, and cooling exposure of a stream of water on rated wall penetrations and structures. When fire ratings were first implemented it was discovered that some assemblies could withstand the fire exposure test but would fail when sprayed with a stream of water. In particular, fire stop compound including mortars that are applied to seal wall penetrations may withstand the fire test, but may become so structurally weak from the fire that when sprayed with water they crumble and allow fire to spread through the rated wall. Doors that are rated “20 Minute Tested without Hose Stream” are not considered fire-rated doors. Such doors may include doors with glass openings.
Door Assembly Ratings
The Three-fourths Rule
Doors are rated for three-fourths of the rating of the surrounding wall. For a 4-hour wall, a 3-hour door assembly is used; for a 2-hour wall, a 1-1/2-hour door assembly is used, and so forth. However, it is possible to use a door assembly rating that exceeds the rating of the wall, but never lower than three-fourths of the rating of the wall.
Doors with Glass
Doors with glass may be rated if they include a vision light kit including ¼" wire mesh glass (something like chicken wire between two layers of glass) or ceramic glass. The industry uses a chart to define the amount of exposed glass allowable in a door opening for a given fire rating. The vision light kit is generally approved for door assemblies up to 90 minutes with ¼" wire glass and up to 180 minutes for doors using ceramic glass. Three-hour doors are not generally allowable with any type of glass (rare exceptions are made by local AHJ).
Temperature Rise Doors
Certain doors, such as those in fire stairwells, need to protect the occupants of the stairwell as they transit down the building to safety. In so doing, they may pass from a floor above a fire to floors below the floor where the fire originated. If heat is transmitted through a fire stairwell door, it can prevent the occupants from going past the door to safety, trapping them above the floor that has the fire.
In such cases, these doors need a special fire rating, called a “Temperature Rise Door.” These doors are constructed using a compound inside the door that resists transmission of heat through the door. Temperature Rise ratings are made in addition to the normal fire rating of the door assembly and include 250, 450, and 650 °F. These indicate the maximum rise in temperature above the ambient temperature as measured on the side of the door that is not exposed to the fire during the first 30 minutes of the standard fire test. The 250 °F test is the most stringent, because it allows the least rise in temperature.
Louvers
Certain doors have louvers in them to allow for the free flow of air between spaces. It is common to see louvered doors in industrial spaces to provide ventilation, especially for spaces that could process volatile or hazardous fumes. The idea of louvers and fire ratings do not go hand in hand; however, it is possible to order fire doors with fusible-link type louvers to a maximum size of 24 × 24" in a 90- or 34-minute rated door. Doors that may not be equipped with louvers include 20-minute rated doors or any door that could be part of a smoke and draft assembly and doors with glass lights or equipped with fire exit devices such as panic bars.
Fire Door Frames and Hardware
Fire door frames are rated according to the type of wall they will be used in and the type of door they can support. Frames intended for installation into masonry walls are rated for use with 3-hour doors, whereas those intended for installation into drywall walls are intended for use with a maximum 1-1/2-hour fire door. Fire doors intended for 3-hour doors may be fitted with doors that are rated for less.
Door hardware on fire-rated doors must be consistent with the ratings of the frame and door. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) publishes a Building Materials Directory that lists door hardware, hinges, and latching devices and their suitability for use on rated doors. Similar lists are also published by other ratings agencies.
Latching Devices
All fire-rated doors must be equipped with a labeled latching device that latches the door when it closes. Deadlocks can be provided also, but must be in addition to the latching device. For Fire Egress doors, if a deadlock is used, it must be interfaced to the latchbolt so that both retract with the latchbolt. Dead-Bolts may not be used instead of latchbolts.
Latches must be of a given size, depending on the fire rating of the door assembly. For double doors, the latchbolt must be longer than for single doors to allow for the fit of the doors. The minimum length of the latchbolt is stipulated on the fire door label.
Fire Exit Hardware
Fire Exit Hardware (approved Panic Bars) must be used on all fire egress doors and all rooms with an occupancy of 50 or more (local codes may vary). Fire-rated doors intended for use with Panic Hardware (Fire Exit Hardware) must carry a label stating that they are suitable for that use, because they must be reinforced to carry the extra force of loading that occurs when being opened repeatedly by Panic Hardware. Fire Exit hardware also carries size and hourly ratings restrictions, and they must be labeled as Fire Exit hardware.
It is a common mistake to find unrated electrified Panic Hardware fitted sometime after the building is built to a fire-rated door, thus voiding the fire assembly rating.
Pairs of Doors
Pairs of doors are available in either active leaf/passive leaf or double active leaf configurations. Typically door closers are required on both leaves, except for mechanical rooms, where the closer can be omitted from the passive leaf if it is acceptable to the AHJ.
Latching Hardware
For paired doors, the active leaf can use either labeled fire exit hardware, or any labeled latch that can be opened with a single operation from the egress side.
Inactive Leaf on Pair of Doors
For paired doors on equipment rooms, maintenance rooms, and so forth, the inactive leaf may be secured shut using manual flush bolts or surface-mounted bolts. The NFPA recommends that inactive leaves do not receive a knob or other visible hardware that could lead a person to think that they can turn a handle and exit.
Labeled fire exit devices are required for exits unless the local AHJ gives specific approval for the use of labeled self-unlatching and -latching devices. Examples of these are automatic flush bolts on the inactive leaf. The self-unlatching feature must work only when the active leaf is opened.
Double Egress Pairs
Double egress doors are doors in which one door swings out and the other door swings inward. Typically the right-hand door swings away from the direction of travel of a person approaching the pair and the left-hand door swings toward the person approaching the door. These doors allow convenient travel in either direction, especially with carts and hospital gurneys, and they also ensure that a door that separates two occupancies or attached buildings will allow fire exit in either direction.
Surface-mounted or concealed vertical-rod-type fire exit device hardware is required for double egress fire doors.
Astragals
An astragal is a lip at the edge of one door of a double leaf set against which the other door will come to rest. The astragal will seal the door so that nothing can be inserted between the doors when closed.
Fire Egress Doors, if equipped with an astragal, must be equipped with one that inhibits the free use of either leaf. These are typically an automatically operated astragal that hinges away to allow the doors to open and closes automatically when both doors are closed. Pairs of 3-hour doors must always use an astragal per NFPA 80.
Check with your local Fire AHJ regarding the specifics for your community on use of astragals.
Smoke and Draft Control
Doors that open onto a rated egress corridor may be required to have a smoke and draft control rating. Such doors are tested for both fire resistance and air leakage.
“Path of Egress” Doors
Remember, fire-rated doors come in two types: Non-Egress Rated and Fire Egress Rated. Doors that are in the path of egress must be fire rated and must carry fire-rated hardware rated for Fire Egress, in addition to the nominal hourly ratings from 20 minutes to 3 hours.
Security designers, contractors, installers, and maintenance technicians must be able to recognize which doors in a facility are Fire Egress doors and, if they are modified with electrified locks, hardware appropriate to the application must be used. Also, remember that modifying a fire-rated door assembly can cause that assembly to lose its fire rating. Fire door assemblies are tested as an entire assembly, and changing the lock on that assembly can void the fire rating of the entire assembly. If this is the case, there are several ratings agencies that send inspectors to a facility to re-rate the door based upon the approvals of the individual components and the way they were installed. Be certain to check with a ratings agency before modifying any fire-rated door, especially any fire-rated door that is also a Fire Egress door.
If a fire-rated door, especially a fire-rated path of egress door, needs to be modified with an electrified lock, it is best to
• Look at the label on the door and frame.
• Note its fire rating and if listed as an egress door.
• Evaluate the application and determine the best type of electrified door hardware used to comply with the ratings.
• Take photos of the door, labels, and data sheets on proposed and alternate hardware to the AHJ and submit them and ask if the door can be re-rated by a ratings agency with the suggested hardware, getting approval in writing if possible.
• Install the approved hardware in an approved fashion (see the section Electrified Locks and Fire Ratings).
• Get the new assembly re-rated by a ratings agency and submit the re-rating to the local Fire AHJ for approval.
• This process is only one of many variations that may be required by the local Fire AHJ in the local community. Be certain to verify the exact process before beginning the approval process.
Electrified Locks and Fire Ratings
The mere act of installing an electrified lock on a fire-rated door can void the door's fire rating. As previously mentioned, it is important to use locks that are suitable to the rating of the door assembly. It is also imperative that the lock be installed in such a way to allow for the door assembly to be re-rated after the lock is installed.
Remember, any drilling, cutting, or non-original penetration to the door or frame whether to mount a lock or door position switch can void the rating, as can using improperly rated locks. Typically on fire doors having ratings of 45 minutes or higher, any electrified lock must be mounted so that it does not allow fire or smoke to penetrate. This is usually done in originally rated assemblies by ensuring that wiring goes into ANSI electrical pockets that are built into the door or frame. That's right, I am talking about a little electrical box configured right into the frame itself. And yes, there is also a little box in the top of hollow metal doors to receive the magnet for a door position switch.
If you are getting the idea that Fire Code Officials are serious about not having fire and smoke penetrate their rated doors, you would be right. They are dead serious about it and any designer, contractor, or installer who does not understand how to get a retrofit to meet the same strict standards as the originally rated door assembly can be out a lot of money when it comes to replacing the entire rated assembly, door, and frame, at his own expense, times the number of doors on which he got it wrong. That is a lesson you will never forget if it ever happens to you. So don't let it happen. Do it right the first time and every time.
Additional References
• NFPA 80–1999: Standard for Fire Doors and Fire Windows
• NFPA 252–1995: Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• Underwriters Laboratories Standard for Safety UL 10B: Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• Underwriters Laboratories Standard for Safety UL 10 C: Positive Pressure Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• Uniform Building Code Standard 7–2: Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• International Building Code 2000
Chapter Summary
1. The basic Fire Egress Concept is contained in NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 2006 edition: “Means of egress shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.”
2. NFPA 72, Section 6.16.7.1, 2007 edition describes how this should be done: “Any device or system intended to actuate the locking or unlocking of exits shall be connected to the fire alarm system serving the protected premises.”
3. Further to that, NFPA 72, 2007 edition, Section 6.16.7.2 states: “All exits connected in accordance with 6.16.7.1 shall unlock upon receipt of any fire alarm signal by means of the fire alarm serving the protected premises.”
4. And this is also clarified by NFPA 101, 2006 Edition, Section 7.1.9: “Any device or alarm installed to restrict the improper use of a means of egress shall be designed and installed so that it cannot, even in case of failure, impede or prevent emergency use of such means of egress, unless otherwise provided in 7.2.1.6 and Chapters 18, 19, 22, and 23.”
5. The two broad exceptions to the rules above include Free Mechanical Egress Locks, which do not rely on any electrical signal to allow egress and Delayed Egress Locks.
6. Door Assembly ratings are related to wall fire openings.
7. The Hose Stream Test provides an indication of impact, erosion, and cooling exposure of a stream of water on rated wall penetrations and structures.
8. Door Assembly Ratings:
• Doors are rated for three-fourths of the rating of the surrounding wall.
• Doors with glass may be rated if they include a vision light kit including ¼" wire mesh glass (something like chicken wire between two layers of glass) or ceramic glass.
• Certain doors, such as those in fire stairwells, need to protect the occupants of the stairwell as they transit down the building to safety. In such cases, these doors need a special fire rating, called a “Temperature Rise Door.”
• It is possible to order fire doors with fusible-link type louvers to a maximum size of 24 × 24" in a 90- or 34-minute rated door.
• Fire door frames are rated according to the type of wall they will be used in and the type of door they can support.
• All fire-rated doors must be equipped with a labeled latching device that latches the door when it closes.
• Fire Exit Hardware (approved Panic Bars) must be used on all Fire Egress Doors and all rooms with an occupancy of 50 or more (local codes may vary).
• Pairs of doors are available in either active leaf/passive leaf or double active leaf configurations.
• For paired doors, the active leaf can use either labeled fire exit hardware or any labeled latch that can be opened with a single operation from the egress side.
• For paired doors on equipment rooms, maintenance rooms, and so forth, the inactive leaf may be secured shut using manual flush bolts or surface-mounted bolts.
• Double egress doors are doors in which one door swings outward and the other door swings inward.
• Surface-mounted or concealed vertical-rod-type fire exit device hardware is required for double egress fire doors.
• An astragal is a lip at the edge of one door of a double leaf set against which the other door will come to rest. The astragal will seal the door so that nothing can be inserted between the doors when closed.
• Doors that open onto a rated egress corridor may be required to have a smoke and draft control rating. Such doors are tested for both fire resistance and air leakage.
• There are two types of fire-rated doors: Non-Egress Rated and Fire Egress Rated.
9. Security designers, contractors, installers, and maintenance technicians must be able to recognize which doors in a facility are fire egress doors and if modified with electrified locks, hardware appropriate to the application must be used.
10. The mere act of installing an electrified lock on a fire-rated door can void the fire rating on the door, so it is important to use locks that are suitable to the rating of the door assembly.
1) What is the basic Fire Egress Concept?
a. “Means of egress shall be continuously guarded for full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.”
b. “Means of egress shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.”
c. “Means of egress shall be well lighted by egress signage at every egress door.”
d. “Means of egress shall include automated doors at the exits on all commercial buildings.”
2) This is clear and unambiguous language that
a. The security system must manage Life Safety during a fire emergency
b. The security system must work closely with Life Safety during a fire emergency
c. The security system must take second place to Life Safety during a fire emergency
d. Security must be considered before Life Safety during a fire emergency
3) Common fire penetration ratings for Wall Assemblies include:
a. 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours
b. 45 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours
c. 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours
d. 45 minutes, 2 hours, and 4 hours
4) Common fire penetration ratings for Door Assemblies include:
a. 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours
b. 30 minutes, 1 hour, 90 minutes, and 3 hours
c. 45 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours
d. 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 90 minutes, and 3 hours
5) The additional rating category of “20 Minute Tested without Hose Stream”
a. Is the same as the 20-minute fire rating on the door
b. Applies to all doors fire rated lower than 45 minutes
c. Should not be confused with a 20-minute fire-rated door
d. Is used to test doors that will never be in the area of a hose stream
6) Doors are rated
a. The same as the surrounding wall
b. For half the rating of the surrounding wall
c. For three-fourths of the rating of the surrounding wall
d. Whenever glass doors are used
7) Temperature Rise Doors are commonly used
a. At building perimeters
b. On office suites
c. Where temperatures may rise and fall during the day
d. In stairwells
8) Fire Door Frames and Hardware
a. Are rated according to the type of wall they will be used in and the type of door they can support
b. Are frames intended for installation into masonry walls rated for use with 3-hour doors while those intended for installation into drywall walls are intended for use with a maximum 1-1/2-hour fire door
c. Are fire doors intended for 3-hour doors may be fitted with doors that are rated for less
d. Are all of the above
9) Latching Devices for Fire Rated Doors
a. All fire-rated doors must be equipped with a labeled latching device that latches the door when it closes
b. Deadlocks can be provided also, but must be in addition to the latching device; for Fire Egress doors, if a deadlock is used, it must be interfaced to the latchbolt so that both retract with the latchbolt
c. Dead bolts may not be used instead of latchbolts.
d. All of the above
10) Fire Exit Hardware (Panic Bars)
a. Must be used on all fire egress doors and all rooms with an occupancy of 50 or more (local codes may vary)
b. Must be used on all fire egress doors and all rooms with an occupancy of 100 or more (local codes may vary)
c. Must be used on all Fire Egress doors and all rooms with an occupancy of 200 or more (local codes may vary)
d. None of the above
11) Double Egress Doors
a. Are doors in which two or more people may exit simultaneously
b. Are doors in which one door swings outward and the other door swings inward
c. Both of the above
d. Neither of the above
12) Fire Rated Doors are of two types:
a. Hollow Metal or Solid Core
b. Non-Egress Rated and Fire Egress Rated
c. Always Fire Egress Rated
d. All of the above
13) The mere act of installing an electrified lock on a fire-rated door can void the fire rating on the door.
a. True
b. False
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.