To determine the FD rating of fire doors, manufacturers like Vigor Doors have their fire doors assessed by subjecting them to a test procedure as specified in BS 476-22:1987 or BS EN 1634-1:2014.
Tests are made on complete fire door sets. In other words, the fire door itself, the door frame and all hardware like locks, latches and hinges. Knowing if the fire doors in your building are up to scratch or not can be a difficult task without any inspection guidelines. But, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our Fire Door Checklist.
The fire door set is fixed in a wall representing its use in real life settings. The test procedure for FD30s will see one face of the door exposed to the heat conditions expected in a fire and observed for stability and integrity.
The FD30 standard demands that the tests be carried out with the upper part of the door under a small positive pressure, to simulate the conditions likely to occur in a fire.
As a fire door should be tested from each side to establish its performance with either face exposed to fire conditions, two fire doors are required for testing. It is reasonable to assume that all fire doors and door frames manufactured to the same specification as the two specimen doors achieve the same fire resisting properties.
While FD30 fire doors are tested together with a fire door frame and certified as a fire door set, it is common for fire door manufacturers like Vigor Doors to sell certified fire doors by themselves for use with frames to be constructed by the installer from timber.
Manufacturers can certify fire door sets, both for identification purposes and to guarantee their performance in a fire situation.
The first step for the manufacturer is to construct a fire door set designed to a specification that they are sure will resist a fire for at least 30 minutes. This door set will then be tested by an approved fire testing centre and, if it is passed, any door sets constructed to that specification can be considered for certification.
Once the certification is approved, each similarly constructed door set will be identified by a label identifying the manufacturer, the date of manufacture and the designated fire rating of the door type.