Fire Exit Door Wedged Open

And to finally address fire rated door assemblies section 8 3 3 1 requires all doors required to have a fire protection rating to comply with nfpa 80 which requires self closing devices on the doors.

Fire exit door wedged open.

Wedging or propping open a fire door can prove devastating as it allows fire to spread unchecked putting lives and buildings at risk. We want fire doors open as they are a nuisance in everyday life. But there are some doors that you could. However there were a multitude of offences and the inspection was after a fire brigade response top a small fire that had been put out.

That applies to nearly all doors in a hospital. Fire doors being wedged open was one of the counts apparently in tesco s colney hatch store in barnet on 14 october 2007. Fire door standards and legislative requirements. Despite this 64 of premises visited by the fire service have fire doors wedged open.

It was not only for fire doors being wedged open. But i have seen in fire ra s and also heard the following terms. Anything that could prevent the door from closing and latching properly during an emergency condition such as propping the door open with objects taping the latch using wood wedges or kick down door stops or overriding the closing device is a violation of the standards. Certified fire doors of solid timber construction are designed to resist the smoke and flames of a fire for a minimum specified length of time typically 30.

Fire doors are inside buildings residential and commercial and are internal doors that need to be kept closed in order to stop the spread of fire between different areas of a building. Fire doors work as part of a layered fire protection system within a building. Contrary to what some might believe there is a difference between fire doors and fire exit doors. Fire doors have to be kept close at all times unless certified fire door retainers are installed not just a door wedge which hold the fire door open until a fire alarm is set off.

So any fire rated door assembly may not be wedged open. The link provided it states the inspection also revealed escape routes that were obstructed fire exit doors wedged open and combustible items obstructing fire doors. While our investigations may suggest a particular fire door might not perform to the required standard all doors can.