An earlier BM TRADA fire-door test
Streamed live on fire certification body BM TRADA’s website from its testing laboratories in High Wycombe two ostensibly identical fire doors were subjected to the rigours of fire over a 30-minute period.
Within just a few minutes it became abundantly clear the doors were less identical than they appeared.
Both made of softwood timber to the same basic dimensions they had nevertheless been specified and fitted to wildly different standards.
While fire door one – on the left – was fitted to meet the rigours of British fire standards BS 8214, fire door two on the right bore the hallmarks of far too many cowboy operators working across the UK.
Insulation failure
Within four minutes of exposure to the blaze fire-door two’s unexposed side had reached a temperature of 300 degrees centigrade – a clear insulation failure – while fire-door one registered 105.
Missing architrave, deployment of square beads in the glazing and the absence of intumescent seal around the perimeter were just three problems explaining the far greater egress of smoke on the right-hand door. The plastic fire-door-keep-shut sign also quickly suffered a flashover – the entire area bursting into flames – and quickly melted, exposing a gap through which even more smoke could billow.
A cotton pad was held millimetres from the letterplates and only on the right did it burst into flames – an immediate integrity failure just a few minutes into the test.
After about 10 minutes fire door one’s unexposed-side temperature remained serenely unaffected by the raging furnace on the other side – just 25° compared to the 690° on the exposed side. It certainly demonstrated the resilience of quality softwood timber as a fire insulation material.
Taking just a few minutes to install the mineral fibre added to fire-door one also had a clear benefit. The lack of fire-stopping materials on fire door two is, sadly, a common fault.
Flames eventually licked through fire-door two’s spy hole, which lacked the intumescent wrap of its counterpart.
Fifteen minutes in and the only evidence exhibited by fire-door one of the inferno raging behind it was a modest egress of smoke. Smoke had billowed briefly from the letterplate before abating as the intumescent seal expanded in the heat, blocking the gap.
Only halfway through the half-hour test fire-door two’s wood had distorted, bending inward towards the fire as it lost moisture and creating yet more space for smoke to pass through.
The metal hinges, which were backed with intumescent seal on fire-door one, conducted heat to the surrounding area on fire door two, leaving it vulnerable to flashover.
While smoke poured through the top, the absence of fire-stopping materials allowed cold air on the unexposed side to be sucked into the furnace side, feeding the fire.
“Pass, not over-pass”
Interestingly BM TRADA’s host noted that fire doors are “designed to pass, not over-pass tests”. If you can’t blame fire-door companies for protecting the bottom line – there’s no point manufacturing the world’s most impervious fire doors if no one can afford to buy them – then this does show the wisdom of such a high compliance threshold (although EU standards, we learnt, are marginally more stringent than UK equivalent).
Nevertheless, BM TRADA often runs tests beyond the 30 minutes stipulated by the FD30 rating to gather more data.
BM TRADA group marketing manager Graham Edwards said: “This is an excellent way to show just how important it is to correctly specify and fit fire doors. Anyone viewing the test will see the failure points very quickly.”
Streamed live at 11am on Monday 15 September the fire-door test can be watched again on the BM TRADA website via a password-protected link. For details of how to register and receive login details, email [email protected].
Organised by the British Woodworking Federation Fire Door Safety Week is taking place throughout this week (15-21 September) to highlight the critical role played by fire doors in delaying the spread of fire and smoke and boosting evacuation windows.
A series of events and promotions are planned with the support of trade associations and their members, fire and rescue services, local authorities, landlords and other accommodation providers.
Fire Door Safety Week takes place between 15-19 September.
Find out more about BM TRADA fire safety training days.
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