Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

During the early stages of a fire in a compartment large quantities of smoke are usually produced. Whilst walls and floors can be designed to be imperforate to the passage of smoke, doors can be a source of weakness. A door is designed to provide access to and from a compartment and in its simplest form of construction consists of a panel hinged along a vertical edge and moving freely in a frame. Clearances exist between the edge of the panel and its frame for freedom of movement, clearances which if excessive are unable to prevent the passage of smoke. Residential buildings such as flats, hotels etc. have specified areas designated as escape routes which the occupants can use for normal access purposes, and for means of escape in case of a fire. These routes would have doors leading to and from them which if not effective barriers to the passage of smoke could seriously impair the usefulness of these routes. Experience has shown that well built hinged doors when shut can be an effective barrier to the penetration of smoke but no quantitative data are, however, available on their specification as satisfactory smoke stop doors. It is therefore necessary to have a knowledge of the part the gaps between the door and the frame play and the amount of smoke that can penetrate through them. The present investigation was undertaken to obtain quantitative data on the passage of smoke through door gaps of various sizes.