Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

An investigation has been carried out into the performance of eighteen timber door sets under the conditions of the British standard fire test. An attempt has been made to establish some of the parameters which are significant in determining the fire resistance of timber doors. Some of the important factors which have been examined are: the effect of the depth of rebate, the 'fit' of the door, and the effect of using an intumescent strip to seal the edges of the door; the effect of door thickness, and the effect of incorporating glazed vision panels in the doors. The tests have shown that the 'fit' of a door can be more important than the frame dimensions as a factor in deciding the effectiveness of a door as a fire barrier. With normal clearances a fire resistance of 1/2 hour can be achieved by providing a seal at the edges of a door using intumescent materials. In the case of a swing door having no rebated frame a seal is essential if the door is to achieve recognised fire protection standards. Panels of wired glass up to 0.9 m^2 in size may be incorporated in timber fire doors. These may be retained by untreated timber beading if the fire check standards are required, but for a full 1/2 hour fire resistance it is necesaary to protect the beading. Glazing in 1 hour fire doors must be located in a suitably designed non-combustible frame.