Most buildings have detailed fire code of regulations which must be followed. While many people are aware of the fire code regulations involving alarms, extinguishers and sprinklers, most aren’t as familiar when it comes to buildings. One example of this would be that many buildings need to install fire doors, which can help prevent smoke and fire from spreading quickly. Also, failure to abide by these codes can result in penalties and additional costs to install new doors or fix the old ones.
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Purpose of fire doors
During many situations involving a fire, fire doors are the only thing preventing the smoke and fire from spreading quickly to other parts of a building. When a fire has started in a building, several protective procedures go into action. In some cases, the sprinklers are activated in an attempt to put out the fire. The fire alarms go off and the people inside have access to fire extinguishers to help put out the fire. However, sometimes, even these protective measures cannot prevent a fire from spreading and becoming bigger.
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Must be inspected regularly
All protection equipment must be checked at regular intervals. The fire extinguishers and alarms must be checked to guarantee proper operation. Similarly, the fire doors must be given proper maintenance to ensure that they’re ready to protect the inhabitants against a fire. Fire door maintenance should be given equal importance as the other preventive measures. There are numerous parts of a fire door, and they may all need servicing. The type of inspection and maintenance concerning the doors depends on the particular part in question. In most cases, the manufacturers of the fire door provide initial inspection and fix any issues which may arise. They have to follow very strict guidelines concerning the doors’ specifications.
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The importance of maintenance
After installation, fire doors must be checked at regular intervals. Even a slight alteration to its surroundings or the door itself can affect its performance. How often the periodic check is conducted depends on how frequently people enter and exit the building. The more frequent the usage, the more frequent the inspections must be.
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Doors in older buildings
In most old buildings, the fire door remains installed for many years. Very few of these doors actually meet the current guidelines designed specifically for fire doors.
Fire doors are a very important part of effective fire prevention and isolation in a building. Most people tend to forget to include fire doors in the overall fire plan. But, what they fail to realise is that the time to focus on fire doors for a building are before they are needed.