There are a lot of cases where smoke inhalation proves to be fatal. Sometimes escaping the fire is not enough – you also need to minimize your smoke inhalation. Smoke will incapacitate people from escaping in a timely and orderly fashion. If a fire does break out on the premises, a “responsible individual” has to shut the life-saving fire door so that other occupants can evacuate quickly. Here are some simple fire door checks to prevent smoke spread.
First of all, the door gaps in a fire door need to be up-to-date. 2 mm is too thin, and 4 mm is too thick. To properly activate the smoke strips (if installed) and to ensure that the fire door works efficiently, one has to have a 3 mm door gap. Anything less than or more than 3 mm will render the fire door ineffective. Also, for the intumescent strip to be activated, 3 mm is the perfect door gap needed to make them work successfully.
Good rated fire doors will be equipped with smoke seals. These strips are quite useful as they seal to close any gap in the fire door frame. Frequently check on these smoke strips to ensure that they are fitted correctly, sealing the frame effectively. Closing the relevant gaps are important as smoke will slither through if there is any gap left unchecked.
“Unprotected areas” will be one of the main reasons why a fire door might be ineffective. There should be limited amounts of these unprotected areas. Any break in the seal will result in life-threatening smoke filtering through to the adjoining rooms. In such cases, smoke inhalation also becomes quite common. Intumescent seals will be damaged through wear and tear and friction. To avoid such a failure, fit another intumescent sheet behind the first one.
All doors have different usage. There need to be frequent checks that all fire doors are in serviceable conditions. Doors that are used more often will have more chances of being damaged. Such doors need to be checked more regularly and rigorously. There are cases where a fire door warps because it has been held open for a long period. Such doors will not close properly in the case of a fire. This may lead to damage of property and a heavy loss of life. If any damage signs are displayed by a door, check and repair them immediately.
Professional fire door suppliers or manufacturers will be able to give you all the relevant information you require with regards to fire door safety and installation and maintenance.
