Health

Are Fire-Resistive Doors Effective in Preventing Fire Damages?

Fire hazards are some of the most damaging incidents in Australia because of a lot of reasons. Most often, an ongoing drought leads to bushfires, causing damages to nearby properties. One of such instances happened during the 2019-2020 bushfire catastrophe that destroyed over 6,000 buildings and included close to 3,000 homes. 

For families living in bushfire-prone areas or those who have experienced a fire accident, one of the preventive installations you can have are fire rated doors. These heavy entryways are typically made to prevent flames from spreading. 

A fire rated door is constructed with materials working together to create a barrier for combustion to move from one part of your property to another. Fire-resistant doors are generally used for residential applications, including multi-family homes, garages, and entryways. 

Can Fire-Rated Doors Help During a Fire Incident?

When considering fire-resistant doors, the ultimate question on people’s minds is whether they will effectively help prevent fire damage. Fire-resistive entryways can slow down and prevent the spread of fire, allowing homeowners and the people trapped in an area to escape. 

Generally, fire rated doors are effective in trapping smoke and preventing combustion from invading succeeding structures. In addition, they resist the penetration of heat, smoke, and flames, slowing fire for a specific amount of time. 

By containing the fire, people will have time to move away from the structure. Most people also set their minds off the elements of the fire without giving smoke inhalation much consideration. A fire rated door can stop smoke from entering areas, allowing people to escape without inhaling much smoke. 

When Do You Need a Fire-Resistant Door?

The fire-resistant rating does not indicate the time frame a door can withstand the fire. For example, a 60-minute rating will not guarantee the door can withstand the allotted time because tests are done in a controlled environment. 

In a real-world scenario, some factors affect its ability to withstand fire. It includes heat intensity, composition, and the safety feature it has. However, fire-rated entryways are designed to prevent fire from escaping a room and moving to adjacent spaces. 

One great benefit of having fire-safe doors is getting peace of mind in cases of emergency. The proper use of your houses’ entryways, including closing a door in case of fire, can slow its spread to other parts of the house. And it is often also dependent on the time it takes to extinguish flames. 

Fire Door Features that Help Prevent Fire Damages

Fire doors are made from sealed hardwood timber and can be reinforced by the fire-resistant glass to better withstand heat exposure. Resistive entryways are also properly sealed with an intumescent sealant allowing the material to expand when the temperature exceeds 200 degrees.

Experts advise setting up a fire resistance door for home installations in areas where the risks are greater. Areas to prioritise include the kitchen, a fire hazard and rooms where most electrical wirings are located. 

Newly built properties are normally subjected to rigorous safety and building code regulations to ensure some entryways are fire-resistive. Non-domestic properties, on the other hand, are deemed responsible for following safety standards, including installing fire doors that protect employees in case fire hazards happen. 

Risk assessment is always one of the keys to preventing accidents from happening. Nonetheless, fire doors are helpful not just in preventing damages but saving lives. 

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