Firefighters rarely get involved in determining the cause of a fire. That doesn’t mean that firefighters should be completely uninformed about the cause and/or how a fire will spread at a given location as they may be involved in the gathering of evidence at the behest of a fire investigator or at the very least leave any potential evidence intact during overhaul. Further, fire operations may depend on some of these factors such as the presence and proper operation of fire doors.

Relative to fire doors specifically why would an instructor even breach this topic with firefighters since it has more to do with code compliance? First, as mentioned firefighters may have to assist in preserving potential evidence in a fire or bring attention to an investigator so being able to recognize a code violation will certainly assist any investigation. Beyond that fire code compliance which is where fire door and inspections would fall rounds out a firefighter’s knowledge so it’s not just “putting the wet stuff on the red stuff” and lastly, firefighters may simply want to expand their options into a parallel career.

So, what exactly is a “fire door”? From a firefighter perspective any door that separates a fire room from the rest of a structure fire could be a fire door. This is in reference to Vent, Enter, Isolate and Search (VEIS). However, the definition of a fire door is much more comprehensive. NFPA 80 defines what a fire door is, its installation, materials that it can be made of, latching devices and labeling requirements to name a few of the chapters.

Since the parameters of a fire door are extremely varied a good starting point may simply be what a fire door is not. Again, from a firefighting standpoint a fire door may be any door to or within a structure. Whereas any door may block fire for a certain time – maybe only seconds in the case of a hollow wooden bedroom door that door would not be definitionally labeled as a fire door and simply putting a fire door sign on a door does not automatically transform that door into a fire door. A good operational definition would be a “type of door or barrier used as passive fire protection within a structure to prevent the spread of fire and smoke.

For starters a fire door has to be labeled as such from the manufacturer. Any door that does not have a proper label is not considered a fire door. The label below is generic but a typical fire door label that is found mostly on the spine of the door but sometimes on the top of the door.

The most important part of label for firefighters would be the FD rating assuming a pre-plan has been conducted the fire rating will give firefighters a general idea of how much time they have when setting up operations to extinguish a fire. Fire door ratings are as follows:

NFR – non-fire related

FD30 - 30 minutes or fire resistance

FD60 – 60 minutes of fire resistance

FD90 – 90 minutes of fire resistance

FD120 – 120 minutes of fire resistance

Since there may not be much left after a fire relative to a fire door and whether or not that fire door was operational the key is proper and consistent inspections. Inspections aren’t worth all that much if they are not thoroughly documented. Although NFPA 80 indicates fire doors are at a minimum to be inspected annually they should be inspected at least every six months. Fire investigators/inspectors typically will have a checklist designed by/for the employer but may also contain additional personalized information based on the experience of the inspector. Here are thirteen items that should be looked for all the time:

1) Labels are present and legible. Manufacturer labels on a fire door cannot be removed or painted over.

2) No holes or breaks in the door or frame. Once a fire door is drilled into it is usually compromised but the standard does allow any holes to be filled with stainless steel bolts to retain fire door status.

3) Glazing and glass kit – glass beads are intact and securely fastened.

4) Door, frame and hardware are in proper working order and/or not broken loose or missing.

5) No missing or broken parts. Although the standard does not specify a time frame for repair they should be done “without delay”.

6) Door clearances are within allowable limits all around. A door gap tool pictured below helps determine proper door gaps.

7) Door closer spring is operational and the door closes and latches by itself. There should be no door stop installed on the door. Fire doors should always remain closed otherwise or what’s the point? An exception would be doors held open by an electromagnet that the fire alarm system disengages when activated.

8) Door leaves (on a double door) close in proper sequence.

9) Door is self-latching in closed position – helps ensure the door remains closed to deter fire, heat and toxic gasses. Fire doors should NEVER be propped open.

10) No auxiliary hardware that would interfere with proper operation such as an aftermarket lock or door stop that prevents the door from closing

11) The manufacturers label is not void meaning compromised by a field modification.

12) Gasketing and edge sealing are present, continuous and proper type. Not all fire doors have gasketing however.

13) Signage on the door takes up less than 5% of the space on the door. Also, signage cannot be attached with mechanical fasteners such as nails or screws and cannot interfere with the operation of the door.

Drills for firefighters that involve fire doors would simply be adding an inspection to a pre-plan. Instructors can also tap into the competitive nature of firefighters and create a contest by providing an inspection checklist and asking firefighters to complete inspections for all the fire doors in the fire house with the winner having the most accurate information. Make no mistake NFPA 80 is very comprehensive and having knowledge of fire door and inspections of will go a long way toward fire prevention, fire operations and after the fact investigations.