A Simple Guide to Fire Terminology in the Door Industry
Fire doors play a pivotal role in the protection of people and assets in and around a building. They help to prevent the spread of flame and smoke, help compartmentalise, give people a longer time to evacuate in case of emergency, and aid the reduction of potential damage caused. By fire doors playing a major role in building design, its therefore key to understand the jargon around them.
With this, we’ve compiled some key fire terminology simply below.
Integrity and insulation explained
‘EI’ classifications in fire safety signify integrity and insulation. ‘E’ stands for fire integrity – the door’s capacity to keep flames and hot gases at bay during a fire. If a door is E-rated, it can maintain its structural stability without letting the fire spread to the other side for a definite time period, typically 30, 60, or 120 minutes.
Integrity and insulation together take fire safety to the next level. Not only does it maintain the fire integrity but also limits heat transfer from one side of the door to the other. This crucial feature lowers the chances of additional fires and shields people and equipment from extreme heat.
Understanding EW – Integrity & Radiation
EW represents an enhanced level of protection compared to the standard E classification. Fire glass that achieves the EW rating not only offers the same robust defence against smoke and flame as the E-rated glass but also provides an added layer of safety by reducing the amount of radiant heat that passes through the protected side. Specifically, EW-rated fire glass ensures that transmitted radiant heat remains below 15 kW/m², thereby offering better thermal insulation and reducing the risk of heat-induced damage or injury on the side shielded from the fire.
Defining smoke tightness
Smoke tightness, symbolised as ‘S’ is the door’s ability to reduce or eliminate the transmission of gas or smoke from one side to the other. It is a performance feature covered by the European Standard EN1634-3.
Sa refers to: smoke tightness at ambient temperature only.
Sm refers to: smoke tightness at ambient temperature and at 200°C.
The role of intumescent strips
Intumescent strips work as a material around the door and frame. When exposed to heat or flame, these strips will expand to ensure the door is closed tight. The result is that no smoke or flame is spread from one side to the other.
Getting to grips with fire terminology
Understanding fire terminology in the door industry is not just about mastering a specialised vocabulary; it is about ensuring safety, compliance, and peace of mind. By getting to grips with fire terminology, you’re able to make the search for the right building materials far less complicated and have a much more informed journey to the right solution.