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Certified Fire Doors

Manufacturers can certify fire door sets so they are easily identified and with a guarantee to behave in a fire as they should. The first step for the manufacturer is to construct a fire door set designed to a specification that in the opinion of the manufacturer will resist a fire for a specified time. This door set is then tested by an approved fire testing centre and if it passes the test any door sets constructed to that specification can be considered for certification.

Once the certification is approved all similar constructed door sets are identified by labels. This will identify the manufacturer, the date of manufacture and the design fire rating of the door type. They may fit a colour coded plug instead of or in addition to the label. Identification labels are usually fitted on the top edge of the door and plugs inserted in the jamb of the door. For Hospitals, fire doors display a disc at the top of each face of the door showing the design fire performance see HTM58.

Identification marks can sometimes be removed during installation or adjustment of the assembly or may have been painted over but if the door set has been installed by a competent joiner this should not happen. There are two associations that have certifiable fire door systems. they are:-

TRADA Q-Mark fire door scheme

The woodworking association BM TRADA use a system called Q-Mark it uses coloured plugs inserted in the jamb of the door which indicates the the type of fire door.

Q-Mark fire doors are clearly marked as such by small plastic plugs in the door leaf and/or frame, these include member details and scope of certification for verification purposes during specification, installation or at a later stage in their service life. They are only available to full members of the BM TRADA Q-Mark schemes.

The plugs follow a simple colour coding system and for more details go to their website BMTRADA This information is summarised on a laminated plastic card, available free of charge from BM TRADA, contact enquiries@bmtrada.com).

British Woodworking Federation Certifire fire door scheme

British Woodworking Federation (BWF) is another major organisation that provides fire door ratings. Their fire ratings for fire door assemblies are stated in minutes and prefixed by the letters ‘FD’ i.e. FD 30 equates to a 30 minute fire door or fire doorset.

The most commonly specified integrity levels are:

• FD30 – 30 minutes (Half Hour)
• FD60 – 60 minutes (One Hour)
• FD90 – 90 minutes (Ninety Minutes)
• FD120 – 120 minutes (Hundred and Twenty Minutes)

As part of the steps being taken by the BWF to simplify fire door identification and eliminate confusion in specification, the existing FD20 rating is no longer available.

Every BWF-Certifire Fire Door Assembly carries a permanent and tamper evident label. For more information go to their website The British Woodworking Federation or go to FDS_Directory_2009.