RF door or fire rated door is the door that serves to prevent the spread of fire through a partitioning system and that allows rapid evacuation in a building. A fire resistant door is considered when it is:
- Stable to fire
- Stagnant to flames
- Watertight to fumes and gases
- Thermally insulating for a specified time.
They can be made of metal, wood or glass. Metal doors are the most effective: normally made with two sheets of steel and rock wool inside. They can be of one or two leaves, and as for the opening system they are manufactured folding, sliding, suspended sliding, guillotine, lifting, rolling, and pivoting. Glass doors are less effective, but better looking. They are usually installed in unique buildings. Besides great features, fire doors have a pretty good design. They perfectly fit into any style of the interior. If a completely non-standard entrance structure is your goal, provide your drawing and you will make the door of your dreams.
Caring for the fire door
The fire door is equipment that must always be ready for use, thus, it also requires maintenance, checking the devices that can guarantee its operation. Monthly maintenance is necessary to check its operation and every six months the condition of the door leaf and lubrication of the hinges and locks must be evaluated. It is not enough just to maintain the fire door: it is also necessary that the emergency exit be seen as such, and must be free of any object that could become an obstacle in a time of need. In the case of being installed for an emergency staircase, care with cleaning the stairs requires that no corrosive agents be used, which react with the external material of the door, causing oxidation. A fire door cannot have any sign of rust, so as not to damage its operation.
How a fire door is made?
The main differences of fire doors are in their class that is, the time of fire resistance, classified as P-30, P-60, P-90 and P-120. This classification is made according to ABNT standards and each door contains its serial number and class, on a metallic label, where the manufacturer’s information must also be, ensuring the traceability of the materials with which it was built. Each fire door must also be accompanied by an Instruction Manual, which contains information on nominal dimensions and masses, care for transport, packaging, storage, installation, operation and maintenance, in addition to the warranty time.
As a whole, the fire door consists of a hinged, or portal, in galvanized steel; the door leaf, entirely made of galvanized steel sheet, with non-combustible insulating core; the lock for locking and unlocking, also in steel or cast iron; and the hinges, which allow to support and articulate the door, allowing its opening and closing. The fire door must be installed by a company accredited with the Fire Department and follow the determinations of the entity so that the fire fighting rules are met.
