We can’t think of any more important type of personnel ‘pedestrian’ doors in any building than these two types: Fire Doors (fire-resisting doorsets) and Emergency Exits (doors on escape routes). The latter are sometimes loosely termed as Fire Exits, or simply FX doors, which can give rise to confusion between the two.
Understanding Fire Doors and Emergency Exits
So, fire doors vs emergency exit. Both of these door types are critical to life safety in buildings and as such, are subject to a number of legal instruments including The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and subsequent Regulations.
As installers and fitters of custom-made, steel fire-resistant door/fire-rated doors – and also of emergency exit doors, we are aware of the need to differentiate between these two door types. In this blog, we point out some important facts and differences, which we hope will clarify a few questions that you might have as a person responsible for doors relating to building safety.
Please note that if you are a Responsible Person (RP) or Duty-Holder as defined by the Fire Safety Act 2021, you will need to take specialist advice and/or training. Such advice is beyond the scope of this generalised blog, although we may be able to signpost you to further help on request.
In a nutshell…
FIRE DOORS:
(Fire-resisting doorsets) are, above all else, for slowing down the spread of heat and flame.
EMERGENCY EXIT DOORS:
Are a means of providing an easy and safe exit for evacuation in any emergency.
Any other door attributes, such as security ratings etc. come as an add-on to the above
Now that we’ve made this distinction, we can say that it is true that these two requirements can both be met in one doorset. Milsteel Doors can supply and install metal doors that are both fire-rated to BS EN 1634-1 (fire-rating) and fitted with emergency escape hardware, making them in line with BS EN 179 or BS EN 1125 (emergency and panic hardware).
A Few Facts About Fire Doors
- Steel fire doors come in various ratings; eg FD60, FD120 and even FD240 (60min, 2 hour and 4 hour fire-resistance).
- Apart from a few specific exceptions, Fire Doors must be fitted with a controlled self-closing device (door closer), so that they automatically close after use.
- Fire doors can be fitted with special fire protection glazing to increase visibility and therefore safety. Building Regs state these glazed fire doors (vision panel FDs) should be used for double-swing hinged doors, and those dividing escape corridors.
- Where a fire door is fitted with an electro-magnetic hold-open device, these should release the door on activation of the fire alarm and/or a power-failure.
- Meeting BS EN 1634-1 is a best-practice, voluntary standard. (all fire doors fitted by Milsteel comply with this EU/UK-wide standard).
- Fire Doors must be CE Marked (or UKCA marked) by the manufacturer to be legally sold in the UK.
A Few Facts About Emergency Exits (Escape Doors)
- Emergency Exit doors (doors on escape routes), can be fitted with either emergency or panic hardware. Emergency exit hardware is for situations where staff and other occupants are familiar with the building and a panic situation is unlikely to occur. Panic hardware is designed to be openable with little need for thought, eg a Push-bar-to-open which unlatches the door wherever it is pushed against. Panic hardware is fitted to escape doors in retail shops, venues, and other public buildings.
- External escape doors can be fire rated to prevent the fire from spreading to, or from, adjacent buildings. Another obvious consideration on final exit doors is how to add security without compromising the door’s prime purpose; means of escape. This is something we can give bespoke advice on.
- Escape exit doors can be fitted with either a single emergency exit door handle or push pad that unlatches the door, from the inside of the escape route, and without a key. It should be easily apparent how it operates, which can be achieved using recognised signage. Doors that are not normally used on a day-to-day basis should be labeled in accordance with BS ISO 3864-1 and BS 5499-4.
- Doors can be fitted with hardware that allows them to be lockable when the room/building is empty (Doc B 3.91).
Conclusion
Not all fire doors are suitable for emergency exits, and most emergency exit doors are not fire-rated. If they meet the legal requirements for both, this will be stated on the manufacturer’s DoP (Declaration of Performance). Either type of door can be upgraded to meet other standards such as smoke-permeability or security, so long as it can be shown not to jeopardise its main purpose; of emergency escape ease or fire-resisting performance
Further information is publically available in Approved Document B of the Building Regulations.
To discuss your Fire Door or Emergency Exit Door needs, contact Milsteel, the specialists in custom fire-rated steel doors.
