Working with fire door manufacturers to gain test evidence

We are pleased to announce that we have been working with fire door manufacturers in order to gain Primary Test Certification on a range of Fireco products.

Fire safety has been at the forefront of discussion in social housing circles, with much of the focus being on the compartmentation of a building.

Compartmentation is creating fire-safe compartments throughout a building that can prevent the spread of fire. This can be achieved through building materials, smoke and fire dampers, and fire doors.

The most common types of fire doors are FD30 or FD60, meaning the fire door can withhold fire for a minimum of 30 or 60 minutes. Since Grenfell, the compliance of fire doors has been under major scrutiny. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government makes the following points in Advice Note 16:
“Landlords or building owners should reference the manufacturer’s test evidence/certification and documentation for existing or proposed fire doorsets.”

“Small differences in detail (such as glazing apertures, intumescent strips, door frames and ironmongery etc.) may significantly affect the rating.”
“Flat entrance fire doors should have test evidence demonstrating they meet the performance requirements in the Building Regulations guidance for fire resistance and smoke control from both sides.”

Primary test evidence is when a door and all its component parts (e.g. spyholes, letterboxes, overhead closers) are installed as a complete door set and put through EN1634 testing. For composite fire doors, testing is required on both sides of the doors as the materials vary throughout the core.

With the pressures that the fire industry is facing since the Grenfell tragedy, more and more housing groups are insisting on primary test evidence over global assessments for surface mounted closers on new door sets.

We are seeing a significant increase in housing groups using our products to tackle the issue of residents damaging overhead door closers on flat entrance doors due to struggling with the weight.

Fireco is dedicated to meeting the needs of the customer and ensuring that our products meet fire safety regulations.

We currently hold EN1634 Certification on the following FD30 fire doors, with Freedor SmartSound and Freedor Pro being tested on the exposed and unexposed sides:  
• Gerda - Contemporary Range (composite doors)
• Bridgman IBC - Timber Flaxcore
• New West Port Corporation - Timber and glazed doors.

If you have any questions about our burns test certification, please contact us on 01273 320650 or visit the website