Exterior fire door uses and regulations

If you own or rent a building that’s used by you or your employees for business activities, an appropriate exterior fire door is a legal requirement. The main legal requirement of a fire door that opens out onto the outside is that it’s not locked or blocked – clearly people inside the building need to be able to gain access to safety outside at any time, without being hindered by locks or items hindering their egress. In addition, the route to the door needs to be clearly signposted, enabling occupants to find it quickly in the event of a fire. A key issue for building managers and other maintenance officials is selecting a fire door that complies with relevant legislation at the same time as ensuring adequate security.

Several choices of exterior fire door available

Unlike internal fire doors, which are required to be constructed in such a way that they can resist fire for a set period of time (this varies from half an hour through to four hours, depending on construction), external fire doors do not need to be fire resistant. They do, however, need to be easy to open. There are several different types of exterior door readily available:

Push bar opening fire door

Widely used, this type of door has a simple opening mechanism and can enable large numbers of people to evacuate quickly, making it ideal for locations to which the public have access.

Push pads and Redlam bolts

The bolt is located in a glass tube – when the tube is broken the bolt unlocks and the door opens. These are suitable for situations where smaller numbers of people are being evacuated (staff in a building, for example).

Kingpin emergency bolts

These work in much the same way as Redlam bolts, but without the glass tube.

Any of the methods listed can provide a legal, appropriate locking solution for an exterior fire door.

Making sure you have a suitable locking mechanism on your fire exit door is vital for safety and legal compliance. If you need assistance with your fire doors or other support on ensuring an appropriate fire protection system is in place, we can help.

Enfield Doors

Our team of experts is always on hand to guide you and give you sound and pragmatic advice based on years of experience and successful installations.

If you would like further information on our company please click here, or please contact us and we will respond as quickly as possible. We look forward to helping you.