Fire doors play a vital role in the fire safety of buildings. Whilst their correct specification, installation and use is paramount to the safety of all those who use a facility, new technologies are enabling this sometimes cumbersome barrier to enhance ease of access and restriction-free movement around a building.
Fire doors are the unsung heroes of fire safety because for most of their working lives they function just like any other door. However, if a fire breaks out, a fire door must fulfill its role as an engineered safety device to hold back the spread of fire and smoke and to save lives and property. However, there’s an opposing view that fire doors are a barrier to the free flow of people around a building or facility – a contradiction for any society claiming to promote equal access for those with disabilities or the elderly who see fire doors as a considerable barrier to free access. Holding doors open allows restriction-free movement through corridors in line with the Disability Discrimination Act and helps prevent damage from people and equipment, prolonging the life of the fire door.
Fire doors tend to be heavy and cumbersome, so it’s very tempting to wedge them open to ease free movement around a busy building. Clearly, however well intentioned, wedging open fire doors is illegal and provides no protection for a building and its occupants. In the event of a fire, fire doors are designed to stop smoke and flames from rapidly spreading through a building.
Penalties of complacency
Recent research published during UK Fire Door Safety Week reveals alarming levels of ignorance and complacency about fire safety. As the report makes clear, fire is still a big problem in the UK, with an average of 174 building fires every day. So it’s a sobering thought to learn that when those with responsibility for an organisation’s fire safety were asked if they were fully aware of their legal obligations, almost half said they really would not know how to spot a malfunctioning fire door – one of the most critical passive fire protection features in the buildings we use every day.
Access for all?
Whilst it may seem counter-intuitive, legally keeping large heavy doors open can offer premises some clear benefits, such as ensuring full compliance with equality legislation without compromising health and safety strategies. Keeping the doors open also adds to a feeling of openness, improves ventilation and reduces wear and tear of doors, and can reduce long-term maintenance costs. Traditional wired-in fire door holder and closer systems are expensive to install and their installation will often cause major disruption to a building and occupants. The arrival of first generation acoustic systems yielded an affordable solution that could be installed rapidly with no disruption to occupiers, but questions have increasingly been asked about some aspects of their performance including their tendency to falsely activate and damage flooring.
A new ‘Listen and Learn’ digital technology solution has been developed to deliver control of wire-free fire door holders and ‘swing-free’ closers. This advanced ‘hearing’ technology overcomes the problems associated with false activations caused by extraneous noises such as vacuum cleaners or high power floor polishing machines triggering a fire door’s unwanted closure.
The new wire-free Agrippa range from fire technology specialists Geofire comprises a digital door ‘swing-free’ closer and door holder. Both products having been developed by Geofire’s team of fire safety product experts to address many of the historic problems associated with wire-free fire door holders and closers. The Agrippa acoustic, magnetic fire door holder is designed to be mounted behind the door at either floor level or at the top of the door, whilst the Agrippa fire door closer is an overhead battery powered acoustic ‘swing-free’ door closer.
Both products use advanced digital technology that ‘listens and learns’ the sound of a specific fire alarm. This ensures the device’s release action is triggered only in reaction to the precise, characteristic sound of the fire alarm rather than extraneous loud noises, so false activations are virtually eliminated.
Installed at the top of a fire door, the Agrippa holder will not cause damage to flooring, and can be reapplied or moved with minimal fuss. Its unique learning function optimises settings to suit the installed position. It can also be programmed for timed daily releases.
Sharing the same functionality of the Agrippa holder, the new Agrippa intelligent wire-free ‘swing-free’ door closer offers the optimum solution for fire doors on access and circulation routes. The ‘swing-free’ function makes the door responsively light to handle, and the closer’s closing speed is adjustable, with a holding angle of 65 to 105 degrees. It learns the sound of a specific fire alarm, releasing the door in the event of a fire, and can be programmed for daily release.
As a retrofit solution, Agrippa wire-free devices are designed for ease of installation and can be fitted quickly to any door, minimising staff downtime while basic wear and tear on doors and flooring is significantly reduced.
About the firm
UK manufacturer and supplier of fire security solutions since 1972, Geofire produces a range of electromagnetic door holders and other activation devices used as part of fire, security or ventilation systems at its design and manufacturing facility based in north east England.
