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Beautifully engineered glass doors balance fire safety with aesthetics

A range of fire rated glass doors developed by Promat provides architects, specifiers and clients with a stylish solution that meets their passive fire protection objectives without compromising aesthetic or daylighting goals.

Three highly specialised door systems – PYROSEC® Door, PYROSEC® Slimlite and Promat E Door – have been engineered by Promat with the aim of maximising the door’s glass area and minimising the framing. They enable interior spaces to be designed in a way that facilitates high levels of natural light transmission within rooms and clear visibility between them, whilst being compliant with the fire containment and evacuation strategy.

All three systems feature high quality fire rated glass framed within horizontal and vertical frame members, stiles and rails that are manufactured in stainless steel. This combination of materials, coupled with Promat’s design expertise, has proved to be effective at resisting fire in third party testing, meaning specifiers can confidently choose glass doors with up to EI60 (integrity and insulation) protection, subject to the door’s size and design parameters.

Promat’s fire rated glass doors are designed to offer safety with style, enabling architects to meet the aesthetic and operational ambitions of clients seeking a modern design for their commercial or public buildings. They can be incorporated into fire rated glass screens, partitions and other features created using the Promat SYSTEMGLAS® fire resistant glazing system, which offers steel, timber, over-clad, paintable and concealed framing options.

The slim framing means clean sightlines can be achieved whilst also delivering bright and airy spaces. Such environments can be important in maintaining the health and wellbeing of building users as one research study on an office building by Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois illustrates. Researchers found that employees exposed to natural light sleep longer and better than those who are not, and those who work near windows are exposed to 176% more natural light than those who do not.

In addition to their physical resistance to heat and flames, fire rated glass doors play another important role in delivering safer buildings because they offer easier visibility for emergency services in the event of a fire. And Promat glass fire doors can also be specified to incorporate closer devices that are triggered in the event of a fire to offer a reactive barrier to prevent the spread of fire, heat and smoke.

Cath McLean, Sales Manager for Glass at Promat UK said, “Glass doors are often preferred to more typical fire doors, such as timber doors, because they present less of a visual barrier between individual rooms and communal spaces and allow light transmission to be higher. But the creation of more open and connected spaces has to go hand in hand with fire safety, and this is why we’ve created these three glass door options.”

The longest established of the Promat glass door systems is the PYROSEC® Door. This is a robust, stylish and dependable system available in a single or double leaf configuration, designed with slim stainless steel frame members whilst providing 30 minutes (EI30) or 60 minutes (EI60) integrity and insulation fire protection.

Where the aesthetic goal is to reduce the framing visibility to the absolute minimum whilst also achieving a fire rating of EI30 or EI60, PYROSEC® Slimlite is ideal. This provides assured fire protection despite having super-slim framing using sections just 20mm wide, making it suitable for building designs which demand the cleanest sightlines with maximum vision and light transmission.

Both of these integrity and insulation (EI) glazed fire doors can be complemented with side screens, with over panels possible also with PYROSEC® Doors, where supported by test data. They enable clear butt-joint glazing to be achieved and can be specified with a variety of optional fittings, including deadlocks, concealed electric latches, overhead fire door closers and surface mounted magnetic locks.

The third option in the range is the PROMAT® E Door, an elegant integrity-only fire rated solution which is available in a single or double leaf configuration with unlimited potential for side panels. This door features minimal stainless steel frame members in a design tested to provide 30 minutes (E30) and 60 minutes (E60) fire protection and it can feature a full height back to back handle or “through glass” pull handle.

Whichever glass door option is specified, they all come with clear traceability. They are manufactured by Promat and installed only by approved installers, and once fitted, they all benefit from compliance checking by Promat’s passive fire protection specialists. This is part of Promat UK’s 360-degree Wheel of Assurance, which provides additional peace of mind in the fire glass supply chain and supports the golden thread.

CLICK HERE to find out more about Promat UK’s stylish glass fire doors

 

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Is your fire safety training up to date?

Karen Trigg, South East business development manager of Allegion UK, urges businesses to invest time and money into training for staff involved with fire safety. This is to avoid costly, or even deadly, situations.

Keeping your training up-to-date regarding fire safety and fire door hardware comes with a whole host of benefits for your business.

Doing so will mean you will reduce the risk of facing unnecessary fines and a potentially damaged reputation.

Yet, new research from law firm Hugh James revealed that almost one in five Brits (16 percent) work for a company where not a single fire drill has been carried out in the last twelve months.

Even more worrying is that the poll of 2,000 full and part-time employees found that almost half haven’t received workplace training on what to do in the event of a fire.

Clearly, some employers are not taking training as seriously as they should. Of course, employers will have their age-old reasonings – training employees is time consuming and costly.

However, if you neglect fire safety training for employees, history will reveal that you may be treading a dangerous path.

Prevention is better than cure

Following the motto of ‘prevention is better than cure’ is an adage that often rings true.

This is typified by comparethemarket.com’s survey of 2000 people in 2016, showing that 54 percent of people living in the UK don’t know what they need to do in the event of a fire.

That’s over half of the population who would be none the wiser if a fire broke out.

Take Oxford Street’s New Look store in London. The retail premises caught fire back in 2009 and criticism arose in light of its lack of staff training.

One of the customers, Joanne Weaver, spoke of her experience: “Staff within the shop did not seem to have a plan to evacuate people. They went from no cause for alarm, to panic.” Joanne noted that the staff hadn’t indicated there was a problem and no real direction was given in terms of advice or assistance.

The retailer subsequently faced fines amounting to £400,000, a fractured reputation, and a building in ruins.

Of course, it’s only speculation, but had the staff received the appropriate fire safety training, New Look may not have been charged with such a large fine. What’s more, the fire itself could have been tackled earlier resulting in less damage to both the building and the store’s reputation.

Starting with your fire doors

Another key fire safety issue is ensuring that fire safety hardware is in good working order.

Understanding what to check when inspecting fire doors is useful knowledge to retain, helping to prevent a worst case scenario.

What’s more, just as threatening to fire safety is the improper use of fire doors.

Wedging a fire door open, a particularly common offence made by many, may render your fire door obsolete. Fire doors need to remain closed to effectively prevent the spread of fire and smoke. Keeping a fire door open could put your business at risk legally, should it be judged that a person’s life be at risk as a result.

Additionally, keeping your emergency escape routes clear is crucial. Fire doors with a blocked passage are dangerous and uneccessary.

It’s essential practice to make sure staff members understand correct use of all fire doors within your establishment to maintain maximum safety in the event of a fire.

Time to take action

After The Grenfell Tower incident in June 2017, the Care Quality Commission issued a letter identifying some of the main fire issues as:

  • Fire exits and fire doors wedged open
  • Escape routes used as storage areas
  • Low awareness among residents of what to do in emergency situations
  • No evidence of fire drills having been undertaken recently

From this, we can take that training within fire safety and fire door hardware should be a requirement. It’s as simple as that.
Your business should implement basic fire safety training to decrease the likelihood of accidents both in the event of a fire and in the general work environment.

Furthermore, fire doors need to be regularly serviced and maintained in order for your business to stay in compliance with regulations.

Ensure that your hardware is not only installed correctly, but that your staff understand what to check for when inspecting your fire door hardware.

Correctly installed hardware amidst a changing landscape

Training on fire safety hardware doesn’t end in-house. Checking that installers have been correctly trained is key.

Locksmiths installing your hardware also need an acute knowledge on fire safety hardware. Electro-mechanical hardware, intended to be an aid for doors and often installed by locksmiths, can be susceptible to damage and accidents if installed incorrectly.

The Master Locksmiths Association (MLA) seeks to establish a licensing scheme to approve locksmiths. MLA ensures regular checks with approved companies, such as vetting, maintenance inspections and locksmith qualifications.

As a result companies which have been “MLA approved” appear more reliable, trustworthy, qualified and professional.

By being accurately trained on the product and its application, and by following appropriate risk assessments, potential hazards can be avoided and controlled.

For more information please visit www.allegion.co.uk.

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Salamander opens doors at prestigious London Apartments

Geofire’s Salamander range of radio-controlled fire door holders have been installed at one of London’s most prestigious apartment complexes, The Whitehouse Apartments SE1, to legally hold open fire doors and improve ventilation in the building’s corridors, while protecting occupants in case of a fire emergency.

The Whitehouse Apartments SE1 is a prestigious development located on the culturally rich South Bank overlooking the River Thames, offering spectacular views of some of central London’s greatest landmarks. Originally constructed by oil company Shell as part of their UK headquarters in 1961, the 1990’s saw Shell dispose of the ‘Downstream Building’ and thus The Whitehouse Apartments were born.

Each Salamander device connects wirelessly to a mains-powered controller unit, which is easily connected to the existing fire alarm system, complying with Category A of BS7273-4 to ensure that fire doors will safely close in the event of a fault or fire. One controller unit can manage up to 99 fire door closers or fire door holders.

Geofire’s Salamander range of radio controlled fire door safety products are all battery-powered and wire-free, thus saving time, installation costs and disruption to a building’s fabric or occupants.

Southbank Management, London says that the company purchased the system to improve the ventilation in the building’s corridors, “which were unbearably hot – particularly in the summer! The product adapted very well with our existing fire alarm system and was readily available. It has worked very well and resulted in us being able to reduce the temperature by 10°C in places and also improve the flow of air in the communal areas”.

Keeping fire doors in the open position has many benefits. It ensures ease of access in line with the disability provisions of the Equality Act 2010, helps prevent wear and tear of expensive fire doors and improves building ventilation. The Salamander swing-free door closer and door holder are suitable for use with Category A installations as defined by BS7273-4. They are approved to EN1155 and CE marked.

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