The lessons, as text
Fire door anatomy
Built by UK Fire Door Training to raise fire door knowledge across the industry. This is a version one project: it explores 10 common components of a timber fire door and runs one BS EN 1634-1 furnace test, and does not cover every component or every fire door type. Each lesson is here in full. The 3D explorer has the models, the furnace and the knowledge check.
Ten components
- 01Door leafThe primary barrier
- 02Door frameThe anchored surround
- 03Intumescent sealThe heat-activated gasket
- 04Smoke sealThe first line of defence
- 05HingesThe load path
- 06Door closerThe discipline
- 07Lock & latchThe positive hold
- 08Panic hardwareThe one-motion exit
- 09GlazingThe transparent barrier
- 10SignageThe instruction
Beyond the components
- TestThe fire testSixty minutes in a BS EN 1634-1 furnace, and what can be got wrong before it starts
- EvidenceReading fire door certificationWhere the mark is, what it carries, and how to check it
Glossary
- Leaf
- The moving panel of the door: the part that swings.
- Doorset
- A complete door supplied as one manufactured product: leaf, frame, seals and hardware, made to be installed together.
- Jamb
- An upright side member of the door frame.
- Head
- The horizontal top member of the door frame.
- Stop
- The upstand on the frame that the closing leaf lands against.
- Rebate
- The stepped recess, formed by the stop, that the leaf closes into.
- Stile
- A vertical edge member of the leaf: the hanging stile carries the hinges, the closing stile the latch.
- Lipping
- The hardwood edging bonded to the edge of the leaf, which is where any permitted trimming happens.
- Architrave
- The cover moulding around the frame that hides the joint between frame and wall.
- Fire-stopping
- Closing a gap in a fire barrier, such as the one between a door frame and the wall, with a material proven to resist fire so the barrier stays continuous.
- Intumescent
- A material that swells to many times its size when heated, used to close gaps in a fire.
- Mortice
- A slot cut into the leaf to house a lock or latch case inside the door.
- Keep
- The plate in the frame that the latch or lock bolt shoots into. Also called a striker.
- Ironmongery
- The door's working hardware: hinges, closer, lock, latch and handles.
- Integrity
- In a fire test, the door staying whole: no flames or hot gases passing through to the protected side.
- Insulation
- In a fire test, limiting the temperature rise of the unexposed face, so heat alone cannot start a fire on the protected side.
Fire Door Anatomy is an introduction to fire doors, not the whole subject. Always defer to the fire door’s certification, its test evidence and a competent inspection.