Fire Door Inspection Services: What To Expect When You Hire Them
If you are an informed building owner or stakeholder, you know your facility needs working fire doors. These are indispensable because they prevent flames, heat, and smoke from quickly spreading through rooms, hallways, and other sections and causing immense destruction. Since fire-rated doors help save lives, you should hire professional inspectors to check their condition at least once every six months. Experts help you ensure your doors boost your property's and its occupant's safety by doing the following:
1. Checking for any signs of damage
A damaged fire door is a risky affair. That is more so if it has gaps likely to allow smoke and fire to travel from one part of your building to another. Fire door inspection experts can help you prevent that by checking for signs of trouble. These include missing fire or smoke seals, excessive spacing around the door, and unsuitable or poorly-installed hinges. They may also recommend the best solutions and provide repair services. Remember, fire-rated doors are essential in passive fire protection. Therefore, any damage demands urgent attention.
2. Checking for painted-over fire door labels
A fire door should have an appropriate label containing vital information that facilitates evacuation during a fire outbreak. But, it needs to be legible throughout the fire-rated door's lifetime. Otherwise, if it's illegible, residents may be unable to find the door's opening and safely get out of the building in an emergency. You can ensure the fire-rated labels in your building are in optimum condition by letting inspectors check if they are painted over or worn out. In either case, they can also help with relabeling or any other related projects.
3. Checking for any dangerous modifications
Sometimes, fire-rated doors need alteration. Most of these are limited to installing protection plates and drilling holes for labeled viewers, mortise locks, and similar surface-applied hardware. Besides, removing hardware on fire-rated doors leaves holes that need filling. If your fire doors have been modified or altered, call a technician to inspect them and guarantee their safety. That is important because incorrect or unnecessary changes may undermine the doors' integrity, making them a safety hazard.
4. Testing the fire door's self-closing mechanism
Most residential fire doors rely on self-closing devices. These ensure the doors remain tightly shut when they're not in use. However, sometimes these systems operate erratically. Your fire door may fail to latch properly or slam shut when that happens. An improperly sealing fire-rated door is a cause for concern because, in a disastrous event, it will let through heat, fire, and smoke. On the other hand, a door that slams shut unexpectedly can cause injuries or damage. A fire door inspector tests your fire door's self-closing mechanism for such issues and fixes them, ensuring it operates smoothly and efficiently.
Contact a fire door inspection provider near you to learn more.