Fire Doors
Certified fire door supply and installation for commercial premises. FD30, FD60, and FD90 rated assemblies with intumescent seals, tested hardware, and third-party certification.
Fire doors are the most safety-critical doors installed in any commercial building, and their correct specification, installation, and ongoing maintenance are non-negotiable legal requirements for any responsible building owner or manager. The consequences of a fire door failing to perform as designed — either because it was incorrectly specified, poorly installed, or not maintained — are severe: lives can be lost, and the building owner or responsible person faces criminal liability under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety Act 2021.
Sigma Shop Fronts takes this responsibility seriously. We supply and install fire door assemblies that are third-party certified, install them strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions, and document every installation with a completion record that can be presented to the responsible person, the building control body, or a fire inspector.
Understanding Fire Door Ratings
Fire doors are classified by the duration for which the closed assembly resists the passage of fire and, where specified, smoke. In the UK, the common designations are:
- **FD30** — provides 30 minutes' integrity (E) protection. The most common classification for corridor and compartment doors in commercial buildings. - **FD60** — provides 60 minutes' integrity, required for high-risk areas such as plant rooms containing significant fuel load, basement-to-ground-floor stair doors in tall buildings, and certain retail and storage areas. - **FD90 and FD120** — 90- and 120-minute ratings for specialist applications including protected lobbies in hospitals, high-rise residential conversions, and buildings with complex fire strategies.
The S suffix (e.g. FD30S) denotes that the assembly is also tested to provide smoke control in addition to integrity, using an intumescent seal and cold smoke seal combination.
These ratings are achieved through destructive testing to BS EN 1634-1, which simulates a fully developed fire on one face of the door. Only the complete tested assembly — leaf, frame, hardware, intumescent seals, and glazing (where present) — achieves the rated performance. Substituting any component with an untested alternative invalidates the certification.
Third-Party Certification
Sigma Shop Fronts installs fire door assemblies supplied by manufacturers holding third-party certification under the CERTIFIRE or BWF-CERTIFIRE scheme, which covers the door leaf, frame, and hardware as an integrated tested system. We also install door sets certificated under the LPCB (Loss Prevention Certification Board) scheme where this is specified by the client or their fire engineer.
Third-party certification provides the responsible person with independent assurance that the product has been manufactured to a consistent standard and that the certified performance is reproducible — unlike a single test certificate, which demonstrates only that one sample passed at one point in time.
Installation Requirements
Fire door installation is not equivalent to general joinery or door hanging. Every dimension matters: the gap between the door leaf and the frame must fall within the tolerances specified in the test evidence, as excessive gaps compromise the integrity of the intumescent seal. Hinge specification (number, dimensions, and position), latch bolt size, and overhead closer specification all form part of the tested assembly and cannot be substituted without invalidating the fire performance.
Our installers are trained to and assessed against the requirements of the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door Installation Scheme (or equivalent), and we retain records of all installation training and certification. Every completed fire door installation receives a physical label on the hinge edge of the door leaf recording the installation date, the installer's name, and the fire rating, in accordance with the guidance issued by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and FDIS (Fire Door Inspection Scheme).
Gap Tolerances and Hardware
The maximum permissible gap between the door leaf and the frame rebate on the hinge side, latch side, and head is 3 mm when measured with the door closed, in accordance with the guidance in BS 8214:2016 (Code of practice for fire door assemblies). At the threshold, the gap must not exceed 8 mm unless a specific threshold seal has been tested as part of the assembly.
Overhead door closers must be assessed and rated to BS EN 1154 (controlled door closing devices) and be of sufficient power to close and latch the door reliably from any position between 0° and 90°. For accessible routes, low-energy closers rated to BS EN 1154 can be combined with power-assisted openers to reduce the force required to open the door, while maintaining automatic closing function.
Regulatory Context
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 — introduced following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry — impose specific obligations on responsible persons in multi-occupied residential buildings with storeys over 11 m, including quarterly self-checks of all flat entrance fire doors and annual checks of all communal fire doors. Whilst these regulations apply specifically to residential buildings, the broader obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 apply to all non-domestic premises, requiring that all fire doors are maintained in an effective condition and that records are kept.
Fire Doors — Frequently Asked Questions
FD30 denotes a fire door that provides 30 minutes of integrity protection — it resists the passage of flames and hot gases for that period when tested to BS EN 1634-1. FD30S additionally provides smoke control: the S suffix indicates the door has been tested to restrict the passage of cold smoke, using a cold smoke seal (usually a brush or compression seal) in addition to the intumescent seal that swells under heat. In most modern commercial buildings, the fire strategy requires FD30S or FD60S doors to corridors forming part of an escape route, as smoke is frequently more dangerous than flame in the early stages of a fire.
Only hardware that forms part of the tested and certificated assembly can be used without invalidating the fire rating. This includes hinges, latches, locks, closers, and intumescent seals. If specific hardware is required — for example, a particular lever handle design or an access control strike — we check whether it has been assessed for compatibility with the door assembly's certification. In many cases, hardware manufacturers hold supplementary test evidence demonstrating compatibility with common fire door assemblies. We advise on this at the specification stage.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that all fire safety equipment — including fire doors — is maintained in an effective condition. The FDIS (Fire Door Inspection Scheme) and the guidance in BS 8214:2016 recommend a minimum annual inspection of all fire doors by a competent person, with a quarterly visual check by the building's responsible person or a nominated deputy. High-traffic fire doors — those in corridors or stairwells used multiple times daily — benefit from six-monthly inspection. We offer a fire door inspection and maintenance service structured around these requirements.
Yes. Every fire door must be fitted with a certified overhead closer (rated to BS EN 1154) that closes and latches the door from any open position. A fire door held open by a wedge, hook, or fire extinguisher is an illegal and dangerous arrangement that could result in enforcement action by the fire authority. Where it is operationally desirable to hold a fire door open, we install an electromagnetic hold-open device linked to the building's fire detection and alarm system, which releases the door automatically on a fire signal so that it closes under the action of the overhead closer.
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Tell us about your fire doors project and we will arrange a free site survey at a time that suits you.
- Free no-obligation survey
- Written quotation within 48 hours
- Nationwide installation teams