Facing the flames to ensure safety: Putting our fire doors to the test

A fire door is an essential part of a building’s safety – it can save lives. All JELD-WEN fire rated doors made in Europe undergo rigorous testing and certification processes. By putting our doors to the test, we provide a dependable product when safety is on the line.

“Fire doors are made to prevent fire from reaching one part of a building to another,” said Iain Macmillan, engineering team leader for certification and compliance, when discussing JELD-WEN’s fire door testing. 

Fire doors begin testing with several internal evaluations which utilize JELD-WEN's own purpose-built furnaces. New fire door products undergo these tests to guarantee their fire resistance, building in recent innovations and design improvements. 

“During new product development, we test the doors to see if they pass the fire test, and if they don’t, then we figure out how the new design has impeded the performance of the door, then we find a solution and repeat, until consistent high-performance is achieved,” said Iain.

Fire doors begin testing with several internal evaluations utilizing JELD-WEN's own purpose-built furnaces. New fire door products undergo these tests to guarantee their fire resistance, building in recent innovations and design improvements. 

“During new product development, we test the doors to see if they pass the fire test, and if they don’t, then we figure out how the new design has impeded the performance of the door, then we find a solution and repeat, until consistent high-performance is achieved,” said Iain.

In these initial tests, a set of burners blow flames into the furnace towards one side of the door, and the door is tasked with keeping the flames at bay from the other side of the door for an allotted amount of time. 

Temperature sensors are often also placed on the door to test for heat insulation, whereby the designs prevent not just the transfer of flames, but the heat from the fire which could otherwise ignite nearby items.

Most doors are tasked with keeping fire and high temperatures from reaching the other side of the door for 30 minutes, but some JELD-WEN doors are fire rated for up to 120 minutes.

If flames reach the other side of the door or surface temperature sensors exceed an increase of 180 degrees Celsius over ambient temperature before the door reaches its allotted success time, the door will fail testing protocol. Holding back a fire of close to 1000 degrees Celsius (1800 Fahrenheit) or more for prolonged periods is quite a task!

 

Iain gave insight into the testing process – “Fire door success or failure in testing is dependent on how long a door can withstand fire and high temperatures.”

Once a door passes several internal tests, it is sent to external third-party authorities for additional independent testing, assessment and certification. The third-party testing may include different elements to ensure each door meets country-specific standards.

In addition to the testing that happens during new product development, existing doors go through additional audit fire tests to confirm they are still performing their best. 

JELD-WEN’s European fire doors go through a “gold standard process,” said Iain. “And all of our fire doors meet JELD-WEN’s standard of excellence.” 

JELD-WEN's fire door testing process mimics a door’s capabilities during a building fire. By testing fire doors, we are working toward a level of quality that gives people peace of mind when it matters most.