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Every 24 seconds, a fire department in the United States responded to a fire in 2017. The National Fire Protection Association reports there were almost 500,000 structure fires that year.
Fire can not only cause major damage the commercial structures, they can unfortunately result in the loss of people's lives, too.
Local fire codes are put in place to ensure that buildings adhere to regulations that are meant to prevent fires, and stop the spread of them if they do indeed start. Business owners also must adhere to certain regulations for how they operate within buildings.
One way to get a step further is to install fire-resistant doors. These doors prevent an extra level of protection, slowing the spread of smoke and fire from the outside to the inside of a building, or from one room to another.
If you are weighing your options for fire-resistant doors, here are some important factors that you should consider.
The first question you should ask yourself is where you should install fire-resistant doors. It's always advisable to have fire-resistant exterior doors, but where else should they be located?
If you have a huge office building, for example, it's probably not necessary to install one in every interior office. However, it may be important to install one at the entry for every office suite.
If certain portions of your building deals with combustible materials, then it would be a good idea to install a fire-resistant door between that section and the rest of the building. Location is key when it comes to preventing the spread of smoke and fire.
Fire-resistant doors aren't fireproof. They provide a level of protection against fire and smoke for a certain amount of time. This is called the fire rating, and it's measured in time.
Standard fire ratings typically range from 20 minutes to 90 minutes.
Commercial fire-resistant doors from CDF Distributors have fire ratings up to three hours. This provides businesses with extra peace of mind. Every minute counts in a fire situation, so the higher fire rating you can have, the better.
These doors are the perfect fit for exteriors of buildings as well as any interior fire-rated opening. They come with a hollow metal shell that's re-enforced and filled with insulation.
The materials that are used in the door will, in part, determine the fire rating. Fire-resistant doors come in hollow metal, fiberglass and even wood. Some companies, such as CDF Distributors, even offer fire-rated glass and louver to add an extra layer of protection and ventilation.
The material of the door will determine not just its fire rating but also its weight. You want to choose a door that is sturdy, but that isn't too heavy to move.
In the case of a fire, you want people to be able to move quickly out of the building through doors that are safe. If the door is too heavy, it may slow down people from exiting the building.
That's why hollow metal and fiberglass doors are so popular. They provide excellent fire ratings, while also not requiring super-human strength to move.
While it may not be the most important factor in choosing a fire-resistant door, cost is still something that needs to be considered. If the cost is prohibitive, you could end up making a poor decision. This could include choosing the wrong material, wrong type of door or not enough fire-resistant doors for your building.
Protecting your business and the people inside it is obviously the most important reason for installing fire-resistant doors. At the same time, businesses need to be cognizant of the cost of every expense.
When you're shopping for fire-resistant doors, it's important to find a balance between cost and quality. It's never a good idea to compromise on the quality of a fire-resistant door just to save a few dollars. You also don't have to go overboard and break the bank, though.
If you're in the market for fire-resistant doors, you'll find no better option than CDF Distributors. We can help you choose the best fire-rated door for your specific building that will protect your business and the people inside from the spread of smoke and fire.
