Fire Door Testing Standards: Helping to Certify Fire Doors for Emergency Situations

Why it matters

Fire doors are an essential component of passive fire protection systems in commercial buildings such as hospitals, schools and hotels. In emergency situations, they help to protect lives and property by limiting the passage of fire and contributing to the safe egress of building occupants. Some fire doors are even capable of limiting the passage of smoke and toxic gases.

What we're doing

Fire doors are required to meet safety standards to help prevent fires from spreading. Our Standard, UL 10B, the Standard for Fire Tests of Door Assemblies, outlines the requirements for testing to help certify fire doors. One test exposes the doors to fire conditions in a controlled environment to achieve specified temperatures throughout a specified time period. The doors are then sprayed with a standard fire hose stream. In order to meet the requirements for intended performance, the door must remain in the opening during the fire endurance and hose-stream test (within specific limitations) to ensure it will help to block the passage of flames in an emergency situation.

How you can help

Our Standards are developed through a consensus-based process, which integrates scientific and testing expertise with input from our Technical Committee (TC) members and stakeholders. TC members represent a variety of interests, including industry, academia, government, retail and manufacturing. If you are involved in the design, manufacture, sale, installation or inspection of fire doors, and you would like to help improve safety in your industry, please take a moment to learn how you can get involved.