The Difference Between Fire Doors and Fire Exits?

The difference between fire doors and fire exits is something which is often confused and sometimes used interchangeably. They are, however, very different and follow their own requirements with regard to fire safety. This blog will briefly explain this to you.

Fire Doors

Fire doors can be located in almost any instance with the most typical locations being on stairwells, between rooms and on front doors for apartments in a residential block. The reason that they are fire doors is because they are fire resisting and by having them in these locations it helps, with the use of fire walls and floors, create protection between areas (a compartment).

Fire doors must always be closed when not in use and have a self-closing feature to ensure this happens. Fire doors come in a variety of standards, with the most common being the 30 minute fire door and the 60 minute fire door. The minutes indicate how long the fire door should protect you from the fire. Fire doors also require the fitting of intumescent strips and smoke seals, these help protect the door from smoke transfer. Please read ‘Fire Doors’ blog for more information on making sure your fire door is safe.

Fire Exits

A fire exit door is a type of door that leads people outside in the event of a fire. A fire exit door is typically found on the exterior of a building, acting as the final door of an escape route. Fire exit doors should have green signage indicating an exit and it must be easily openable. The common ways a fire exit door is easily openable is with the use of push bars and thumb turns. There is no requirement for a fire exit door to be fire resisting (however, there are certain exceptions for this).

The Main Difference

The purpose of fire exit doors is to let people escape the building in the event of a fire, while the purpose of fire doors is to prevent fire from spreading between rooms and compartments.

How we can help

We work for a range of buildings including: residential properties, school, hospitals and more. Our employees are trained fire risk assessor and have specific training on fire doors. Our assessors check the safety of fire doors and fire exits regularly. If you need a fire safety advice, a fire risk assessment or a door survey, please get in contact.