Do External Doors Need to be Fire Rated?

If you’re asking yourself that very question, then this guide is for you. We’re going to talk you through everything you need to know about fire-rated exterior doors and whether you need them.

Fire-Rated External Doors: Key Takeaways

• For houses and bungalows, rather than flats or apartments, it’s not usually compulsory in the UK to have fire-rated external doors.
• Flat doors leading to communal areas, like corridors and lobbies, do typically need to be fire doors.
• Exterior doors of commercial properties often must be fire-rated for reasons of public safety.
• Fire-rated external doors resist fire for a set period of time in order to both slow its spread and maintain safe evacuation routes.
• Fire-rated external doors often display a tamper-proof label to show that’s what they are.

When Is a Fire-Rated External Door Compulsory in the UK?

For many residential properties, most notably houses and bungalows rather than flats or apartments, it’s not compulsory to have fire-rated external doors. In fact, the scenarios in which external fire doors are required by law are comparatively few:

• External flat doors leading to communal areas – If you live in a flat or apartment in a block of multiple dwellings, then your front door will likely need to be fire rated. That’s to arrest the spread of any fire that starts within a flat rather than it being allowed to quickly extend into corridors, lobbies, or communal areas.
• Exterior door between a garage and a house – If you have an integral garage, then the door between the garage and your house must be fire rated. That’s not a garage side door leading to the exterior, but rather the door between the garage and the rest of the property.
• External doors in commercial properties – For commercial properties, it’s more common for external doors to need to be fire rated. For most commercial properties, fire-rated exterior doors are needed if the door is the last one on an evacuation route, if it leads to an exterior staircase, if it adjoins another property, or if it is within one metre of another property.

Of course, you don’t only have to install a fire-rated external door when it’s mandatory. You might choose one even if the law doesn’t compel you to.

What Are Fire-Rated External Doors for and Why Do They Matter?

A fire-rated external door is a door leading from a property to the outdoors or to an adjoining but separate building which has been certified as providing a certain level of fire resistance. That means that every part of the door set, including the door itself, the frame, the seals, and more, have been rigorously tested and found to uphold certain fire safety standards.

There are several reasons why ensuring your front doors and other exits are fire rated could be a good idea:

• Safety – The main reason why fire-rated external doors matter is because they can save lives. By being able to resist fire for a period of time, they maintain safe exit routes from a building giving people longer to evacuate.
• Fines or prosecution – If you are in a situation where fire safety regulations or other legislation make external fire doors compulsory, you could be prosecuted for not installing them. The punishment would then likely be a significant fine or worse if your non-compliance led to injury or death.
• Insurance – Another reason it’s important to install exterior fire doors when mandated is so as not to invalidate your insurance. If your external doors aren’t compliant, your policy may not pay out in the case of damage caused to the property by fire.

How You Can Tell if Your Existing External Door is Fire-Rated

If you think you may be in a situation where your external doors do need to be fire rated, you’ll likely want to know whether the existing ones actually are. If you didn’t install or purchase them yourself, there are a few ways to discover if your doors are fire rated.

The simplest is to look at the door itself and see if it’s labelled or indicated as being a fire door. Some third-party fire door certification schemes in the UK involve the placement of permanent, tamperproof labels on the doors themselves. Otherwise, check whether your doors display these common characteristics of external fire doors:

• A minimum thickness of 44mm
• Solid construction that means it feels heavier than a standard door and doesn’t sound hollow if you tap it
• A built-in self-closing mechanism, meaning the door won’t stay open behind you
• Intumescent seals made of graphite or brush lining built into the frame or edges of the door
• A fire-resistant stamp etched into any included glazing.

Understanding the Five Types of Fire-Rated External Doors

There are different types of external fire doors, and each are designed and suitable for different environments. The five most common are:

• FD30 fire doors – These doors are certified to provide 30 minutes of resistance to fire. They’re most often installed in residential properties or commercial buildings considered to be at a low risk of fire.
• FD60 fire doors – These doors are certified to provide 60 minutes of resistance to fire. They’re typically found in medium-risk environments such as schools, hospitals, or similar buildings.
• FD90 fire doors – These doors are certified to provide 90 minutes of resistance to fire. They’re reserved for higher-risk environments, such as industrial settings where flammable materials are used.
• FD120 fire doors – These doors are certified to provide 120 minutes of resistance to fire. They’re usually only found in very high-risk premises, such as power plants, data centres, or other similar environments.
• FD240 fire doors – These doors are certified to provide 240 minutes of resistance to fire. There are few scenarios where these doors are necessary. They’re only for the highest-risk environments, such as critical infrastructure installations.

External Fire-Rated Doors vs Internal Fire-Rated Doors: What’s the Difference?

You can get internal fire doors as well as the external alternative. In terms of construction and characteristics, the two are pretty similar. They’re typically thicker and more solid than non-fire-rated doors and will have additional features such as self-closing mechanisms and intumescent seals.

The difference, however, is in their overall purpose. External fire doors aim to maintain a safe exit route for residents or users of a building in case of fire. Internal fire doors, meanwhile, are designed to compartmentalise a property and slow the spread of fire from one area to another. That’s why it’s important that internal fire doors are continually kept closed.

Looking for Advice About External Fire Doors and More?

Door Warehouse has been providing and installing external doors for over 30 years. Our expert team knows everything there is to know about fire doors and when they are and aren’t a good idea. Get in touch today for advice or pop to our Deeside showroom to see our range of external fire doors.