Resource Centre
Whitepapers
Outcomes from a lively FSE event
Rutland was delighted to take part in the Fire Safety Event at the NEC in Birmingham once again this year. The Fire Safety Event is part of the Safety and Security Event Series, and with over 56,000 professionals attending and over 1,200 exhibitors, it is undoubtedly Europe’s leading event for the safety of people, places, and assets. Our Fire Safety Consultant, Neil Smith, was invited to take part in two lively panel discussions covering important developments in the industry....
Why are UKAS approved third-party certification schemes important?
Throughout the course of our work with door manufacturers, we often provide help and support with fire testing. One of the areas that can often causes some bafflement is UKAS-accredited third-party certification (TPC) schemes. TPC schemes are not a legal requirement, but they are recommended in Building Regulations and by the Government. This paper looks at these schemes in more detail, outlining their respective benefits....
Fire door hardware
Roughly 3 million new fire doors are installed per year. They are a fundamental part of a building’s safety system. They prevent fire from spreading, and they protect vital escape routes such as stairs and corridors. But fire doors are only effective fire doors when they are closed. If anything impedes the closing of a fire door in the event of fire, the results can be devastating. It’s only when a fire breaks out that the consequences of poorly fitted fire doors are known, so it is doubly important to get the installation of a door and all its constituent parts right, and to ensure that it is maintained that way....
Threshold sealing against smoke
Threshold seals are used to seal the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. They are commonly used as protection against noise, cold, dust and rain, but here we want to explore their most important role: protection against smoke. Smoke doors are normally specified to protect escape routes in the event of fire. A smoke filled corridor can make it difficult to see exits and have a disorienting effect on those trying to escape. They can also hamper rescue efforts. Threshold seals are sometimes, but not always, fitted to smoke doors. This is because, historically, smoke leakage tests have focused largely on the head and jambs of the doorset....
Half-leaf doors and closers: An open and shut case?
We frequently find half-leaf doors left open that should be kept shut to provide fire protection. In this paper, we look at how this problem can be addressed. Half-leaf doors are smaller doors to the side of a main door, which allow for the widening of doorways when a large item needs to pass through. In offices, this could be to facilitate the occasional movement of large furniture, such as desks and cabinets, or in hospitals it might be to enable patient trolleys to pass. According to the needs of the building’s occupants, half-leaf doors can vary in size, with a width sometimes as small as 150mm....
Fire testing doorsets: BS476 versus EN1634
When it comes to fire testing doorsets in the UK, there are two different standards that can be tested to. As is so often the case, one is a British Standard and the other is a European one. Both set out to achieve essentially the same objective – higher standards of fire safety in building construction....
Ensuring compliance in door opening forces
As a designer and manufacturer of door closers, you might think that we’d be only concerned about the forces required to close a door. But the force applied to close a door corresponds directly to the force required to open that door. And that’s an important topic....
How quickly should fire doors close?
It’s a question that we often get asked. The answer is not a straightforward one – there are lots of variables and considerations – so we decided to create a whitepaper to outline what guidance there is out there. Take a read and give us a call to discuss any specific situations you’d like advice on....
