Fire Roll-up Doors 101

If you have fire rated roll-up doors, please take special care of these types of doors and be aware of the responsibilities that go with them. I will attempt to answer as many questions about these types of doors for you as possible so that they won’t seem so unfamiliar to you.

I am sure most of you are asking, what is a fire rated roll-up door? This is a special type of roll-up door that is designed to automatically come down when there is a fire in the building. They are found in large warehouses, restaurants, hotels, cafeterias and other places where there is a chance of a fire and it spreading into other areas. These types of doors are recognizable due to their hash chains running from the door all the way to the sealing. They are typically found in between different areas of warehouses or separating a kitchen area from the rest of a facility.

They come with 1-3 hour fire ratings, this is determined by the fire Marshall. No one else has the jurisdiction to tell you what rating the fire door needs to be, or even if a fire roll-up door is required. These doors must be tested once a year for proper operation. A company like ours comes out and performs a “drop test” to determine if the door is functioning properly. This drop test simulates how the door would perform in an actual fire.

If the door passes the drop tests (Fire code laws dictate it has to drop correctly twice) we provide fire labels next to the door that says it performed up to the standards required by law and paperwork is then provided to the proper authority in the facility that reiterates the same thing. For a fire door to be considered compliant it must have the fire label next to the door that indicates the date it was last tested and the proper paperwork associated with it. If either become damaged or lost, the door will need to be tested again.

Automatic failure: No one likes this but if the door has been altered in any way it is grounds for automatic failure, until those changes have been rectified. This could include any type of paint on the door, lubing of the vertical guides, a door that has been improperly reset after it has released, or many other factors. Also, fire doors can only be repaired with parts from the original manufacturer, current fire laws require this and say that if this cannot be done the door must be replaced entirely.

Does my fire door need to be tested? Yes, even if it is not in use or kept closed. Fire code laws say that every fire door needs to be tested annually.

If you have fire doors in your building and they have not had their annual test, call us today to schedule an appointment for them to be looked at. It is of utmost importance that these doors function properly at all times, every life that enters that building is depending on it.

Gene Ganas
President General Door