Of the many fire safety products and activities required for offices, factories, and government buildings, fire doors provide one of the most effective first stage barriers when a fire breaks out. For this reason, fire door testing in Minnesota should be completed at least annually to comply with the law, but also to provide the employer and employees with peace of mind.
What Do Fire Doors Do?
Fire doors form a barrier between one area and another within a building. Because they are resistant to fire and smoke, they can keep these dangers contained within a specific area in the building, giving people the opportunity to escape from the building without having to pass through fire and smoke.
Fire door testing in Minnesota is mandatory because it provides the opportunity to save lives. As a secondary effect, fire doors also reduce the fire damage to a property because they allow the fire department to eradicate the fire much sooner and can ensure that people are rescued from safe areas.
Does Fire Safety Glass Crack?
Standard glass in a door will quickly crack after being heated during a fire. This would then render the door useless when holding back fire and smoke. Where the glass is fire rated within a fire door, allowing access for vision between two locations, the glass is designed to hold its position for at least 30 minutes, under the duress of extreme heat from a fire.
Glass in a fire door is helpful because it allows individuals in the safe area to observe what is happening in the room that contains the fire, although this will only be useful for a short while because the smoke will quickly fill the room and your vision will be vastly reduced.
The law stipulates which doors must reach the fire standards within your property. It also holds you accountable for fire door testing in Minnesota annually. This does not prevent you from testing the quality of your fire doors more regularly.