Fire Inspector Stephen Yonkin. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Today I would like to talk about doors.

While touring and inspecting buildings in the city a common error that I find is that “Fire Doors” are propped open. What makes a door a “Fire Door?” A Fire Door is constructed of fire-resistant material and will hold up against fire for longer periods than an average door. It is also designed to self-close. It will have hardware attached at the top that pushes the door closed with a folding arm and internal spring or a small hydraulic cylinder. This mechanism pushes the door shut after being opened. On the outside of the door or inside the door jamb there is a seal sort of like weather stripping that will expand when exposed to heat. This seal, when expanded, will help prevent smoke and heat travel around the edges of the door.

These doors are special. They weren’t chosen arbitrarily. The architects and contractors designing your commercial building specifically placed those there in the plans because they are required by building and fire code. They have been tested extensively in laboratories. Fire Doors play a huge role in preventing rapid fire spread through a building and help create areas of safe refuge for building occupants in the event of a fire. Able to block direct flame, they greatly reduce heat transfer and smoke spread while also protecting important escape routes. They may help save lives by preventing spread of fire for hours. Keeping fire doors closed changes whether a fire is contained to a room, a whole floor or a whole building. A properly closed fire door may end up being the deciding factor whether occupants have only seconds to escape or hours. They give people a chance to survive.

A commercial or apartment building in our city may be valued at several million dollars. Owners of these buildings are without a doubt paying pretty steep monthly insurance premiums. Because of their unique features to protect your building from rapid fire growth, Fire Doors may cost anywhere from around $500-$1,000.00 apiece. Should a building suffer a fire and it is discovered that fire doors were propped open insurance payouts may be greatly reduced possibly resulting in millions of dollars of loss that is impossible to recover. Fire doors are seen as a critical fire protection feature of a building and are a common flag on insurance claim reviews by adjusters that often result in coverage disputes.

How can you tell if a door is a “fire door” that needs to be closed? Walk around your place of employment or your building. If a door auto-closes…probably a fire door. Don’t prop that open. Ever. Around the sides of the door there will be a small metal plate, often hinge side but may be top or on the other side, that identifies it as a fire door and how long it is rated to hold back fire. Don’t remove the tag. Don’t disable the auto-close features and do not replace it with a normal ol’ door should it need replaced. It is very common that most building owners and occupants are unaware that these doors exist and are legally required to be closed and unpropped.

When I visit businesses, I always like doing Q&A sessions. I am commonly asked what are some safer practices to put into action at home. One of the best practices, aside from having functional smoke alarms, is sleeping with doors closed. This is difficult at times with small children but is best practice if you can begin to work on it. One of the reasons is that children typically will sleep through the sound of the common residential modern smoke alarm. This is due to children entering deeper sleep than adults and for longer periods. Children have also been found to be less responsive in waking up to the common high pitched/shrill smoke alarm sound than adults. Studies have shown they are more responsive to being woken up by a lower frequency alert tone coupled with prerecorded voice alerts. Smoke alarms with hybrid tone and voice options are readily available these days and I would invite you to explore those options for the safety of your family. It is also important to begin teaching your children escape plans and the importance of keeping doors closed in the event of a fire.

For your building, for your business, for your lives…keep the doors closed.

Stay safe. Have fun. Take care of yourself and someone else.

Stephen Yonkin is the Williamsport Bureau of Fire’s fire marshal.