Fire door assemblies required by other sections of this code shall comply with the provisions of this section. Fire door frames with transom lights, sidelights or both shall be permitted in accordance with Section 716.2.5.4.
Approved fire door and fire shutter assemblies shall be constructed of any material or assembly of component materials that conforms to the test requirements of Sections 716.2.1.1 through 716.2.1.4 and the fire protection rating indicated in Table 716.1(2).
Exceptions:
- Labeled protective assemblies that conform to the requirements of this section or UL 10A, UL 14B and UL 14C for tin-clad fire door assemblies.
- Floor fire door assemblies in accordance with Section 712.1.13.1.
Fire door assemblies with side-hinged and pivoted swinging doors shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL 10C. For tests conducted in accordance with NFPA 252, the fire test shall be conducted using the positive pressure method specified in the standard.
Fire door assemblies with other types of doors, including swinging elevator doors, horizontal sliding fire doors, rolling steel fire doors, fire shutters, bottom- and side-hinged chute intake doors, and top-hinged chute discharge doors, shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL 10B. For tests conducted in accordance with NFPA 252, the neutral pressure plane in the furnace shall be maintained as nearly equal to the atmospheric pressure as possible at the top of the door, as specified in the standard.
Glazing material in any other part of the door assembly, including transom lights and sidelights, shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 257 or UL 9, including the hose stream test, in accordance with Section 716.3.1.1.
Fire door assemblies that serve as smoke and draft control assemblies shall be tested in accordance with UL 1784.
Fire door assemblies shall be installed in the assemblies specified in Table 716.1(2) and shall comply with the fire protection rating specified.
Fire door assemblies required to have a minimum fire protection rating of 20 minutes where located in corridor walls or smoke barrier walls having a fire-resistance rating in accordance with Table 716.1(2) shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL 10C without the hose stream test.
Exceptions:
- Viewports that require a hole not larger than 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter through the door, have not less than a 0.25-inch-thick (6.4 mm) glass disc and the holder is of metal that will not melt out where subject to temperatures of 1,700°F (927°C).
- Corridor door assemblies in occupancies of Group I-2 shall be in accordance with Section 407.3.1.
- Unprotected openings shall be permitted for corridors in multitheater complexes where each motion picture auditorium has not fewer than one-half of its required exit or exit access doorways opening directly to the exterior or into an exit passageway.
- Horizontal sliding doors in smoke barriers that comply with Sections 408.6 and 408.8.4 in occupancies in Group I-3.
The air leakage rate of the door assembly shall not exceed 3.0 cubic feet per minute per square foot (0.01524 m3/s × m2) of door opening at 0.10 inch (24.9 Pa) of water for both the ambient temperature and elevated temperature tests. Louvers shall be prohibited.
Fire door assemblies required to have a minimum fire protection rating of 20 minutes where located in other fire partitions having a fire-resistance rating of 0.5 hour in accordance with Table 716.1(2) shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252, UL 10B or UL 10C with the hose stream test.
Fire door assemblies in interior exit stairways and ramps and exit passageways shall have a maximum transmitted temperature rise of not more than 450°F (250°C) above ambient at the end of 30 minutes of standard fire test exposure.
Exception: The maximum transmitted temperature rise is not required in buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2.
Fire-protection-rated glazing in excess of 100 square inches (0.065 m2) is not permitted. Fire-resistance-rated glazing in excess of 100 square inches (0.065 m2) shall be permitted in fire doors. Listed fire-resistance-rated glazing in a fire door shall have a maximum transmitted temperature rise in accordance with Section 716.2.2.3 when the fire door is tested in accordance with NFPA 252, UL 10B or UL 10C.
Fire doors installed within a fire door assembly shall meet the fire rating indicated in Table 716.1(2).
Fire door frames installed as part of a fire door assembly shall meet the fire rating indicated in Table 716.1(2).
Fire-rated glazing conforming to the opening protection requirements in Section 716.2.1 shall be permitted in fire door assemblies.
Fire-resistance-rated glazing shall comply with the size limitations in Section 716.2.5.1.1. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall comply with the size limitations of NFPA 80, and as provided in Section 716.2.5.1.2.
Fire-resistance-rated glazing tested to ASTM E119 or UL 263 and NFPA 252, UL 10B or UL 10C shall be permitted in fire door assemblies located in fire walls and in fire barriers in accordance with Table 716.1(2) to the maximum size tested and in accordance with their listings.
Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be prohibited in fire walls and fire barriers except as provided in Sections 716.2.5.1.2.1 and 716.2.5.1.2.2.
Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be permitted as vision panels in self-closing swinging fire door assemblies serving as horizontal exits in fire walls where limited to 100 square inches (0.065 m2).
Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be permitted in fire doors having a 11/2-hour fire protection rating intended for installation in fire barriers, where limited to 100 square inches (0.065 m2).
In a 20-minute fire door assembly, the glazing material in the door itself shall have a minimum fire-protection-rated glazing of 20 minutes and shall be exempt from the hose stream test.
Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be permitted in door frames with transom lights, sidelights or both, where a 3/4-hour fire protection rating or less is required and in 2-hour fire-resistance-rated exterior walls in accordance with Table 716.1(2). Fire door frames with transom lights, sidelights, or both, installed with fire-resistance-rated glazing tested as an assembly in accordance with ASTM E119 or UL 263 shall be permitted where a fire protection rating exceeding 3/4 hour is required in accordance with Table 716.1(2).
Fire door hardware and closures shall be installed on fire door assemblies in accordance with the requirements of this section.
Fire doors shall be latching and self- or automatic-closing in accordance with this section.
Exceptions:
- Fire doors located in common walls separating sleeping units in Group R-1 shall be permitted without automatic- or self-closing devices.
- The elevator car doors and the associated hoistway enclosure doors at the floor level designated for recall in accordance with Section 3003.2 shall be permitted to remain open during Phase I emergency recall operation.
Unless otherwise specifically permitted, single side-hinged swinging fire doors and both leaves of pairs of side-hinged swinging fire doors shall be provided with an active latch bolt that will secure the door when it is closed.
Chute intake doors shall be positive latching, remaining latched and closed in the event of latch spring failure during a fire emergency.
Doors required to be self-closing and not required to be automatic closing shall be permitted to be equipped with delayed-action closers.
Automatic-closing doors installed in the following locations shall be permitted to have hold-open devices. Doors shall automatically close by the actuation of smoke detectors installed in accordance with Section 907.3 or by loss of power to the smoke detector or hold-open device. Doors that are automatic-closing by smoke detection shall not have more than a 10-second delay before the door starts to close after the smoke detector is actuated. Automatic-closing doors that protect openings installed in the following locations shall comply with this section:
- In walls that separate incidental uses in accordance with Section 509.4.
- In fire walls in accordance with Section 706.8.
- In fire barriers in accordance with Section 707.6.
- In fire partitions in accordance with Section 708.6.
- In smoke barriers in accordance with Section 709.5.
- In smoke partitions in accordance with Section 710.5.2.3.
- In shaft enclosures in accordance with Section 713.7.
- In waste and linen chutes, discharge openings and access and discharge rooms in accordance with Section 713.13. Loading doors installed in waste and linen chutes shall meet the requirements of Sections 716.2.6.1 and 716.2.6.3.
Vertical sliding or vertical rolling steel fire doors in openings through which pedestrians travel shall be heat activated or activated by smoke detectors with alarm verification.
Where fire shutters of the swinging type are installed in exterior openings, not less than one row in every three vertical rows shall be arranged to be readily opened from the outside, and shall be identified by distinguishing marks or letters not less than 6 inches (152 mm) high.
Where fire shutters of the rolling type are installed, such shutters shall include approved automatic-closing devices.
Fire door assemblies shall be labeled by an approved agency. The labels shall comply with NFPA 80, and shall be permanently affixed to the door or frame.
Fire doors shall be labeled showing the name of the manufacturer or other identification readily traceable back to the manufacturer, the name or trademark of the third-party inspection agency, the fire protection rating and, where required for fire doors in interior exit stairways and ramps and exit passageways by Section 716.2.2.3, the maximum transmitted temperature end point. Smoke and draft control doors complying with UL 1784 shall be labeled as such and shall comply with Section 716.2.9.3. Labels shall be approved and permanently affixed. The label shall be applied at the factory or location where fabrication and assembly are performed.
Listed light kits and louvers and their required preparations shall be considered as part of the labeled door where such installations are done under the listing program of the third-party agency. Fire doors and fire door assemblies shall be permitted to consist of components, including glazing, vision light kits and hardware that are listed or classified and labeled for such use by different third-party agencies.
Oversized fire doors shall bear an oversized fire door label by an approved agency or shall be provided with a certificate of inspection furnished by an approved testing agency. Where a certificate of inspection is furnished by an approved testing agency, the certificate shall state that the door conforms to the requirements of design, materials and construction, but has not been subjected to the fire test.
Smoke and draft control doors complying with UL 1784 shall be labeled in accordance with Section 716.2.9.1 and shall show the letter "S" on the fire-rating label of the door. This marking shall indicate that the door and frame assembly are in compliance where listed or labeled gasketing is installed.
Fire-rated glazing shall bear a label or other identification showing the name of the manufacturer, the test standard and information required in Table 716.1(1) that shall be issued by an approved agency and shall be permanently identified on the glazing.
Installation of smoke doors shall be in accordance with NFPA 105.