AS part of its efforts to ensure the reliability of manufacturing, supply and installation of fire safety products in the Middle East, IFC Certification elaborates on the mechanics of a fire door certification scheme, such as that used by the Dubai Civil Defence (DCD).
The Fire and Safety Section of Dubai Civil Defence (DCD), which has been leading the way in working with a number of organisations, including the UKAS accredited IFC Certification, has produced an approvals system for timber fire doors.
The regulatory approvals system now used in Dubai is detailed in Figure 1. It is expected that this system will provide all those concerned with the design, specification, manufacture, installation and inspection of timber fire doors in the emirate, the confidence to specify these products with the reassurance of a third-party certification certificate and label.
With the currently high level of construction activity in the Middle East, especially Dubai and the lack of unified controls from state to state, regulators can use the systems and models already established and in place in many countries throughout the world as examples to help guarantee the performance of these products that are important factors in life safety, he adds.
Why a certificate?
When fire performance is required, often the specifier, regulator, designer, consultant and fire safety engineer look for fire test evidence. However, fire testing a product is often very restrictive, also testing has no connection or guarantee that the manufactured products are the same as those specimens tested.
Indeed, the sponsor companies often produce a “special” for the test and modify the subsequent manufactured products due to economics etc with scant reference to the test. This has led in the past to the tested product having no relevance to the mass manufactured products, which in turn can lead to premature failure of fire doors, ultimately leading to a high risk of injury or death from fire or its effects.
The certification process not only assesses the acceptability of test and other reports on the performance of a fire door, it also assesses the manufacturing facility to assure that the approved or tested door design is the one upon which the applicant is using in the manufacturing and assembly process. The internationally-recognised British Standard BS 476: Part 22 is used as the criteria for fire resistance, thus providing confidence in the fire door’s performance.
Once an applicant has been assessed under these criteria, the firm is admitted into the Fire Resistant Timber Door Scheme and it is then committed to a maintenance and surveillance schedule where IFC Certification carries out surveillance visits to confirm the registered companies manufacturing performance.
Fire Resistant Timber Door Schemes issue guidance documents for applicants, and certification and application process flowcharts to help guide companies to improve the consistency and safety of their outputs.
Labels
Labels – provided and controlled by the certification body for example, IFC Certification, – are colour coded to demonstrate their performance and fire resistance level as indicated in the Figure 2.
Fire door labels are usually fitted to the hanging edge of the door and contain all the information required to identify the door easily. The label should indicate the certificate number of the company that holds the registration – for example, IFC Certification’s details and the name and address of the manufacturer. In all cases, the label is uniquely numbered, allowing each door to be individually identified should the need arise.
A member of the International Fire Consultants (IFC Group of Companies) with its head office based in the UK, IFC Certification set up an office in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE, last year.
“The IFC has been active as service engineers over the past two years, and has been troubleshooting in the area for a number of years,” says Graham Wiles, director. “The main problem we have had is to make people aware of the need for fire engineering. Architects, structural engineers and MEP (mechanical, engineering and plumbing) consultants each do a bit in this sphere, but no one coordinates fire engineering, which is a relatively new concept,” he says.
“IFC works with the design team. We are working closely with the Civil Defence to improve awareness and educate the industry about using good quality products and enhancing fire safety standards. In high-rises, you are relying on life-safety products. We’d like to emphasise that it often costs the same to design a project properly as it does otherwise,” Wiles concludes.
Last October, the IFC held a seminar at the Crown Plaza in Dubai, which was attended by some 200 delegates from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
