How to Maintain Your Buildings Fire Separations ?

Let’s Discuss Closures and Fire Separations

Good housekeeping is essential in maintaining the safety of a building, potentially saving time, money, and most importantly, lives. When accidents occur, the cost can be significant—not only in repairs but also in potential legal consequences. As a building owner or representative, you can be held liable if someone is injured. Property managers and maintenance staff have both a moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety of building occupants, and they can be held accountable under the law.

Fire Separations

Fire separations are critical to protecting lives, providing occupants with vital time to evacuate a building in an emergency. The locations and design of fire separations is dependent on the requirements of the Ontario Building Code. The most common fire separations in a building are the exit stairways, each floor level, suites, garbage rooms, elevator shafts, garage chutes, corridors, mechanical rooms, etc. These separations typically consist of walls, ceilings, and floors, that are designed and built to withstand the spread of fire for a specific time limit. All openings in fire separations such as doors, ductwork, and cable raceways have to protected by fire doors, fire dampers in ductwork and any holes made to facilitate cables and other items passing through the fire separation.

Here are some common examples of fire separations in your building:

In condos/apartment buildings, suites are fire separated from adjacent rooms, other suites and corridors by fire separations with a minimum fire-resistance rating of 45 minutes.
Public corridors are fire separated from the remainder of the building by a fire separation with a fire-resistance rating of not less than 45 minutes.
Service rooms are fire separated from the rest of the building by a fire separation with a fire-resistance rating varying from 45 min. to 2 hrs.
Exit stairways are fire separated by fire separations with fire resistance ratings that vary from 45 min. to 2 hrs.
Elevator shafts have similar fire resistance ratings as exit stairways.
Garbage chutes have similar fire resistance ratings as exit stairways.

Closures (Fire Doors & Fire Dampers)

Now, let’s focus on “closures”. The term “closure” is found in the Fire and Building Codes and it refers to a fire door and fire damper. These closures are essential to protect the openings within a fire separation in the event of a fire. Closures vary in fire-resistance rating from 20 minutes to 2 hrs. They also are required to be equipped with self-closing devices and a latching mechanism. The Ontario Building Code dictates the fire-protection ratings of the closures, ensuring that fire separations are adequately protected by preventing the passage of smoke to other areas of the building.

Ontario Fire Code Maintenance Requirements

Damaged Fire Separations Between Different Occupancies

If fire separations between different areas of a building are damaged in a way that affects their ability to prevent the spread of smoke and fire, they must be repaired to restore their fire-resistance rating and ensure they continue to provide the necessary protection.

Damaged Fire Separations Between Rooms & Spaces

If fire separations between rooms, corridors, elevator shafts, garbage chutes, exit stairways, service rooms, suites or other areas are damaged and this affects their ability to prevent the spread of smoke and fire, they must be repaired to ensure they continue to provide proper protection.

Damaged Closures (Fire Doors, Fire Dampers)

If closures are damaged in a way that affects their fire protection rating, they must be repaired to restore their full fire-protection ability.

Maintenance of Closures (Fire Doors, Fire Dampers)

Closures in fire separations must be maintained to ensure they work properly at all times by:

Keeping fusible links and heat or smoke-actuated devices undamaged, and free of paint and dirt.
Keeping guides, bearings, and stay rolls clean and well-lubricated.
Adjusting and repairing door hardware to ensure the door closes and latches correctly.
Repairing or replacing any broken parts of hold-open devices and automatic releasing devices.

Operation of Closures

Closures in fire separations must never be blocked, wedged open, or modified in any way that would prevent them from working as intended.

Door in a fire separation

Doors in a fire separation are kept closed when not in use.

Doors in a fire separation are checked as frequently as necessary to ensure that the door remains closed.

Door openings in fire separations and the areas surrounding the door opening shall be kept clear of anything that would be likely to obstruct or interfere with the free operation of the door.

On Going Inspection Maintenance in Your Building

Inspect fire doors as mentioned above under fire code maintenance on a monthly basis. Insect fire dampers in ductwork to make sure they will function appropriately preventing the passage of smoke and fire to the rest of the building. Closures play a critical role in preventing the spread of fire and smoke during an emergency.

To help navigate the necessary codes and regulations for closures in fire separations, here’s a checklist to follow:

Labels are clearly visible and legible.
No open holes or breaks are present in the surfaces of the door or frame.
List item
No damage that could compromise the integrity of the fire-protection rating.
The door, frame, hinges, hardware, and noncombustible threshold are secure, aligned, and in working order with no visible signs of damage.
All parts are intact—nothing is missing or broken.
Door clearance does not exceed more than ¾” on the bottom and clearance between the top of the door and the vertical edge should not exceed 1/8” or 1/16”, depending on the type of door.
The self-closing device works properly, ensuring the door closes completely when operated from a fully open position.
Missing self-closing devices to be re-installed.
Hold-open devices and automatic releasing devices should be repaired or replaced if inoperative.
Latching hardware should function correctly and secure the door when closed.
No auxiliary hardware should interfere with or hinder the operation of the door or frame.
No field modifications should have been made to the door assembly that would void the label.
Meeting edge protection, gasketing, and edge seals, where required, should be intact and in good condition.
Guides, bearings, and stay rolls should be clean and lubricated.
Closures in fire separations must not be obstructed, blocked, wedged open, or altered in any way that could prevent their intended operation.
Fusible links and heat or smoke-actuated devices should be free of damage, paint, and dirt.
Signage on Condo doors for exit stairways to include the stairway ID and floor level.
Fire damper fusible links to be clean with no rust, dirt, etc.
Fire dampers check they have not activated and obstructing the duct ventilation
Fire damper check there are no obstructions such as gables running thru the duct and will not allow to seal the duct opening.

Identification of Exit Stairway & Floor Level

At Alpha Code Consulting we can help you implement a maintenance program with appropriate checklists and staff training to ensure occupant safety and the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code are maintained.

Alpha Code Consulting

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