Fire door and fire window testing

UL offers the most comprehensive fire door and fire window testing capabilities available. Our fire safety team tests a variety of products and hardware for fire resistance and performance, including swinging doors, glazing materials, frames, locks, closers, hinges and other door hardware products.

The UL Fire Safety team provides unmatched experience, having helped to write many of the industry test standards that are referenced in building codes. And UL offers a global reach, with an established presence across North America, Asia and the Middle East.

Services include:

• Full fire-testing capabilities, with both large and small furnaces available, including a new state-of-the-art panel furnace. Also, certification services for a wide range of fire door assemblies, from chute and access doors to passenger elevator entrances and rolling-steel-type doors.
• Wind resistance tests of assemblies and components to ASTM and ANSI standards.
• Extensive labeling capabilities for steel door and frame distributors.
• Full labeling capabilities for wood fire doors.
• Air leakage tests for smoke- and leakage-rated door assemblies.
• Performance testing of hardware to both UL and ANSI/BHMA standards.
• Field labeling (inspections and evaluations).

Products and standards

UL tests for a wide variety of current-edition standards for both fire doors and fire windows.

Fire doors and fire door hardware:

• ANSI/UL 10C, Positive Pressure Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• ANSI/UL 10B, Fire Tests of Door Assemblies
• UL 1784, Air Leakage Tests of Door Assemblies
• NFPA 252, Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies (National Fire Codes, vol. 6)
• UL Subject 63, Outline of Investigation for Fire Door Frames
• CAN4-S104-M80, Standard Method for Fire Tests of Door Assemblies

Fire windows:

• UL 9, Fire Tests of Window Assemblies (both positive and neutral pressure methods)
• NFPA 257, Standard on Fire Tests for Window and Glass Block Assemblies
• CAN4-S106-M80, Standard Method for Fire Tests of Window and Glass Block Assemblies

European Approval

As an accredited Notified Body to the Construction Products Directive 89/106/EEC (CPD), UL assesses fire doors and fire door hardware to applicable EN standards and issues the CE Certificate of conformity. For doors and door hardware to be sold in Europe, the CPD requires that products demonstrate conformity to EN standards through type testing. A combined UL/EN test can be used as that ‘type test’. In addition, product manufacturers must use a Notified Body who should be involved in product testing and on-going inspection of the manufacturer’s FPC systems. UL can cater for all of these needs whilst at the same time addressing the requirements for the UL Mark.

British Standards

Despite the increasing adoption of European Standards, some countries and bodies still require ‘approval’ based upon British Standards (BS). These countries include the UK as well as countries within the former British Empire. For this reason, UL can include the requirements of the BS standard within the combined fire resistance test, as needed.

A Single Combined Fire Resistance Test

UL can conduct a single combined fire resistance test that includes critical requirements of the UL, EN and BS test standards. UL’s expertise in fire door testing includes recognized engineers from UL, EN and BS standards backgrounds and relevant standards writing committees. UL’s experts created a single, combined test method that caters for all needs to assess compliance with all critical requirements including:

• UL - includes specific requirements in UL10C including e.g. the hose stream test.
• EN – includes additional requirements e.g. unexposed face thermocouple positioning and attention to furnace pressure.
• BS - BS test method addressed via the adoption of the EN standard subject to an expert judgement prior to and after the testing.

 Suitable Products

The combined fire resistance test method is suitable for fire resisting doors that are intended to demonstrate compliance with one or more of the following standards:

• UL 10B
• UL 10C
• EN 1634-1
• BS 476: Part 22: 1987
• ISO 3008

The test may also be used to demonstrate the fire resistance performance of building hardware.

• Locks, door closers, hinges - The fire test should be used with the appropriate mechanical performance test to obtain an overall performance ‘approval’ for the element of hardware. UL’s Notified Body can also assist to achieve a CE mark.
• Door frame and/or the glazed aperture - A ‘stand-alone’ approval may not be possible but the fire test evidence can be used to supplement other test evidence to enable a fuller approval – to any of the three mentioned test standards.

The UL advantage

UL testing and certification services offer several advantages, including product listing in an applicable UL product directory. UL directories contain a list of companies authorized to use a UL Mark that have demonstrated compliance with UL requirements and applicable standards. The directories are considered an invaluable resource by thousands of regulatory authorities, building owners and insurance companies.

We offer comprehensive, state-of-the-art testing facilities and a highly experienced technical staff with extensive code knowledge. This is why the UL Mark is immediately recognized and respected by professionals in fire safety around the world.

Additionally, UL's engineers have been instrumental in developing thousands of safety standards recognized by regulatory authorities and nearly 200 industries.