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  • 1.  fire rated doors in healthcare facilities

    Posted 11-11-2020 04:07 AM
    hello everyone,
    can anyone provide me with a checklist or code regulations regarding fire rated doors in hospitals especially surgical theratres?
    do we need fire rated doors in surgical theatre? is there any regulations from NFPA concerning that matter?
    thanks

    ------------------------------
    Amany Omar Mohamed
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: fire rated doors in healthcare facilities

    Posted 11-12-2020 05:46 PM
    Amany,

    Fire doors protect fire-resistance rated (FRR) assemblies. These FRR assemblies include Fire Walls, Fire Barriers, Fire Partitions, Smoke Barriers, and Shaft Enclosures. Each of these FRR assemblies have different hourly requirements (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and/or 4 hours) with associated hourly ratings for their fire doors.

    NFPA 80 Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives is the referenced standard per the IBC and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. The applicable NFPA 80 edition is determined by the applicable IBC & LSC editions.

    The requirements for the FRR assemblies for a "surgical theatre" should be indicated on the facility's LIfe Safety Plan (LSP). The LSP should indicate the Occupancy Classifications and applicable Codes which will assist you in determining the FRR assemblies requirements.

    I would be happy to review the Life Safety Plans for the area in question. Please forward the information to Todd.E.Wyatt@gmail.com if you are interested in my assistance.

    Thank you, Todd Wyatt

    ------------------------------
    Todd Wyatt AIA
    Senior Project Manager
    Altus Architectural Studios
    Lakewood CO
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: fire rated doors in healthcare facilities

    Posted 11-12-2020 06:00 PM
    Amany

    There are no specific requirements for rating doors to a surgery. Typically the OR is within a suite which avoids the necessity of latching doors. Otherwise the door ratings would conform to 707 - 710of the IBC

    Hope this helps.

    Wold Architects and Engineers 

    Chris Colantti  |  AIA, ACHA

    332 Minnesota Street, Suite W2000

    Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101

     651 227 7773 woldae.com






  • 4.  RE: fire rated doors in healthcare facilities

    Posted 11-12-2020 07:20 PM

    Big, complex topic. The fire-rating of doors at surgical suites really depend on so many factors that you can't generalize very much. You will need to go through the usual research to determine:

    ·        Applicable Code

    ·        Construction Type

    ·        Wall Fire Ratings

    ·        Is the Building Sprinklered?

     

    You will have to figure out if the wall that 'hosts' the door is itself a fire-rated wall, and if so, why is it rated and what is the fire/smoke rating?  If you look at current codes, you can probably get a good sense of what the door should be rated for that type of wall, but not always. Sometimes you find that the building was built enough code-cycles back, that the fire rating process may have been substantially different. If so, you may need to ask the building official what they would suggest.

     

    Hope that helps.

     

    Bill Zellmer AIA, CASp

    Program Manager - Physical Access Compliance and Regulatory Affairs

    Facility and Property Services

    Sutter Health

     

    2880 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 220

    Sacramento, CA 95833

    (916) 566-4822 Office

    (916) 216-3491 Cell

    zellmeb@sutterhealth.org