Today, we’re sharing a step-by-step video of a fire door drop test. Watch as William, Service Department Manager at American Door Works, leads you through a fire door test at Miller Auto & Marine.
FIRE DOOR DROP TEST VIDEO
Longtime customer Miller Auto & Marine has their fire doors drop tested by American Door Works on an annual basis. This time around, we filmed the testing so we could share the process with others. It’s important to remember that fire doors require annual testing for two reasons:
- It’s required by the National Fire Protection Association to complete a fire door drop test and obtain documentation of the testing.
- We want the door to work properly. In case there is a fire, the fire door will close properly and not allow the fire to spread to any other part of the building.
There are four main steps involved in a fire door drop test.
Inspect Door and Opening
Ensure the door is complete, that all of its parts are there. Check that the door is securely fastened to the opening.
Ensure Door Travels Properly
Our American Door Works technicians will manually open and close the door to ensure there’s no problem or issue with the way it travels.
Complete Fire Door Drop Test
Our technicians disconnect the triggering device and let the fire door fall. The door will fall at a governed rate, somewhere between six and 24 inches per second. This ensures people will have time to safely get out of the door’s way. We check for gaps around the opening and a proper seal. Then we reset the door and test a second time to ensure the firing mechanism is hooked up
properly.Document the Commercial Door Service
The final step is to complete paperwork and provide proper documentation to the customer. We also keep drop test documentation on file. If a customer cannot locate their documentation, we’ll provide another copy.
AMERICAN DOOR WORKS FOR COMMERCIAL DOOR SERVICE
As William explained in the video, many of our customers are on annual fire door drop testing and preventative commercial door service contracts. We always contact our customers to schedule testing when it’s convenient for them. Most often, it’s preferred during the autumn months so we can apply weather seal services as well.
At American Door Works, we’re passionate about making it as easy as it can be for our customers to get their doors serviced and repaired, and we try to make it so they don’t have to worry about it - because they’re doing what they do best, and we’re doing what we do best.
Thank you, Miller Auto & Marine, for allowing us to film your fire door drop test and make it a priority for your company.