Von Duprin Commercial Door Hardware

The Differences Between Non-Fire and Fire-Rated Exit Devices

Exit devices are mandatory in every public and commercial building in North America.  In fact, they’ve been mandatory for twenty years or more in most regions of the U.S. and Canada.  While some of the fine details of building code laws differ from region to region, it is likely impossible to find a commercial building in existence today that doesn’t at least have an exit device on every exterior exit door.

Typically, commercial buildings which exceed a certain size or have multiple units housed within (i.e. condo/apartment buildings, shopping centers, industrial buildings, etc.) are required by building code law to have fire walls.  Fire walls are walls which separate sections of the building from one another.  They are made from materials which are highly resistant to combustion and smoke transfer.  In the event that a fire breaks out in one section or unit of the commercial building, fire walls are intended to keep the flames from spreading to other sections of the building.

Fire walls won’t contain flames forever.  A typical fire wall will hold flames at bay for around three hours.  This is usually enough time for the local fire department to respond and put out the fire before it endangers the rest of the building.

Any doorways that are cut into fire walls must be outfitted with doors which also resist the spread of flames and smoke.  These are known as “fire doors.”  All materials which are used to construct them, including door hardware like exit devices, door closers, locks, knobs, etc. must also be combustion-resistant.

Devices which are not fire-rated cannot be installed on fire doors.  They are usually made with less expensive, more flammable materials, and are best suited for exterior doors and doors which don’t have to maintain fire integrity.

Fire-rated exit devices, on the other hand, are constructed of flame resistant materials.  They are composed of metals and other materials which will not melt or break under extreme heat for at least 1-3 hours.  All components, including screws, must be heat and flame resistant.

These devices tend to cost a little bit more.  Both non-fire and fire-rated models perform equally well in all other aspects of function, so building owners can use non-fire-rated models on non-fire doors to save money without compromising performance or safety.  Many models, such as the Von Duprin 99 Series can be purchased in both a fire and non-fire rated version.  Users can maximize their budgets this way while still maintaining a cohesive and uniform look throughout the building.

The Von Duprin 99-F Rim Device. This particular model is fire rated.