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A NEW code of practice for fire door release mechanisms has been issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
BS 7273-4: 2007: Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Actuation of release mechanisms for doors, will help ensure the integrity of automatic release mechanisms that operate in the event of fire.
The standard applies to all buildings that have hold-open devices for doors which release in the event of fire, electronic locks that unlock secure doors on means of escape, and powered sliding doors which need to open permanently in case of fire. It applies to all aspects of the interface between these mechanisms and a fire detection and fire alarm system.
In particular, the standard introduces a new categorisation of the release arrangements in terms of reliability to operate, particularly under defined fault conditions. Only the highest category (Category A) is suggested for critical situations.
It also details recommendations for the siting of smoke detectors that are intended to cause fire doors to close in a fire.
The standard is available from BSI Customer Services on +44 (0)20 8996 9001; e-mail: orders@bsi-global.com; web: www.bsi-global.com/shop
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