Fire Rated DoorsManaged the Automate Way
FD30, FD60, FD30S or FD60S - whatever rating a door carries, Automate Fire Door OS holds its tested configuration, evidence and inspection schedule against that single door, so compliance is the default rather than something you have to chase.
Compliant by default, whatever the rating
A fire rated door only performs if its complete doorset - leaf, frame, seals, hardware and glazing - matches the configuration that was tested. The moment a component is substituted or a gap opens up, that compliance can quietly disappear. The hard part has never been knowing what a fire door is; it's keeping every door in a building matched to its evidence, year after year.
That is the problem Automate Fire Door OS solves. Every door you add becomes a connected record that carries its rating, its tested configuration, its evidence and its inspection history in one place. So whether you're managing an FD30 flat entrance, an FD60S smoke-control door on a protected stair, or a specialist glazed screen, the app keeps each one compliant by default - and tells you the moment anything drifts.
This page walks through how Automate handles fire rated doors at each stage of their lifecycle, from specification and the anatomy of a doorset through to installation, inspection and the permanent record behind every door.
One door, one record - opened on site by QR, updated from the workshop, reviewed from the office. That continuity is what makes the compliance stick.
Every Rating, Captured and Tracked
In the UK, the FD designation is widely used, while European classification under BS EN 13501-2 expresses performance through coded criteria such as integrity (E), insulation (I) and smoke (S). Automate Fire Door OS doesn't care which label a door carries - it stores the rating against the door and lets that rating drive everything that follows.
FD30
30 minutes of integrity performance - the rating most often specified for internal compartmentation and protected escape routes. In Automate, an FD30 tag sets the accepted components, the gap tolerances and the inspection cadence for that door.
FD60
60 minutes of integrity - typically specified where a longer fire-resistance period is required. Tag a door FD60 in Automate and the app expects the heavier leaf, the compatible frame and the evidence that supports the higher rating.
The “S” for smoke
FD30S and FD60S denote smoke control, but the suffix alone doesn't guarantee performance. Automate records the smoke-control requirement alongside the seals and closing action that support it, so the door's record reflects the evidence, not a label.
Because the rating lives on the door record, Automate can mix ratings across a single project without losing track - an FD60 plant-room door and an FD30S flat entrance sit in the same system, each held to its own standard.
A Doorset Is a System - and Automate Stores the Whole System
A fire rated door only performs as a complete assembly. Change any one of these 25 components and you may move outside the tested configuration. That is why Automate Fire Door OS treats the doorset - not the leaf - as the record, and why each of these parts can be logged against the door it belongs to.
Door Leaf (44mm Fire-Rated Core)
The moving element of the assembly. Its core construction, thickness, material, and edge details are the primary drivers of the doorset's fire resistance period - typically FD30 (30 minutes) or FD60 (60 minutes). Finish (laminate, primed, veneer or RAL) is applied over the fire-tested core.
Timber Frame
The frame is not merely structural housing - it is an active component of the fire-resisting assembly. Its material, density, width, depth, and rebate dimensions are all part of the doorset's tested performance. Frame finish must match or complement the leaf specification.
Structural Opening
The raw masonry or studwork opening the doorset fits into. Surveyed width, height, and wall reveal depth determine the frame size, which in turn derives the finished leaf dimensions. Getting this right at survey stage prevents costly remedial work later.
Fire-Rated Hinges
Hinges carry the leaf weight and maintain correct alignment within the frame. The quantity (typically 3 per leaf), grade, gauge, fixing type, and top/bottom offset positions are all specified by the doorset's test evidence. Intumescent pads behind each hinge are part of the certified system.
Overhead Door Closer
A power-controlled closer ensures the door returns to a fully latched position after every use. Without a functioning closer, the door cannot guarantee a closed seal under fire conditions, rendering the rest of the assembly ineffective. Power size is matched to leaf width and wind exposure.
Locks & Latches (Mortice Lock)
Positive latching is what keeps the door held firmly against the frame stop during a fire, maintaining the intumescent seal. The lock type - euro sashlock, deadlock, latch-only, multipoint - and its keep/strike position are all part of the doorset's certified performance.
Cylinders & Keying Hardware
Where a euro or similar cylinder is used, it must be compatible with the tested lock case and the doorset's fire rating. Keying architecture (master keyed, keyed alike, or suitted) is specified at project level for estate-wide access control.
Lever Handles & Pull Furniture
The handle operates the latch mechanism and must be compatible with the tested doorset. On double doors, pull handles may replace latch furniture on the inactive leaf. Incorrectly specified furniture can transfer heat or fail under fire conditions, compromising door function.
Intumescent & Smoke Seals
Intumescent materials expand rapidly under heat to seal the gap between leaf and frame, while smoke seals restrict cold smoke passage. Their location, section size, and type are critical to the doorset's rated integrity and insulation performance.
Fire-Resistant Glazing
Where vision panels are specified, the glass must be part of a tested glazing system - not just fire-rated in isolation. Its integrity and insulation performance must match or align with the doorset's overall rating (FD30, FD60, etc.).
Glazing Beads & Seals
Beads mechanically retain the glass within the aperture, working in tandem with intumescent pads that expand under heat to lock the glass in place. Every dimension, material, and fixing pattern is dictated by the tested glazing system.
Overpanel / Fanlight
The panel above the doorset - whether solid timber or glazed - is part of the fire-resisting assembly. Its height, fire rating, and construction (modular or built-up) must match or exceed the doorset's rating. Glazed overpanels require the same tested glazing system as the leaf.
Side Screens & Sidelights
Glazed or timber panels to the left or right of the doorset extend the fire-resisting assembly beyond the leaf. Each side screen has its own width, fire rating, glass type, and finish specification - all part of the certified doorset, not optional extras.
Thresholds & Seals
Where a threshold is specified, it forms part of the smoke and fire barrier at the floor line. Threshold profiles, drop-down seals, and rebated thresholds must all be compatible with the doorset's test evidence and the floor finish on site.
Drop Seal (Automatic)
An automatic drop seal activates when the door closes, sealing the gap at the floor line to resist smoke passage. Its activation mechanism, seal height, and retrofit compatibility are all part of the doorset's smoke control performance.
Protection Plates (Kick Plates & Finger Plates)
Kick plates protect the leaf face from impact damage in high-traffic areas. Cut to size from the leaf width with specified offsets, they can be fitted to the pull side, push side, or both. Sizing is governed by the doorset's kick plate rules and stock part availability.
Letterplate
A fire-rated letterplate must maintain the integrity of the leaf when closed. Its intumescent liner, flap classification, and installation position are all specified by the doorset's test evidence - a non-fire-rated letterplate will compromise the rating.
Viewers (Spyholes)
A fire-rated viewer allows visual inspection without opening the door. The aperture, glazing insert, and sleeve material must all be part of the tested doorset specification to ensure the leaf's fire resistance is not breached.
Flush Bolts & Security Bolts
On double and offset-pair doors, flush bolts secure the inactive leaf at head and floor. Their quantity, position, and fire-rated specification are part of the doorset's latching strategy and must not compromise the leaf's integrity.
Panic & Emergency Exit Hardware
Where a door forms part of an escape route, panic or emergency exit hardware (push bars, touch bars, exit devices) must be fire-rated and compatible with the doorset's certification. The device, its fixings, and its interaction with the lock are all tested as part of the assembly.
Access Control Hardware
Where electronic access control is specified - mag locks, electric strikes, solenoid bolts - the hardware must be compatible with the fire door's self-closing and latching requirements. Fail-safe operation ensures the door still functions as a fire barrier when power is lost.
Finger Guards
Finger guards protect against hinge-side finger entrapment, particularly in schools and healthcare. Where fitted, the guard's fixing method and material must not compromise the leaf's fire resistance or the intumescent seal's performance.
Door Stops & Retainers
Where specified, door stops and retainers must be fire-rated and must not prevent the door from self-closing and latching. Magnetic retainers that release on fire alarm activation are common in corridors - but the door must still close fully when triggered.
Air Transfer Grilles (Fire-Rated)
Where ventilation is required through a fire door, only fire-rated air transfer grilles that maintain the doorset's integrity rating may be used. The grille's intumescent louvres close under heat to seal the aperture, preserving the door's fire resistance period.
Signage (Fire Door Keep Shut)
Mandatory under regulatory guidance, signage reminds occupants that the door must remain closed to function. The correct sign type - keep shut, keep locked, keep clear, or automatic door keep clear - is dictated by the door's configuration and function.
Logged as tested
Each component sits in the door record exactly as the test evidence specifies it.
Flagged when swapped
A substituted hinge or omitted seal shows up the moment it is logged on site.
Evidence attached
The certificate behind each configuration is one tap away from the door.
From the Core Outward, Captured in the Door Record
The leaf is the visible face of the door, but its fire performance is governed by what is inside it. Core type, thickness and edge construction determine how the leaf behaves as it chars and holds its integrity - and how it protects any glazing or hardware cut into it. Because that construction is exactly what the test evidence is based on, Automate Fire Door OSstores it as part of the door specification rather than as a free-text note.
When a leaf is manufactured through Automate, the build sheet carries the core, the lippings and the aperture linings straight onto the door record. So when an inspector later scans that door on site, they're checking it against exactly what was made - not against a memory or a separate spreadsheet.
See how production records and supplier traceability feed the door record on the manufacturing software page.
Elements that influence a leaf
- Core construction (mineral, particleboard or engineered timber cores)
- Leaf thickness and density
- Timber or engineered stiles and rails
- Facing, veneer or laminate finish
- Composite and flush constructions
- Glazing apertures cut and lined
- Edge treatment and lippings
- Intumescent protection to apertures and recesses
What Automate holds against the frame
- Frame material, density and section size
- Rebate dimensions and compatibility with the leaf
- Fixing type, packers and fire stopping
- Leaf-to-frame clearances within tolerance
- Intumescent and smoke seal position
- Evidence linking frame to the tested configuration
A Fire Door Is Only as Reliable as Its Frame
The frame is part of the fire-resisting assembly, not just a housing for the leaf. Frame construction, depth, wall thickness, rebates and the way it is fixed into the surrounding wall all affect whether the doorset can achieve and maintain its rating.
The principle is compatibility: the frame and leaf must form a tested or classified assembly, and clearances must fall within the manufacturer's tolerances. Oversized gaps, poor fixing or a frame that doesn't match the leaf can compromise an otherwise compliant door - which is why Automate Fire Door OS stores the frame specification as a connected part of the door record rather than as an afterthought.
Intumescent protection is often built into the frame rebate so that, as heat builds, the seals expand to close the gap. Where smoke control is required, smoke seals are specified too. Automate carries all of that against the door, so the seals on site can be checked against the seals the evidence expects.
Glazing That Stays Within Its Tested Limits
Glazing a fire door is more than inserting fire-resistant glass. The aperture size, the glass specification, the beading system and the intumescent materials that hold the glass all form part of a tested configuration. Get any of these wrong and the glazing becomes the weakest point in the doorset.
Maximum glass sizes are not universal - they depend on the specific system and its supporting evidence, so they should always be taken from the manufacturer's data for the exact configuration being installed. In Automate Fire Door OS, the glazing system, aperture dimensions and evidence are recorded against the door, so the specification is defensible and the limits are visible to anyone who opens the record.
That record feeds straight into the reusable Door Library, where a tested glazed configuration can be specified again on the next project without re-keying the details. See how on the fire door management software page.
What glazing specification must cover
- Glazing aperture size and location
- Glass specification (e.g. fire-resistant, anti-walk-through)
- Glazing system - beads, gaskets and intumescent pads
- Compatibility with the doorset
- Aperture lining and edge protection
- Supporting test evidence for the configuration
Hardware selection checklist
- Hinges (fire-rated, correct quantity and gauge)
- Latches and locks (positive latching action)
- Door closers (ensuring self-closing)
- Panic and emergency escape hardware where relevant
- Handles and furniture
- Hold-open and release devices (fail-safe)
- Intumescent protection to hardware recesses
- Thresholds and seals compatible with the doorset
Log each item in Automate against the door it's fitted to, and a substitution at maintenance time is caught before it becomes a compliance failure.
Hardware That Keeps the Door Closed - and Logged
Hardware keeps a fire door closed, latched and aligned - the conditions it needs to perform. Hinges, latches, locks, closers and handles must all be compatible with the tested or classified doorset, and appropriate for the door's intended use.
Where doors are on escape routes, panic and emergency escape hardware must suit the occupancy and the expected users. Hold-open and release devices, where used, must be fail-safe so the door closes on activation. Substituting ironmongery outside the tested configuration is one of the most common ways a compliant door is quietly made non-compliant - and it is exactly the drift Automate Fire Door OS is built to catch.
Because every compatible component sits on the door record, an inspector comparing what is fitted against what is expected is doing so against the evidence, not against memory. Explore the inspection workflow on the fire door inspection software page.
Installed Once, Recorded Forever
Installation is where many fire doors succeed or fail. A correctly manufactured door can still underperform if the frame is poorly fixed, the gaps are too large, seals are damaged or omitted, or the closing action is weak. The principles are straightforward: fix the frame securely, pack and fire-stop around it, keep clearances within tolerance, protect seal continuity, fit the hardware correctly, and verify self-closing and latching from any open position.
Automate Fire Door OS turns that installation into evidence. Site teams complete the install against the door record on their phone - photographs, gap measurements, the closer test - and that evidence attaches to the door the moment it is saved. Nothing lives only on a clipboard or in a site office drawer. For the full on-site workflow, see the fire door installation page.
Photographic evidence
Each install step captured against the door, timestamped and stored.
QR identification
Every door opens its record with a scan, so evidence lands on the right door.
Closing & latching verified
The self-closing check is recorded, not assumed.
Why installation matters - and gets recorded
- Correct frame installation in a suitable structural opening
- Fixings, packers and fire stopping
- Gaps and clearances within tolerances
- Intumescent and smoke seals intact and continuous
- Hardware fitted and aligned
- Closing and latching action verified
- Compatibility with the surrounding construction
Inspections That Don't Slip Through the Cracks
Fire doors should be checked regularly and kept in efficient working order. Routine checks look at the leaf and frame condition, the closing and latching action, the seals, the gaps, the hardware and the glazing - and for any sign of inappropriate alteration that may take the door outside its tested configuration.
UK government guidance explains that fire doors are important in preventing the spread of fire and smoke, identifying issues such as damaged glazing, gaps around frames, seals, hinges, closers and general damage. See the official guidance on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the wider fire safety law and guidance for business on GOV.UK.
Automate Fire Door OS schedules inspections per door based on its rating, location and the regulation that applies to it, so a door never silently passes its next check. When the inspection runs, findings link straight back to the door record and trigger remedials where needed. This is general information, not a substitute for a competent fire risk assessment; for the digital workflow, see the fire door inspection software page.
What routine checks cover
- Door leaf and frame condition
- Damage, deformation or wear
- Closing and latching action
- Hinges, closers and hardware
- Intumescent and smoke seals
- Gaps and clearances
- Glazing and beading
- Evidence of modification or alteration
A failed check doesn't just sit in a report. It creates a remedial action against the door, assigned and tracked until the door is back within its tested configuration.
Evidence That Lives With the Door, Not in a Filing Cabinet
A fire rated door is only as strong as the evidence behind it. Test evidence, classification, certification and manufacturer documentation should apply to the actual configuration being installed - the same leaf, frame, hardware, glazing and seals.
There is a real distinction between a product described as “fire rated” and a complete installed configuration with appropriate supporting evidence. One certificate doesn't automatically cover every configuration; a leaf tested with one frame and set of hardware can't be assumed to perform the same way with different components.
Automate Fire Door OS attaches the evidence to the door it actually belongs to. Third-party certification, test references and manufacturer documents sit one tap away from the record - which is what makes compliance demonstrable, not just claimed.
What evidence should support - and where Automate keeps it
- Test evidence for the configuration
- Classification to the relevant standard
- Third-party certification and traceability
- Manufacturer documentation
- Compatible components within the tested design
- Installation requirements and records
Built Around UK Fire Safety Requirements
In England, fire rated doors sit within a framework of building and fire safety law. The Building Regulations and Approved Document B set requirements for fire resistance and compartmentation in building design, while the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places ongoing duties on the Responsible Person to keep fire doors maintained and to carry out fire risk assessments.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add specific duties for certain multi-occupied residential buildings, including routine checks of fire doors in communal areas and, for buildings over 11 metres, annual checks of flat entrance doors. The GOV.UK guidance on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 sets these out in detail.
Automate Fire Door OS is structured around those duties. Inspection schedules, evidence storage and the per-door record map to what the regulations actually ask for, so when a responsible person needs to demonstrate compliance, the information is already assembled per door - not reconstructed under pressure. Approved Document B and the supporting fire-door guidance were both updated in 2025, so always check the current versions on GOV.UK. The rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; this page focuses on England and states where a rule applies specifically to England.
Automate is a UK-focused platform, but it is not the authority on fire safety law. For the legal position, refer to the legislation and current government guidance linked above.
Per-door records
Structured around what the Responsible Person actually has to show.
Scheduled checks
Quarterly communal and annual flat-entrance duties mapped to each door.
Audit-ready
The Golden Thread assembled per door, on demand.
Specification, Turned Into a Door Record
Specification is a sequence of connected decisions. Automate Fire Door OS turns that sequence into a door record - so by the time a door is manufactured and installed, the evidence behind every choice already lives on it. Work through these in order and the app carries each one forward.
Once a configuration is proven, it becomes a reusable entry in the Door Library - so the next project specifies the same tested doorset without re-keying the detail. That's how Automate keeps compliant specification repeatable.
Every Configuration, One Record Shape
Configuration affects specification - the same rating behaves differently in a single leaf, a double pair or a glazed door, because each changes the seals, hardware and closing action involved. Whatever the configuration, Automate Fire Door OS holds it in the same per-door record shape.
Single Fire Doors
A single leaf in a frame - the most common configuration for individual rooms, flats and many escape routes.
Double Fire Doors
A pair of leaves in one frame, used for wider openings. Both leaves must be self-closing and latching, with coordinated action where needed.
Equal Pairs
Two leaves of equal width. Specification must address the meeting stiles and the seals between the leaves.
Offset Pairs
Leaves of unequal width. The configuration affects hardware, latching order and seal continuity.
Glazed Fire Doors
Doors with vision panels or larger glazed areas, where the glazing system is part of the tested configuration.
Specialist Fire Rated Doors
Doors combining fire performance with other requirements - acoustic, security-rated, lead-lined or factory applications.
Door Populations That Outgrow the Spreadsheet
Commercial buildings typically contain many fire rated doors, often serving different purposes across one site: compartmentation, protected escape stairs, flat entrance doors and service doors to plant rooms. The required rating and configuration vary with the building design, its use and the applicable guidance.
There is no universal rating for a building type - an office, a school and a hospital will each have different compartmentation strategies. The common thread is that the doors must be correctly specified, correctly installed and then managed over time, which gets harder as the count grows. Automate Fire Door OS is built for that scale: mixed ratings, mixed configurations, one connected record per door.
Each of these environments has its own risk profile and door count - and the same need to keep evidence connected to the door it describes.
One Door, One Record - For Life
A single project may contain hundreds or thousands of fire rated doors. Each one can carry a reference, location, rating, configuration, dimensions, manufacturer, components, installation information, inspection records, photographs, evidence, certificates and maintenance history.
As the number of doors increases, maintaining that traceability manually - in spreadsheets, PDFs and paper files - becomes difficult. Information drifts away from the door it describes, and the evidence that once existed becomes hard to find.
Automate Fire Door OS is a digital system designed to connect this information across the door lifecycle. Rather than managing doors only through inspections or documents, Automate keeps a connected record against each individual door - which is where physical specification meets digital management, and what the fire door Golden Thread is built on.
Information that belongs to a door
Keeping these records connected to the individual door is what makes large populations of fire rated doors manageable.
Related Resources
Explore how Automate connects fire rated doors to the wider lifecycle - specification, installation, inspection and compliance.
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From Specification to Lifecycle Management
Understanding fire rated doors is the first step. Managing them across their full lifecycle - specification, installation, inspection, evidence and maintenance - is where Automate helps. Bring every fire door, whatever its rating, onto one connected record.