How to Identify a Fire Door

Fire doors play an important role in the safety of building occupants and preventing the spread of smoke, fire and toxic gases during a fire event. Some fire doors release automatically when the fire alarm is activated. Others do not have automation and must be kept in the closed position. It is extremely important to your safety that fire doors are never propped open, as this will defeat their ability to protect you and the building.

There are several ways that a fire door can be identified. The first and most prominent way is to look at the edge of the door on the hinge side. All fire doors will have a metal identification tag (figure 1) . Sometimes this tag is painted over, but it will still be recognizable as an identification tag.

Other indicators are the presence of door closers and panic hardware on the door (Figure 2). Lastly, some fire doors are provided with signage stating the door must remain closed (Figure 3). For any questions relating to fire doors, please contact the fire safety committee at firesafetycommittee@georgetown.edu