Fire spreads more rapidly through period and historical buildings than most others. The widespread use of timber flooring, panelling or laths and other combustible materials such as horse hair and straw explains part of the reason why. The ability of period doors to slow the spread of fire can make a critical difference.
Traditionally, door panels were constructed of wide sheets of solid timber between 6mm and 15mm thick. Often the panels were jointed and those which were glued typically used an animal glue (which loosens under heat). These doors tend to fissure in the first few minutes of a fire allowing it to break through.
Upgrading doors' fire resistance to 30 minutes gives vital extra time for people to escape the building and for the emergency services to arrive. It also reduces the potential for damage by fire, smoke (and water). The challenge has been how to achieve this without replacing doorsets or 'fletching' (splitting door leafs sectionally, sandwiching incombustible boards within and reassembling them - a costly and highly intrusive method. Sealmaster's new FireFace membranes offer the first non-intrusive, undetectable and fully reversible solution.
FireFace membranes were developed by Sealmaster for English Heritage following a review of fire safety in the wake of the Windsor Castle blaze.
Introduction
