There is a new 2008 revision, to the NFPA 80 which is written by the NFPA(National Fire protection Association) Which requires all commercial buildings to have their Fire rated doors and windows inspected annually (yearly). We are all aware of the need to have your fire extinguishers inspected, this door and window inspection can be implemented by the same company if they have Certified Fire Inspectors who have also completed the fire extinguisher inspection classes. This has come about from the Federal Government realizing it needs better procedures in place to inspect these buildings for code violations on a yearly basis. The best way to get this accomplished is to privatize the process. When a Fire Inspector comes out to CO a building he may ask to see a current Certificate of Compliance from an authorized company, this relieves the municipality from liability and ensures that the inspection was done to the most current guidelines. Many of the Fire inspectors call up companies like ours, to find out the correct interpretation, for these ever changing codes. This is by far one of the better ideas the Federal Government has come up with, this means they don't have to spend a extraordinary amount of resources trying to keep their own personnel trained. I see this as a positive step towards public safety. As of right now there are no agencies in charge of keeping up with these changes. We will keep up to date information, on this new federal guideline, as more information is available.

                         Notes on Fire Door Requirements

1. Fire rated door assemblies require a labeled door, a labeled frame, a listed lock device, listed closing device, and steel bearing hinges. Non-steel bearing hinges are acceptable as tested on listed assemblies.

2. In general, the required hourly rating of the door assembly is 3/4 of the hourly rating of the wall it is being installed into.

3. The minimum rating of any component in the assembly determines the achieved rating as the assembly: a 1 1/2 hour door installed into a 20-minute frame results in a 20-minute assembly.

4. Subdivision of non-rated components or devices in the door assembly can only result in a reduction in or a voiding of the overall fire protection rating.

5. Most fire door installations are governed by NFPA 80- Fire Doors and Windows.

6. Tested locks, hinges and other hardware may now be used in conjunction with other rated products, without being tested as an assembly as was originally instituted.

7. Any alteration of the structure of any fire labeled frame or door,that results in a hole diameter larger then 3/8 of an inch, voids the label and must be re-certified by a qualified company.

                       Notes on fire wall partitions

1 . There must be markings at least 6" tall in legible writing that declares this wall is a fire wall do not penetrate.

2. All Fire walls must be fire taped for wall rating. 

3.Resource for building fire walls out of drywall.  http://www.gypsum.org/download.html