Fire door testing is done on complete assemblies in a furnace, heated on a standard curve that represents a developed compartment fire. The output is a period in minutes and a set of conditions. What a duty holder needs to understand is how narrow the test is and how the results are extended, because almost no door in a real building is identical to the one that was tested.
What the test measures
Integrity is the ability to stop flame and hot gases passing through, judged by cotton pad ignition, sustained flaming and gap gauges. Insulation is the ability to limit temperature rise on the unexposed face, which most timber fire doors do not claim for long. For doors the headline rating is normally integrity, which is why an FD30 door is not a door that stays cool for thirty minutes.
Direction matters
A doorset can be tested from one side or both. Real doors face fires from whichever side the fire starts, so a test from a single direction has to be applied carefully, and hanging a door the opposite way round to the tested configuration is a change that needs justifying.
Field of application
A test report covers the exact specimen. An assessment or a field of application document extends that result to a defined range: sizes within stated limits, alternative hardware, different glazing apertures. That extension is done by a competent body on evidence, and it is what allows a manufacturer to sell a range rather than one door. It is also where an unsupported substitution falls outside everything.
Why site conditions can undo it
Everything about the test assumed correct installation into a supporting construction of a stated type. A doorset installed into a wall it was never tested against, or fixed in a way the instructions do not allow, is outside the evidence. Third party installer schemes exist because the gap between a tested product and an installed one is where the performance goes.
Questions people ask about fire door testing
Can an existing door be tested in place?
No. The furnace test is destructive and is done on a specimen. An existing door is assessed by inspection against its certification, and where that cannot be established the honest answer is unknown.
What is the difference between certification and a test report?
A test report is a single result. Third party certification is an ongoing scheme with factory production control and audit testing, which is why certification rather than a lone report is what schemes and specifiers ask for.
Does glazing need its own evidence?
Yes. The glass, the beads, the seals and the aperture size are all part of the tested assembly, and fire resisting glazing is not interchangeable between systems.