Vicaima achieves fire door first

Vicaima has become the first UK door manufacturer to achieve certification from all three leading fire door regulatory schemes.

Vicaima already leads the competition in fire door certification, being the only UK door maker to be recognised by both the Chiltern Q-Mark and BWF Certifire schemes.

It has now added a third level of customer assurance through the achievement of the international quality rating ISO9001:2000.

The new ISO certificate, awarded by British Standards, means that fire doors from Vicaima may have glass opening added in the company's own Swindon-based headquarters and still be 100% fire regulation approved.

Most other major door makers only offer this through a third party, meaning the customer must buy the door from the manufacturer then arrange to have it glazed elsewhere.

Vicaima is a leader in fire door technology with one of the widest ranges of FD30 and FD60 doors (i.e doors designed to resist a fire for 30 and 60 minutes respectively) in the UK.

The company's particular appeal is that it makes fire doors which are also beautifully designed - gone are the heavy, wired glass doors of old replaced by doors that are exquisitely veneered from maple to walnut and with a range of contemporary glass opening designs.

Peter Johnson, Managing Director of Vicaima UK said: "As building regulations get tougher and tougher it is essential we do all we can to help our customers to meet them.

We ensure that all our products exceed the relevant building regulations so that builders, housing developers and interior designers buying from Vicaima can rest easy in the knowledge that they will not be tripped up by red tape.

"Our interior fire door range was already the strongest in the UK - this new rating means that customers can get glazed doors directly from us and still have the highest levels of quality assurance".

Fire door regulations are some of the strictest in the building industry and with good reason - if fire breaks out, a fire door performs an essential role by acting as a barrier to hold back the spread of the blaze.

Fire doors are carefully designed, engineered and tested in accordance with British and European standards to ensure that in the event of a fire, the door does what is expected of it.

As well as delaying the spread of fire, fire doors also prevent the flow of smoke which is generally the biggest hazard associated with building fires.

Intumescent strips are applied to the edges of the door; the heat generate by a fire causes this material to swell and seal the gap between door and frame blocking the passage of gases.

Glazing is a particular concern for fire doors as, unless correctly installed, it can create a weak area in the door.

Traditionally, 6mm thick wired glass was the only option but new glass technology has led to the development of much more aesthetically pleasing glazed fire doors.

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