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In this article, we continue our look at the 2007 edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives. Chapter Three of this publication is titled Definitions. We will review some common terms used in the industry or words used in this standard and NFPA's definitions for these terms. Most of these definitions are also found in the 1999 edition in Chapter 1. Definitions new to this edition are noted as such.

The following are NFPA official definitions found in this standard.

"AHJ" is a term the industry uses often and is "an organization, office or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of the code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation or a procedure." This is the entity that has the final approval on any project and can also follow or overrule any national or local standards or codes.

Approved is "acceptable to the authority having final jurisdiction."

Labeled is "equipment or materials to which has been attached a label, symbol, or other identifying mark of an organization that is acceptable to the AHJ and concerned with product evaluation, that maintains periodic inspection of production of labeled equipment or materials, and by whose labeling the manufacturer indicates compliance with appropriate standards or performance in a specified manner."

Listed is "equipment, materials, or services included in a list published by an organization that is acceptable to the AHJ and concerned with evaluation of products or services, that maintains periodic inspection of production of listed equipment or materials or periodic evaluation of services, and whose listing states that either the equipment, material, or service meets appropriate designated standards or has been tested and found suitable for a specified purpose."

Shall "indicates a mandatory requirement."

Should "indicates a recommendation or that which is advised but not required."

Standard "a document, the main text of which contains only mandatory provisions using the word "shall" to indicate requirements and which is in a form generally suitable for mandatory reference by another standard or code or for adoption into law." The following are general definitions used in this standard.

Fire Door "the door component of a door assembly."

Fire Door Assembly "any combination of a fire door, a frame, hardware, and other accessories that together provide a specific degree of fire protection to the opening."

Fire Door Frame "a component forming the perimeter of an opening in a fire door assembly that is supplied welded or knocked down and anchored to the surrounding structure."

Fire Door Hardware "door hardware furnished for swinging and sliding fire doors by the door manufacturer as a component part of the listed door assembly." (This definition represents a revised definition of fire door hardware compared to the 1999 edition which references tables that consists of items referred to as fire door hardware)

Fire Exit Hardware "labeled devices for swinging fire doors installed to facilitate safe egress of persons and generally consisting of a cross bar and various types of latch mechanisms that cannot hold the latch in a retracted locked position."

Fire Protection Rating "the designation indicating the duration of the fire test exposure to which a fire door assembly or fire window assembly was exposed and for which it successfully met all acceptance criteria." (A more complete definition with the specific testing criteria reference publications can be found in the standard)

Fire Resistance Rating "the time, in minutes or hours, that materials or assemblies have withstood a fire exposure." (A more complete definition with the specific testing criteria reference publications can be found in the standard)

Floor Fire Door Assembly "a combination of a fire door, a frame, hardware, and other accessories installed in a horizontal plane, which together provide a specific degree of fire protection to a through-opening in a fire resistance-rated floor." (This is a new added definition to this standard which was not in the previous 1999 edition).

We have presented a few commonly used terms in the industry from this standard. We recommend you acquire and reference the standard for more complete information and a comprehensive listing of all the definitions.

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