Accessible when possible, fireproof when necessary

Fire safety and accessibility come together in freeway door closers with smoke detector or smoke alarms

In July 2020 and 2021, the 2012 Building Code was expanded. Whereas previously only residential entrance doors in porch situations had to be self-closing, this now applies to all fire-resistant residential entrance doors in new and existing residential buildings with indoor forms of access such as a corridor, central hallway or atrium. 

The Building Code amendment is logical because it has been shown that - in case of fire and with open residential entrance doors - smoke spreads (too) quickly in the common area and escape route. Henceforth, it is therefore mandatory to apply free-flow door closers when "fully or partially renovating, altering or enlarging a residential building.

In practice, however, this creates new challenges. For example with regard to accessibility and occupant comfort. The GEZE free swing door closers with integrated smoke detector or external smoke detector provide a safe and convenient solution for this.

Fire and escape safety versus accessibility

"Standard drangers regularly cause inconvenience in daily use, which poses great risks," says Ronald van Driel, Sales Manager Netherlands at GEZE. "When occupants lock themselves out as a result of the self-closing drangers, for example, the drangers may become inoperative for this reason. This compromises fire and escape safety. GEZE responds to this with a diverse range of free-running door closers that combine fire and escape safety with accessibility and occupant comfort." 

In daily use, the residential entrance door with GEZE free swing door closer works like a normal residential entrance door, he says. "This means that residents can leave the door open at any position." The freewheeling closer is continuously energized. "The freewheeling door closer is linked to a smoke detector. The moment the smoke detector detects smoke, the voltage automatically drops and the closer function switches on. Fire safety is thus guaranteed, without inconveniencing the user in daily use."

The new Building Code requirements leave some room for interpretation, Van Driel says. "For example, smoke detection must take place in the hallway, in the house or at the door closer. We have elaborated on these possibilities in a concept book for the E-installer and contractor, because several disciplines come together here." 

On the product level, GEZE offers several installation variants: from surface-mounted to flush-mounted and with an integrated smoke detector or a separate smoke detector. "With the GEZE TS 5000 RFS, the smoke detector is integrated into the freestanding door closer, allowing this version to be connected directly to a 230-volt socket as a complete solution. The GEZE TS 5000 EFS is powered via 24 Volt voltage and connected to an external smoke detector. This can be a decentralized smoke detector on the ceiling, but it is also possible to connect this freewheeling carrier to the central fire alarm system." 

Unique comfort lock function

The free swing door closers from GEZE stand out due to their compact design. Thanks to a solid aluminum body, the door closers have only a minimum number of parts, making installation speed high. Lighting on the side of the closer indicates whether the closer is electronically correctly connected, greatly reducing installation errors. In addition, the closers feature a unique comfort hold-open function. 

"This allows the home entrance door to be lightly fixed at the desired opening position and prevents slamming doors due to wind or changing air currents. In addition, this overcomes the danger of people placing a chair, walker or other object in front of the door to hold it open. After all, such objects impede the fire safety function." 

The free-running door closers have a closing force of up to EN-6. "This means that we can implement fire-resistant doors up to a door width of as much as 1,400 mm with this free-running door closer."  

The demands placed on doors are becoming increasingly extreme, Van Driel notes. "Especially with regard to accessibility and (fire) safety. In addition to the GEZE TS 5000 RFS and GEZE TS 5000 EFS, we are responding to this, for example, with the GEZE Powerturn. This has Smart Swing functionality and offers a unique solution for heavy doors that must be easy to open, but must also close safely again after each opening (for example, in combination with access control). With this, we have actually created a self-closing free swing door closer."