Guides
Fire Rated Windows for Hospitals and Schools
A hospital corridor and a school corridor raise the same two questions about an opening: what it has to do in a fire, and what it has to do on the other three hundred days of the year. The answer is usually two products in the same wall, a door that closes a compartment and a window that keeps that compartment closed while letting light through. Getting the split right is a schedule decision, and it belongs in the procurement file before anything is quoted.
Two duties in one wall
A corridor door is a moving part in an escape route. It has to open against a crowd, close again on its own and hold a compartment line. A fire rated window does a different job: it stays shut and keeps the compartmentation of the wall intact where the design wants borrowed light or an external view. A ward and a school hall both want glazing at the corridor, and both need that glazing inside an assembly that is rated as one.
Escape logic comes before the rating
Before a rating is discussed, draw the escape route. Which way does the leaf swing, how many people pass through it, and does it have to stay closed when the corridor is empty? Those answers fix the hardware, and the hardware is inside the rated assembly. A schedule that names a rating but not the swing, the closing arrangement or the ironmongery leaves the supplier to guess at the part an inspector will test.
Reading a fire rating honestly
The range carries catalogue fire ratings, marked against the frame and the leaf and quoted against the opening and the wall type. That wording matters. A catalogue rating describes the assembly as tested, and the figure for a specific opening is confirmed with the project enquiry rather than read off a page. Ask for the rating in writing against your own opening, your wall and your hardware, and keep that reply in the submittal.
Glazing is part of the assembly
In a rated door the glass is a component of the assembly, not an accessory. Leaf, frame and ironmongery are certified together, so a change of glazing build changes the thing that was certified. For windows, the standard insulating build is 5-20A-5 and the build inside a rated unit is fixed per project. No site substitution of glass should happen without the assembly being confirmed again in writing.
Writing the procurement file
Split the schedule into doors and windows before quantities are counted. For each line, state the wall type, the opening size, the swing, the hardware and the finish, then ask for the assembly documents, the dimensional pack as a PDF with CAD on request, and a sample. Add the acceptance points: a test unit before production, an inspection at first delivery. A hospital and a school will both be audited against that file years after handover.
FAQ
Frequently asked
What separates a fire door from a fire window?
Movement. A door opens and closes on an escape route, so it is judged on swing, self closing and the hardware that holds it shut. A window stays fixed and keeps the compartmentation of the wall intact while admitting light. Both are rated as complete assemblies, which is why leaf, frame and ironmongery travel together in the documents.
Which rating applies to my opening?
The catalogue fire ratings are quoted against the opening and the wall type, and the figure that applies to a specific opening is confirmed with the project enquiry. Name the wall, the size, the swing and the hardware in that enquiry and ask for the rating in writing. The reply is the document a submittal or an inspection will ask for later.
How should a school corridor be scheduled?
As a compartment line with a door schedule attached. Give every opening a code, the wall it sits in, the clear size, the swing and the ironmongery, and add the glazing beside the door where light is wanted. That single table is what a contractor prices and what an inspector reads, and it removes the ambiguity that leads to substitutions on site.
Does the glazing have to match the rating?
Yes, because the glass sits inside the assembly that was certified. A different build is a different assembly, even where the frame is unchanged. For unrated windows the standard build is 5-20A-5; inside a rated unit the build is fixed per project. Any change is confirmed in writing before production rather than discussed at delivery.
What certification comes with a fire rated order?
A certificate set travels with the quotation, covering the leaf, the frame and the ironmongery as one assembly. The CE attestation for the range is to EN 14351-1, no. M.2024.206.C101817, issued by UDEM. Project specific approvals remain with the local authority, so the pack is evidence for that process rather than a substitute for it.
Send your opening schedule
Series, glazing and finish come back as one quotation, with the full dimensional pack on PDF and CAD on request.