What is the minimum rating of a door into an exit access corridor?

What is the minimum rating of a door into an exit access corridor?

• A. 5 Minutes
• B. 20 Minutes
• C. 60 Minutes
• D. 15 Minutes

Answer: (B)

Understanding fire door ratings in egress paths is essential. Doors that separate a space from the exit access corridor must be fire-rated to slow the spread of fire into the route people will use to escape. The minimum rating for a door into an exit access corridor is twenty minutes, because a 20-minute door provides a meaningful barrier that helps keep the exit path tenable long enough for occupants to evacuate and for responders to act. A door rated for only five minutes wouldn’t offer enough protection, and a fifteen-minute rating isn’t a standard minimum in most codes. A sixty-minute rating is used in more demanding situations, such as doors into stair enclosures or other heavier fire barriers, not for the typical exit access corridor.

Understanding fire door ratings in egress paths is essential. Doors that separate a space from the exit access corridor must be fire-rated to slow the spread of fire into the route people will use to escape. The minimum rating for a door into an exit access corridor is twenty minutes, because a 20-minute door provides a meaningful barrier that helps keep the exit path tenable long enough for occupants to evacuate and for responders to act. A door rated for only five minutes wouldn’t offer enough protection, and a fifteen-minute rating isn’t a standard minimum in most codes. A sixty-minute rating is used in more demanding situations, such as doors into stair enclosures or other heavier fire barriers, not for the typical exit access corridor.