Fire-rated doors are not optional — they're code-required at specific locations in commercial buildings: between warehouse and office spaces, at floor-to-floor separations in multi-story buildings, between hazardous and non-hazardous areas, and at specific occupancy boundaries defined by IBC (International Building Code) and local jurisdiction. Failure to maintain code-compliant fire doors creates insurance liability, occupancy permit issues, and potential life-safety failures.
Who Needs This Service?
- New construction with code-required fire separations
- Replacing an old fire door that has lost its rating (damaged, modified, or label removed)
- Adding fire separation in a renovation or change-of-use
- Fire marshal cited an existing door for compliance issues
- Insurance carrier requires fire door installation
- Annual fire door drop test (NFPA 80 compliance)
What's Included
- On-site code assessment and rating verification
- UL-listed and ITS-listed fire-rated assembly installation
- Sectional, rolling, and curtain fire door types
- Fire-rated frame and hardware specification
- NFPA 80 annual drop testing
- Fire marshal documentation
- Coordination with general contractors
- Written quote, COI on request
Our Process
- 1
On-site assessment — verify rating requirement, opening size, code compliance
- 2
Specification & quote — confirm door type, rating, hardware specification
- 3
Installation — coordinated with construction or facility schedule
- 4
Documentation — provide UL/ITS labeling documentation and installation records
- 5
Annual drop test (optional) — NFPA 80 requires annual testing of fire-rated rolling doors
What This Service Costs
Final pricing is provided in writing after a free on-site consultation. Cost depends on door size, material, insulation, window options, hardware, and any required structural prep — we walk through the options with you and confirm the scope before any work is scheduled.
How Fire-Rated Doors Work
A fire-rated door is a complete listed assembly — door, frame, hardware, and label all matched together to a specific time rating (20-minute, 45-minute, 60-minute, 90-minute, or 3-hour). Under fire conditions, the assembly is designed to delay flame and smoke passage for the rated time, allowing occupants to evacuate and giving the fire suppression system time to respond.
Rolling fire doors typically hang in the up (open) position during normal operations and 'drop' closed when a fusible link melts, a smoke detector triggers, or a manual release is activated. NFPA 80 requires these doors be drop-tested annually — meaning the auto-close mechanism is intentionally triggered to verify the door deploys correctly. Sectional fire doors are operated like normal commercial doors during business and are similarly rated.
Any field modification — changing hardware, removing the label, drilling unauthorized holes — voids the rating. Maintaining fire doors means keeping the assembly intact and documented.
Common Brands We Service
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Cornell
Major fire-rated rolling and sectional door manufacturer.
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Cookson
Fire-rated rolling steel doors. Common UL-listed assemblies.
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McKeon
Fire-rated curtain assemblies and specialty fire doors.
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Won-Door
Fire-rated horizontal sliding doors for stair and corridor separations.
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Overhead Door (FireKing)
Fire-rated rolling steel doors. Wide commercial deployment.
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Wayne Dalton
Fire-rated commercial doors and sectional fire assemblies.
Common Failure Modes
- Label damaged or removed — voids rating, requires verification with manufacturer to restore.
- Field modifications (added hardware, drilled holes) — voids rating; assess what's needed to restore.
- Fusible link not deploying in drop test — failed link, replacement and retest.
- Auto-close mechanism stuck — accumulated dust, debris, or hardware wear; service and retest.
- Smoke seal or astragal damaged — replacement to restore the rated assembly.
When to Repair vs. Replace
Repair is preferred when the assembly itself is intact — fusible links, smoke seals, hardware, and operator components can typically be replaced while preserving the rating. Documentation matters here: every replacement part must match the listed assembly.
Replacement is required when the curtain or panels are damaged beyond the manufacturer's published repair guidance, when field modifications can't be undone, when the rating itself needs to change (e.g., upgrading from 60-min to 90-min for a new occupancy use), or when documentation has been lost and the rating can't be verified. We assess and quote with the fire marshal's perspective in mind.
Talk to a real local technician — free written quote after on-site inspection.
Call 812-454-5711Why Indiana, Kentucky & Illinois Businesses Choose River City
Experienced with UL/ITS listed assemblies. Documentation provided suitable for fire marshal inspection. NFPA 80 annual drop test capability. Coordinate with general contractors on new construction. locally operated for accountability on code-compliance work.