Fire doors & shaft closures

Our portfolio distinguishes between traditional national design standards and modern European test standards:

• DIN-based / Shaft in accordance with DIN 4102:
  • Vertical sliding doors: Manufactured in accordance with DIN 18092 (specifically for light-duty lifts).
  • Hinged doors & machine room doors: Manufactured in accordance with DIN 18090.

• Based on EN 81-58 (European fire resistance test for lift shaft doors):
  • Vertical sliding doors: Available in classes E120, EW60 and, separately, EI60. (Note: The E120 doors have been successfully tested both in solid masonry – at least 100 mm thick, with a minimum bulk density of 600 kg/m³ – and in lightweight Promat walls).
  • Single-leaf swing doors: Available in E120 / EW60 and, separately, EI90 (in masonry in each case).
  • Double-leaf hinged doors: Available in E120 / EW60 (in masonry) and as a double-leaf version with Promat cladding.
  • Single-leaf machine room door: Available in E120 / EW60 (in masonry) and separately as EI90 (in masonry in each case).

Our portfolio distinguishes between traditional national design standards and modern European testing standards:

• DIN-based / shaft in accordance with DIN 4102:
  • Vertical sliding doors: Manufactured in accordance with DIN 18092 (specifically for light-duty lifts).

The European performance classes in accordance with EN 81-58 divide fire protection into three key protection objectives:

• E (Étanchéité / compartmentalisation): The door prevents the passage of flames, smoke and hot gases to the unaffected side.
• EW (Radiation / compartmentalisation + radiation limitation): In addition to compartmentalisation, thermal radiation on the side facing away from the fire is limited to a maximum value for a defined period.
• EI (Isolation / compartmentalisation + full thermal insulation): Offers the highest level of protection, as, in addition to compartmentalisation, the rise in temperature on the rear side of the door is strictly limited (preventing the ignition of adjacent materials by mere heat radiation).

• Design standards (DIN 18090 / DIN 18092): These national standards primarily describe the structural and mechanical requirements, as well as the craftsmanship involved in the manufacture of doors for light-duty lifts. They define how such a door must be constructed to ensure it functions mechanically stably within the lift shaft.
• EN 81-58 (test standard): This is purely a fire test standard, under which complete lift shaft doors are subjected to real-world fire tests in test furnaces. The tests are carried out in their original installed condition (e.g. in masonry or lightweight partition walls) to assess how the door behaves when exposed to heat.

• DIN scope: Under the previous national regulations, components were often governed by general building authority approvals (abZ) or official certificates from recognised testing institutes (e.g. MPA), which certify compliance with the design standard.
• EN 81-58 scope: The European standard does not, in the traditional sense, provide for a ‘certificate’ for the end product, but is based on official classification and test reports from accredited testing laboratories. Each test report documents precisely the tested configuration (wall type, gap dimensions, seals, fixings), which serves as binding evidence of the fire resistance class.

• Design standards (DIN 18090 / DIN 18092): These national standards primarily describe the structural and mechanical requirements, as well as the craftsmanship involved in the manufacture of doors for light-duty lifts. They define how such a door must be constructed to ensure it functions mechanically stably within the lift shaft.

EN 81-58 (test standard): This is purely a fire test standard, under which complete lift shaft doors are subjected to real-world fire tests in test furnaces. The tests are carried out in their original installed condition (e.g. in masonry or lightweight partition walls) to assess how the door behaves when exposed to heat.

Some of our EN 81-58-certified doors have been specifically tested using ferritic stainless steel (1.4016). For physical reasons, a spontaneous change of material to austenitic steel (e.g. V2A / 1.4301) is not permitted without a repeat fire test:

• Thermal expansion behaviour: Austenitic steels have a significantly higher coefficient of thermal expansion than ferritic steels. In the event of a fire, austenitic sheets expand considerably more when subjected to intense heat.
• Distortion and stability: This leads to severe material-induced distortion (warping), which can cause gap dimensions to change uncontrollably. As a result, flames and hot gases could breach the compartment enclosure (Class E/EI). The fire resistance demonstrated in the test therefore applies precisely to the tested material alloy and its specific thermal stability behaviour.

For passenger lifts, a permanent self-closing mechanism is generally required. In the case of light-duty lifts and small conveyor systems, there is an important operational feature:

• The principle of single-door release: The control system of a light-duty lift ensures that, by design, only one lift door in the entire building can be open at any one time. As soon as a landing door is open, all other shaft doors are locked both electromechanically and mechanically.
• Furthermore, as the car is located within the shaft when the door is closed, and in the event of an alarm (fire alarm via the fire alarm system), the control system safely closes all doors or returns the car to its home position, an uncontrolled chimney effect is generally ruled out. Whether a permanent self-closing mechanism (e.g. via a closing weight or spring) is required in a specific case depends on the building’s specific fire safety concept.

In practice, there is often a demand for smoke-tight lift doors. However, from a technical and regulatory perspective, complete smoke-tightness directly at the lift shaft door is not achievable:

• Structural functional gaps: Lift shaft doors – whether sliding or hinged – require gaps between the door leaves, frame and threshold, due to manufacturing tolerances and movement, so that they can open and close reliably and without contact.
• The problem with rubberised lip seals: To achieve genuine smoke-tightness in accordance with EN 1634-3 / DIN 18095 (classes S_a or S₂₀₀), all-round, permanently seated elastomer or rubber seals would be required. However, these would generate high mechanical friction, which would either obstruct the automatic operation of the lift door or lead to excessive wear.
• The European test standard EN 81-58: EN 81-58 therefore assesses the ensuring of compartmentalisation (Class E) via a defined, maximum permissible leakage rate (seepage rate) of hot gases and smoke per minute. It certifies an effective flame and heat barrier, but does not, in technical terms, constitute a completely ‘smoke-tight door’ in the sense of conventional building doors.

Planning note: If an absolutely smoke-tight shaft closure is required in a building (e.g. in safety stairwells), this must be achieved through built-in smoke barriers, upstream smoke protection curtains or positive pressure ventilation systems (DBA) as part of the fire safety concept.

Regardless of the type of fire door selected, the law generally requires smoke extraction from lift shafts in buildings, in accordance with the State Building Regulations (LBO) and special building regulations (e.g. the High-Rise Buildings Directive, the Retail Premises Regulations):

• Smoke and heat extraction system (RWA): At the top of the lift shaft, there must often be a smoke extraction opening (opening cross-section usually at least 0.5 m² to 1.0 m² or in accordance with LBO specifications) leading to the outside or above the roof.
• Function: In the event of a fire, this opening is designed to counteract the chimney effect within the shaft, thereby preventing smoke gases from being forced into escape routes or adjacent storeys. The system is usually triggered by smoke detectors at the top of the shaft, linked to the building management system (RWA control centre). Coordination with the relevant fire safety expert on site is absolutely essential in this regard.