Derivation of Defect Factors and Defect Rates of Fire Doors in Apartment Buildings through Field Investigation

Even a fire door with secured performance may not satisfy existing performance standards and fail to prevent the spread of fire owing to natural corrosion, damage from external force, and deformation associated with high-frequency use after installation. Therefore, it is important to ensure that certain results are maintained over the long term through regular management. However, in Korea, fire doors are often left unattended without repair, owing to insufficient management measures. Therefore, to present basic data for improving fire door maintenance measures, this study conducted field surveys to derive the failure rate and cause of failure owing to the age of fire doors. The results showed that of the fire doors surveyed, 3.7% were aged under five years, 13.4%, under 10 years, 14.8% under 10 years, 22.7% over 20 years, and 27.6% over 20 years. In particular, the failure rate of fire doors exceeded 20% for the first time in 15 years. The main causes of defects were natural aging, holes, opening and closing problems, gaps, gaskets, and wear of accessories, such as door closers.