SECTION 715 OPENING PROTECTIVES  

715.1 General. Opening protectives required by other sections of this code shall comply with the provisions of this section.

715.2 Fire-resistance-rated glazing. Labeled fire-resistance-rated glazing tested as part of a fire-resistance-rated wall assembly in accordance with ASTM E 119 shall not be required to comply with this section.

715.3 Alternative methods for determining fire protection ratings. The application of any of the alternative methods listed in this section shall be based on the fire exposure and acceptance criteria specified in NFPA 252 or NFPA 257. The required fire resistance of an opening protective shall be permitted to be established by any of the following methods or procedures:

1. Designs documented in approved sources. 2. Calculations performed in an approved manner. 3. Engineering analysis based on a comparison of opening protective designs having fire-protection ratings as determined by the test procedures set forth in NFP A 252 orNFPA257. 4. Alternative protection methods as allowed by Section 104.11.

  715.4 Fire door and shutter assemblies. Approved fire door and fire shutter assemblies shall be constructed of any material or assembly of component materials that conforms to the test requirements of Section 715.4.1, 715.4.2 or 715.4.3 and the fire-protection rating indicated in Table 715.4. Fire door assemblies and shutters shall be installed in accordance with the provisions of this section and NFPA 80.

Exceptions:  

1.Labeled protective assemblies that conform to the requirements of this section or UL lOA, UL 14 Band UL 14C for tin-clad fire door assemblies.   2.Floor fire door assemblies in accordance with Section 711.8.

715.4.1 Side-hinged or pivoted swinging doors. Sidehinged and pivoted swinging doors shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL lOCo After 5 minutes into the NFPA 252 test, the neutral pressure level in the furnace shall be established at 40 inches (l0 16 mm) or less above the sill.

715.4.2 Other types of doors. Other types of doors, including swinging elevator doors, shall be tested in accordance withNFPA252 or UL lOB. The pressure in the furnace shall be maintained as nearly equal to the atmospheric pressure as possible. Once established, the pressure shall be maintained during the entire test period.

715.4.3 Door assemblies in corridors and smoke barriers. Fire door assemblies required to have a minimum fire protection rating of 20 minutes where located in corridor walls or smoke-barrier walls having a fire-resistance rating in accordance with Table 715.4 shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL lOC without the hose stream test.

1.View ports that require a hole not larger than 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter through the door, have at least a 0.25-inch-thick (6.4 mm) glass disc and the holder is of metal that will not melt out where sub­ject to temperatures of 1,700°F (927°C). 2.Corridor door assemblies in occupancies of Group 1-2 shall be in accordance with Section 407.3.1.   3.Unprotected openings shall be permitted for corri­dors in multithreaded complexes where each motion picture auditorium has at least one-half of its required exit or exit access doorways opening directly to the exterior or into an exit passageway.

715.4.3.1 Smoke and draft control. Fire door assem­blies shall also meet the requirements for a smoke and draft control door assembly tested in accordance with UL 1784. Louvers shall be prohibited. Installation of smoke doors shall be in accordance with NFPA 105.

715.4.3.2 Glazing in door assemblies. In a 20-minute fire door assembly, the glazing material in the door itself shall have a minimum fire-protection rating of 20 minutes and shall be exempt from the hose stream test. Glazing material in any other part of the door assembly, including transom lites and side lites, shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 257, including the hose stream test, in accordance with Section 715.5.

715.4.4 Doors in exit enclosures and exit passageways. Fire door assemblies in exit enclosures and exit passage­ways shall have a maximum transmitted temperature end point of not more than 450°F (250° C) above ambient at the end of 30 minutes of standard fire test exposure.

715.4.4.1 Glazing in doors. Fire-protection-rated glazing in excess of 100 square inches (0.065 m²) shall be permitted in fire door assemblies when tested in accordance with NFPA 252 as components of the door assem­blies and not as glass lights, and shall have a maximum transmitted temperature rise of 450°F (250°C) in accordance with Section 715.4.4.

715.4.5 Labeled protective assemblies. Fire door assem­blies shall be labeled by an approved agency. The labels shall comply with NFPA 80, and shall be permanently affixed to the door or frame.

715.4.5.1 Fire door labeling requirements. Fire doors shall be labeled showing the name of the manufacturer, the name of the third-party inspection agency, the fire protection rating and, where required for fire doors in exit enclosures and exit passageways by Section 715.4.4, the maximum transmitted temperature end point. Smoke and draft control doors complying with UL 1784 shall be labeled as such. Labels shall be approved and perma­nently affixed. The label shall be applied at the factory or location where fabrication and assembly are performed.  

715.4.5.2 Oversized doors. Oversized fire doors shall bear an oversized fire door label by an approved agency or shall be provided with a certificate of inspection furnished by an approved testing agency. When a certificate of inspection is furnished by an approved testing agency, the certificate shall state that the door conforms to the requirements of design, materials and construction, but has not been subjected to the fire test.  

715.4.5.3 Smoke and draft control door labeling requirements. Smoke and draft control doors complying with UL 1784 shall be labeled in accordance with Section 715.4.5.1 and shall show the letter "S" on the fire rating label of the door. This marking shall indicate that the door and frame assembly are in compliance when listed or labeled gasketing is also installed.

715.4.5.4 Fire door frame labeling requirements. Fire door frames shall be labeled showing the names of the manufacturer and the third-party inspection agency.

715.4.6 Glazing material. Fire-protection-rated glazing conforming to the opening protection requirements in Section 715.4 shall be permitted in fire door assemblies. 

715.4.6.1 Size limitations. Wired glass used in fire doors shall comply with Table 715.5.3. Other fire-protection-rated glazing shall comply with the size limitations of NFPA 80.

I. Fire-protection-rated glazing in fire doors located in fire walls shall be prohibited except that where serving as a horizontal exit, a self- losing swinging door shall be permitted to have a vision panel of not more than 100 square inches (0.065 m^'2) without a dimension exceeding 10 inches (254 mm).   2.Fire-protection-rated glazing shall not be installed in fire doors having a 1¹/₂-hour fire protection rating intended for installation in fire barriers, unless the glazing is not more than 100 square inches (0.065 m²) in area.

715.4.6.2 Exit and elevator protectives. Approved fire-protection-rated glazing used in fire door assemblies in elevator and exit enclosures shall be so located as to furnish clear vision of the passageway or approach to the elevator, ramp or stairway.

715.4.6.3 Labeling. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall bear a label or other identification showing the name of the manufacturer, the test standard and information required in Section 715.5.8.1 that shall be issued by an approved agency and shall be permanently affixed to the glazing.

715.4.6.3.1 Identification. For fire-protection-rated glazing, the label shall bear the following four-part identification: "D - H or NH - T or NT - XXX." "D" indicates that the glazing shall be used in fire door assemblies and that the glazing meets the fire resis­tance requirements of the test standard. "H" shall indicate that the glazing meets the hose stream requirements of the test standard. "NH" shall indicate that the glazing does not meet the hose stream require­ments of the test. "T" shall indicate that the glazing meets the temperature requirements of Section 715.4.4.1. "NT" shall indicate that the glazing does not meet the temperature requirements of Section 715.4.4.1. The placeholder "XXX" shall specify the fire-protection-rating period, in minutes.

715.4.6.4 Safety glazing. Fire-protection-rated glazing installed in fire doors or fire window assemblies in areas subject to human impact in hazardous locations shall comply with Chapter 24.

715.4.7 Door closing. Fire doors shall be self- or automatic closing in accordance with this section.

I. Fire doors located in common walls separating sleeping units in Group R-I shall be permitted without automatic- or self-closing devices.    2. The elevator car doors and the associated hoist way I enclosure doors at the floor level designated for recall in accordance with Section 3003.2 shall be permitted to remain open during Phase I emergency recall operation.

715.4.7.1 Latch required. Unless otherwise specifically permitted, single fire doors and both leaves of pairs of side-hinged swinging fire doors shall be provided with an active latch bolt that will secure the door when it is closed.  

715.4.7.2 Automatic-closing fire door assemblies. Automatic-closing fire door assemblies shall be self-closing in accordance with NFPA 80.  

715.4.7.3 Smoke-activated doors. Automatic-closing doors installed in the following locations shall be auto­matic closing by the actuation of smoke detectors installed in accordance with Section 907.10 or by loss of power to the smoke detector or hold open device. Doors that are automatic closing by smoke detection shall not have more than a 10-second delay before the door starts to close after the smoke detector is actuated:

I. Doors installed across a corridor.

2.Doors that protect openings in exits or corridors required to be of fire-resistance-rated construction.

3.Doors that protect openings in walls that are capable of resisting the passage of smoke in accordance with Section 508.2.2.1.  

4.Doors installed in smoke barriers in accordance with Section 709.5.  

5.Doors installed in fire partitions in accordance with Section 708.6.  

6.Doors installed in a fire wall in accordance with Section 705.8.

7.Doors installed in shaft enclosures in accordance with Section 707.7.  

8.Doors installed in refuse and laundry chutes and access and termination rooms in accordance with Section 707.13.

9.Doors installed in the walls for compartmentation of underground buildings in accordance with Section 405.4.2.  

10.Doors installed in the elevator lobby walls of underground buildings in accordance with Section 405.4.3.

11.Doors installed in smoke partitions in accordance  with Section 710.5.3.

715.4.7.4 Doors in pedestrian ways. Vertical sliding or vertical rolling steel fire doors in openings through which pedestrians travel shall be heat activated or activated by smoke detectors with alarm verification.

715.4.8 Swinging fire shutters. Where fire shutters of the swinging type are installed in exterior openings, not less than one row in every three vertical rows shall be arranged to be readily opened from the outside, and shall be identified by distinguishing marks or letters not less than 6 inches (152 mm) high.

715.4.9 Rolling fire shutters. Where fire shutters of the rolling type are installed, such shutters shall include approved automatic-closing devices.

715.5 Fire- protection-rated glazing. Glazing in fire window assemblies shall be fire-protection rated in accordance with   this section and Table 715.5. Glazing in fire door assemblies shall comply with Section 715.4.6. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be tested in accordance with and shall meet the acceptance criteria of NFPA 257. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall also comply with NFPA 80. Openings in non fire-resistance-rated exterior wall assemblies that require protection in accordance with Section 704.3, 704.8, 704.9 or 704.10 shall have a fire-protection rating of not less than ³/₄ hour.

Exceptions:

1.Wired glass in accordance with Section 715.5.3. 2.Fire-protection-rated glazing in 0.5-hour fire-resistance-rated partitions is permitted to have an 0.33-hour fire-protection rating.

715.5.1 Testing under positive pressure. NFPA 257 shall evaluate fire-protection-rated glazing under positive pressure. Within the first 10 minutes of a test, the pressure in the furnace shall be adjusted so at least two-thirds of the test specimen is above the neutral pressure plane, and the neutral pressure plane shall be maintained at that height for the bal­ance of the test.

715.5.2 Nonsymmetrical glazing systems. Nonsymmetrical fire-protection-rated glazing systems in fire partitions, fire barriers or in exterior walls with a fire separation distance of 5 feet (1524 mm) or less pursuant to Section 704 shall be tested with both faces exposed to the furnace, and the assigned fire protection rating shall be the shortest duration obtained from the two tests conducted in compliance with NFPA257.

715.5.3 Wired glass. Steel window frame assemblies of 0.125-inch (3.2 mm) minimum solid section or of not less than nominal 0.048-inch-thick (1.2 mm) formed sheet steel members fabricated by pressing, mitering, riveting, inter­locking or welding and having provision for glazing with ¹/₄-inch (6.4 mm) wired glass where securely installed in the building construction and glazed with ¹/₄-inch (6.4 mm) labeled wired glass shall be deemed to meet the require­ments for a %-hour fire window assembly. Wired glass panels shall conform to the size limitations set forth in Table 715.5.3.

715.5.4 Non wired glass. Glazing other than wired glass in fire window assemblies shall be fire-protection-rated glazing installed in accordance with and complying with the size limitations set forth in NFPA 80.

715.5.5 Installation. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be in the fixed position or be automatic-closing and shall be installed in approved frames.

715.5.6 Window mullions. Metal mullions that exceed a nominal height of 12 feet (3658 mm) shall be protected with materials to afford the same fire-resistance rating as required for the wall construction in which the protective is located.

715.5.7 Interior fire window assemblies. Fire-protection-rated glazing used in fire window assemblies located in fire partitions and fire barriers shall be limited to use in assemblies with a maximum fire-resistance rating of 1 hour in accordance with this section.

715.5.7.1 Where permitted. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall be limited to fire partitions designed in accor­dance with Section 708 and fire barriers utilized in the applications set forth in Sections 706.3.6 and 706.3.8 where the fire-resistance rating does not exceed 1 hour.

715.5.7.2 Size limitations. The total area of windows shall not exceed 25 percent of the area of a common wall with any room.

715.5.8 Labeling requirements. Fire-protection-rated glazing shall bear a label or other identification showing the name of the manufacturer, the test standard and information required in Section 715.5.8.1 that shall be issued by an approved agency and shall be permanently affixed to the glazing.

715.5.8.1 Identification. For fire-protection-rated glazing, the label shall bear the following two-part identification: "OH - XXX." "OH" indicates that the glazing meets both the fire-resistance and the hose-stream requirements of NFPA 257 and is permitted to be used in openings. "XXX" represents the fire-protection rating period, in minutes, that was tested.