Is a steel door fire rated?

Not all steel doors are fire-rated, and not all fire-rated doors are made of steel.

A steel door can be fire-rated or not depending on its composition. A steel fir-rated door is filled with a fire-proof material like rockwool, and is sealed all around the frame with intumescent seal that expands when it comes in contact with fire in order to hold it back and stop it from spreading.

Fire doors also have an identification label on the corner where the hinges are. The label may say “EI2 (t) C5” if a door is certified according to European standards. In this case it might also say “CE” if the door is CE listed. Or it can say UL (t) if the door is certified according to American standards. “T” being the minutes of fire resistance.

A fire rated steel door is usually equipped with a door closer, that helps to keep the door shut, and a panic bar when the door opens to a staircase or if it is a fire escape door.