Can a server room have a sliding door...

[Underground]

.... or must it be a self closing hinged door?  This is in an open plan office on a route to a protected fire escape?

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

[kurnal]

Do people have to pass through the server room as they exit the building?
Sliding doors are fine depending on the number of persons who may have to use them, ok for a well disciplined workforce of say 20-30 people, but if entertainments etc sliding doors  would not be suitable unless automatic and fail safe

[Underground]

No, they pass by it - I was thinking of the fire protection side of things, such as whether it needed to be a 30 minute fire door.  If so, i assumed that it would be difficult to seal a sliding door?  Thanks.

[wee brian]

Yes its a nightmare - find another solution.

[Underground]

So it should be a self closing fire door then, not a sliding door?  Thanks again

[kurnal]

Why does it need a fire resisting door?
If its just a server room off an office it does not necessarily represent a high risk in itself  needing a fire resisting enclosure, unless of course to preserve business continuity you want to protect the server room from a fire in the office!

[Ken Taylor]

In life-safety risk assessment terms, I suppose it will depend upon whether, in the event of a fire within the server room, persons will need to pass the server room in order to escape from the building. Some of these rooms can be crammed full of electrics with cabinets permanently open due to masses of additional wiring, air extraction or portable air conditioning units, unauthorised paper storage, etc. FRSC doors can be a useful choice and can even reduce some of the associated noise nuisance as well.

[PhilB]

So these scary electrics and PAPER!!!!!!!!!! are going to suddenly cause a fire that grows so quickly that sleeping occupants of the open plan office are going to die!! I'd sprinkler it if I was you...or perhaps live with the sliding door.

A fire door may be required to protect the server room from the office workers.

[John Webb]

PhilB's comment about protecting the server from the office workers is not a bad idea. I am aware of one fire in a building which contained most of the computer system for a large establishment. The computer equipment was in what was thought to be an isolated part of the building and had its own detection system.
When the fire broke out elsewhere in the building (not protected by detectors) it broke through inadequate fire separation and badly damaged the computer. Fortunately data back-up in another building saved most of the data, but it caused considerable problems for some weeks until replacement equipment was obtained.
For a company whose business depends on an operating system such an incident could be fatal!

[nearlythere]

So it should be a self closing fire door then, not a sliding door?  Thanks again

A sliding door can be self closing. A sliding door can be 1/2hrfrscss. Does the door need to be a sliding door? Does the server room need its own fire detection and extinguishing system?

[Underground]

So these scary electrics and PAPER!!!!!!!!!! are going to suddenly cause a fire that grows so quickly that sleeping occupants of the open plan office are going to die!! I'd sprinkler it if I was you...or perhaps live with the sliding door.

A fire door may be required to protect the server room from the office workers.

I guess you get to be a "Senior Member" on here by the QUANTITY of your posts rather than the QUALITY of them then?

To the rest of the people that responded with sensible comments that will help me to develop an understanding, I thank you.

I was generally of the understanding that Server rooms were a high risk due to electrics and possible heat issues.  I gather now that this may not be the case, and where there is two way travel then it is of little relevance.

I will step out of the debate now and thank you for your useful assistance.

[PhilB]

[I guess you get to be a "Senior Member" on here by the QUANTITY of your posts rather than the QUALITY of them then?]


Apologies Underground if you thought I was being unhelpful. The point I was trying to make is that when assessing buildings for life safety you need to consider the likely fire development. In my opinion paper is not as scarey as some other posters appear to believe but please feel free to ignore incompetent posters as you wish.

If it was your intention to offend, well done.

[Underground]

[Not impressed with your offensive post on Firenet. You may wish to contact me to discuss or apologies. I leave that decision to you.

PhilB]

Sorry Phil, I do not think it is quite me to get involved in tit for tat on forums, (although it may appear that this is happening now), I just came here for some good advice from peers I respect due to their superior knowledge.

I just want to learn - sarcasm is not me - so as I said, I will step out of the debate now and thank you for your useful assistance.

Ends.

[fireftrm]

Risk assess the situation. How big is the office, how many people need to pass the door and how far do they need to travel? IS the door self closing now, with any FR fittings (intumescents for example)? Is the room fitted with detection, or a vision panel so that a fire will be clear to the office occupants at an early stage? What is the construction of the server omm, excludintg he door, is it fire resisting? If it isn't then what additional purpose would a FR door provide? What risks have been identified fromt he server equipment? I knwo of many servers in aopen plan offices, not in separate rooms. Only with all these answers can you truly assess whether the door needs to be changed to mitigate the risks from a fire within the compartment.

[Chris Houston]

From a property protection, business continuity, risk management, insurance perspecitve - it is usually a good idea to avoid having any paper or cardboard in an IT room.  It is usually also recommended that the IT room be a 30 minute or 1 hour fire compartment of its' own.

The problem probably isn't that the chances of a fire starting in the IT room are that great, it is just that if one does it can be costly in terms of damage to equipment and consequential losses that arise from such a fire.