Fire hazard within your own four walls
Advent, Advent, a little light is burning - this Sunday marks the start of the Advent season, when numerous candles are lit. During the dark season, we spend more time at home and cosy up with lights. This also increases the risk of house fires.
On average, there is a fire every two to three minutes in Germany these days. Individual rooms or objects are most frequently affected. But even such small fires are dangerous due to the smoke they produce, as the smoke is full of toxic substances. So it is often not fire that is the cause of death, but in 80 per cent of cases the victims suffocate from the toxic smoke. This smoke is the biggest problem in a house fire, as it spreads within a few minutes to such an extent that the people affected lose their orientation. In addition, the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air, which is toxic to humans, increases rapidly.
In Germany, according to the nationwide fire statistics from February 2020, 280 people died in fires within a year - most of them over 65 years old.
Fire hazard: the kitchen
Why does it burn?
The most common causes of house fires are open fires, human error and electrical appliances. These can catch fire due to thunderstorms or even spontaneous burning through of a cable. The lithium-ion batteries used in many appliances are also a source of fire if they short-circuit.
There are many electrical appliances in kitchens. As a result, fires occur here more frequently than in other rooms. Statistics show that almost 50 per cent of all fires in residential buildings start there. The most common cause is electrical appliances on a cooker that is accidentally switched on.
Safe with fire doors from GARANT
Doors play a key role in the fight against the spread of fire and smoke. When closed, they act as a barrier to other rooms. Special fire and smoke protection doors offer special protection in the event of fire thanks to their features.
GARANT offers a wide range of fire protection doors with test certificates. Depending on the area of application, they can be equipped with additional functions and extras, for example burglary protection or climate class 3. All GARANT fire doors with smoke protection also have at least sound insulation class SK1.
As a manufacturer, we are obliged to supply a functional fire protection element. In concrete terms, this means that our functional fire protection elements consist of a door leaf and door frame including all fittings, such as hinges, lock, striking plate, door closer and door handle. Approval documents and installation instructions are also included in the scope of delivery.
Qualitatively tested: our doors are this secure
Architects or fire safety officers normally determine where a fire door is to be installed in the building. The special doors must have a valid "general building authority approval" and be self-closing with a door closer.
The "General building authority approval" is issued by the DIBt in Berlin on the basis of fire protection tests carried out in co-operation with the testing institutes. External monitoring in the factory ensures the consistent quality of the fire protection doors during the period of validity of the approval in the production process. In addition, door closers, possibly with hold-open systems and smoke detectors, are used in the building.
- Z-6.20-2095 - GARANT types FS-30-1/FS-30-1-RD and FS-30-2/FS-30-2-RD
At GARANT, we already test fire protection doors in accordance with the stricter requirements of the European standard DIN EN 1634-1.
This means that our fire protection doors are designed even more elaborately for your safety than before.
Quick tips: How do I react to a fire?
Although it is not mandatory, the smoke protection function is also available as an option for GARANT fire protection doors. Such a smoke protection function is useful for the majority of doors that protect against fire, as it inhibits the spread of smoke.
The smoke protection test is carried out on a complete door element, which must fulfil the relevant criteria in accordance with DIN 18095 (in future EN 1634-3). You can find further information here.
- Keep calm
- Report the fire
- Warn other people
- Leave the danger zone
- Walk in a crouched or bent position