Doors and emergency exits

Aluminum doors on the escape route

What is evacuation?

Building evacuation is the process of quickly and safely leaving a facility in the event of an emergency, such as a fire, gas leak, or other hazard.
Its main purpose is to protect the life and health of people inside.
To be effective, it must be carried out efficiently, without panic and in accordance with the designated evacuation routes.
Therefore, appropriate solutions to facilitate escape are taken into account already at the building design stage.

One of the most important elements is the emergency exit door.
These are special doors placed on the routes leading to the exit of the building.
Their task is to enable quick exit from the facility even in difficult conditions.
They must be easy to open and must not require a key.

They usually open in the direction of evacuation so as not to block the flow of people.
They are often equipped with special fittings, such as anti-panic locks.
Thanks to them, the door can be opened with one move, even under crowd pressure.

Emergency doors increase safety and reduce the time needed to leave the building.
Their proper functioning can be crucial in a crisis situation.
Therefore, they must meet certain standards and be regularly checked.
This is an inconspicuous but extremely important element of every secure facility.

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Do emergency exit doors require certification? Essential information before building acceptance.

Doors located on escape routes are a key element in ensuring safety within a facility. Their role is to enable quick exit from the building in emergency situations, so their selection should be carefully considered.

But does every door opening towards an emergency exit meet regulatory requirements? Is a special certificate required? What documents are required for building inspection? Below, we explain the most important issues.

What are emergency exit doors?

In accordance with applicable technical regulations, doors used in escape routes must:

open towards evacuation,
enable opening without a key,
have appropriate dimensions to ensure free exit,
be equipped with emergency or anti-panic fittings in accordance with standards (PN-EN 179 or PN-EN 1125).

Do emergency exit doors need to be certified?

The regulations do not provide for a separate category of "certified emergency exit doors." Doors are marketed in accordance with the PN-EN 14351-1 standard and marked with the CE mark. To be considered emergency exit doors, they must be equipped with appropriately certified hardware.

This means that formally, there is no requirement for additional certification for entire emergency exit doors. The most important thing is to meet the technical requirements and use the appropriate hardware.

Why do some manufacturers offer certified emergency exit doors?

Despite the lack of such an obligation, some companies opt for additional testing of entire door sets (leaf, frame, and hardware). Such a certificate provides additional confirmation of compliance with requirements and can be helpful during building inspection.

What about fire doors on escape routes?

In this case, the regulations are more stringent. Fire doors must be certified as a complete unit, as each component affects their behavior in a fire.

The following are required, among others:

fire resistance tests of the entire set,
fire classification (e.g. EI30, EI60),
appropriate documentation confirming compliance with standards.

What documents are needed upon pickup?

For standard emergency exit doors:

declaration of performance (DoP),
certificates of evacuation fittings.

For fire doors:

fire classification certificate,
fire resistance test report,
declaration of performance,
certificates of fittings approved for use in fire doors.

Is it worth choosing certified doors?

While not always required, certification of the entire set has benefits:

facilitates the acceptance of the building,
increases the certainty of meeting standards,
provides additional security for the investor.

Summary

Emergency doors do not need to have a separate certificate, but they should meet certain requirements and be equipped with appropriate fittings.
Fire doors on escape routes must be certified as a set.
Certification, although sometimes voluntary, increases safety and simplifies acceptance procedures.

If you want a hassle-free building inspection and guaranteed safety, it is worth considering choosing doors with full documentation and additional quality confirmations.