Last week I shared a post for NFPA’s Fire Prevention Week with our newly-updated fire door inspection card.  I also mentioned that I would be continuing the series with weekly posts on the 13 criteria of NFPA 80 for the inspection of swinging fire doors. 

The first inspection criteria is related to the labels on fire doors and frames, and I asked Marilyn Latham, senior engineer for hollow metal at Steelcraft and Republic, to share information about labels in today’s guest blog post.

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Beginning with the 2007 edition and continuing through all subsequent editions to date, NFPA 80 has required fire door assembly inspections as part of Chapter 5 – Inspection, Testing and Maintenance.

For swinging fire door assemblies, the standard includes 13 inspection criteria.  The first requirement that must be verified during the inspection and testing of the fire door assembly as outlined in  NFPA 80 is:

(1) Labels are present and legible.

Information on a fire label

Fire labels contain important information about the door and frame’s intended performance in the event of a fire.  The label also helps to establish how that performance has been independently verified. You can find the following information on the label:

  • Manufacturer
  • Test lab/ certification logo
  • Identification specific to test lab/ certification
  • Test methods, compliance
  • Hourly protection rating of component


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Label location

The standard location of label application is between the upper and middle hinge. There are some hardware applications, such as continuous hinges and pocket pivots, that require the label to be applied in an alternate location.  In this case, the labels are typically applied to top edge / channel of the door and the underside of the frame head.

References:

  • NFPA 80 – 2010, 2013
    • 4.2.2 Labels shall be applied in locations that are readily visible and convenient for identification by the AHJ after installation of the assembly.
  • NFPA 80 – 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025
    • 4.2.3 Labels shall be applied in locations that are readily visible and convenient for identification by the AHJ after installation of the assembly.

Presence and legibility

Fire doors are required to always have a legible label. It is not permissible to remove the label or in any way deface it. It must remain legible. The most common deficiencies are that the label has either been removed or painted over.

References:

  • NFPA 80 – 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025
    • 4.2.1 Labels should not be removed, defaced, or made illegible while the door is in service.

Special features

Some manufacturers may utilize paint masks over fire certification labels to assist in keeping labels clean and legible.  Labels may also incorporate precautionary methods by showing “void” when tampered with.

Do you have questions about labels?  Leave them in the comment box!

Click here to learn more about Allegion fire rated solutions, or visit iDigHardware.com/firedoor.

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