7 Penetrations and openings in ‘A’ and ‘B’ class divisions (R 30, 31)

.1 All openings in ‘A’ class divisions shall be provided with permanently attached means of closing which shall be as effective for resisting fires as the divisions in which they are fitted. .2 The construction of all doors and door frames in ‘A’ class divisions, with the means of securing them when closed, shall provide resistance to fire as well as to the passage of smoke and flame, as far as practicable, equivalent to that of the bulkheads in which the doors are situated. Such doors and doorframes shall be constructed of steel or other equivalent material. Watertight doors need not be insulated. .3 It shall be possible for each door to be opened and closed from each side of the bulkhead by one person only. .4 Fire doors in main vertical zone bulkheads and stairways enclosures other than power-operated sliding watertight doors and doors normally locked, shall satisfy the following requirements: The doors shall be self-closing and be capable of closing with an angle of up to 3,5 ° opposing closure. The speed of closure shall, if necessary, be controlled so as to prevent undue danger to persons. In new ships the uniform rate of closure shall be no more than 0,2 m/s and no less than 0,1 m/s with the ship in the upright position. Remote-controlled sliding or power-operated doors shall be equipped with an alarm that sounds at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds before the door begins to move and continue sounding until the door is completely closed. Doors designed to re-open upon contacting an object in its path shall re-open sufficiently to allow a clear passage of at least 0,75 metres, but no more than one metre. All doors, except fire doors which are normally kept closed, shall be capable of remote and automatic release from a continuously manned central control station, either simultaneously or in groups, and also individually from a position at both sides of the door. Indication must be provided at the fire control panel in the continuously manned central control station whether each of the remote-controlled doors is closed. The release mechanism shall be so designed that the door will automatically close in the event of disruption of the control system or central power supply. Release switches shall have an on-off function to prevent automatic resetting of the system. Holdback hooks not subject to central control station release are prohibited. Local power accumulators for power-operated doors shall be provided in the immediate vicinity of the doors to enable the doors to be operated at least 10 times (fully opened and closed) using the local controls. Double-leaf doors equipped with a latch necessary to their fire integrity shall have a latch that is automatically activated by the operation of the doors when released by the system. Doors giving direct access to special category spaces which are power-operated and automatically closed need not be equipped with alarms and remote-release mechanisms required in .4.2 and .4.3. Instead of .4 the following paragraph .4a shall apply: Fire doors in main vertical zone bulkheads, galley boundaries and stairway enclosures other than power-operated watertight doors and those which are normally locked, shall satisfy the following requirements: the doors shall be self-closing and be capable of closing against an angle of inclination of up to 3,5 ° opposing closure; the approximate time of closure for hinged fire doors shall be no more than 40 seconds and no less than 10 seconds from the beginning of their movement with the ship in upright position. The approximate uniform rate of closure for sliding fire doors shall be of no more than 0,2 m/s and no less than 0,1 m/s with the ship in the upright position; the doors shall be capable of remote release from the continuously manned central control station, either simultaneously or in groups and shall be capable of release also individually from a position at both sides of the door. Release switches shall have an on-off function to prevent automatic resetting of the system; hold-back hooks not subject to central control station release are prohibited; a door closed remotely from the central control station shall be capable of being reopened at both sides of the door by local control. After such local opening the door shall automatically close again; indication shall be provided at the fire door indicator panel in the continuously manned central control station whether each of the remote-released doors are closed; the release mechanism shall be so designed that the door will automatically close in the event of disruption of the control system or main source of electric power; local power accumulators for power-operated doors shall be provided in the immediate vicinity of the doors to enable the doors to be operated after disruption of the control system or main source of electric power at least 10 times (fully opened or closed) using the local controls; disruption of the control system or main source of electric power at one door shall not impair the safe functioning of the other doors; remote-released sliding or power-operated doors shall be equipped with an alarm that sounds for at least 5 seconds but no more than 10 seconds after the door is released from the central control station and before the door begins to move and continue sounding until the door is completely closed; a door designed to re-open upon contacting an object in its path shall re-open not more than one metre from the point of contact; double-leaf doors equipped with latch necessary to their fire integrity shall have a latch that is automatically activated by the operation of the doors when released by the control system; doors giving direct access to special category spaces which are power-operated and automatically closed need not be equipped with the alarms and remote-release mechanisms required in paragraph .3 and .10; the components of the local control system shall be accessible for maintenance and adjusting; and power-operated doors shall be provided with a control system of an approved type which shall be able to operate in case of fire, this being determined in accordance with the Fire Test Procedure Code. This system shall satisfy the following requirements: the control system shall be able to operate the door at a temperature of at least 200 °C for at least 60 minutes, served by the power supply; the power supply for all other doors not subject to fire shall not be impaired, and; at temperatures exceeding 200 °C the control system shall be automatically isolated from the power supply and shall be capable of keeping the door closed up to at least 945 °C. The requirements for ‘A’ class integrity of the outer boundaries of a ship shall not apply to glass partitions, windows and sidescuttles, provided that there is no requirement for such boundaries to have ‘A’ class integrity in Regulation 10. Similarly, the requirements for ‘A’ class integrity shall not apply to exterior doors in superstructures and deckhouses. Instead of .5: the following paragraph .5a shall apply: The requirements for ‘A’ class integrity of the outer boundaries of a ship shall not apply to glass partitions, windows and sidescuttles, provided that there is no requirement for such boundaries to have a ‘A’ class integrity in Regulation 10. The requirements for ‘A’ class integrity of the outer boundaries of the ship shall not apply to exterior doors, except for those in superstructures and deckhouses facing life-saving appliances. embarkation and external assembly station areas, external stairs and open decks used for escape routes. Stairway enclosure doors need not meet this requirement. Except for watertight doors, weathertight doors (semi-watertight doors), doors leading to the open deck and doors which need to be reasonably gastight all ‘A’ class doors located in stairways, public spaces and main vertical zone bulkheads in escape routes shall be equipped with a self-closing hose port of material, construction and fire resistance which is equivalent to the door into which it is fitted, and shall be a 150 mm square clear opening with the door closed and shall be inset into the lower edge of the door, opposite to the door hinges, or in the case of sliding doors, nearest the opening. Doors and door frames in ‘B’ class divisions and means of securing them shall provide a method of closure which shall have resistance to fire equivalent to that of the divisions except that ventilation openings may be permitted in the lower portion of such doors. Where such opening is in or under a door the total net area of any such opening or openings shall not exceed 0,05 m^(2). Alternatively, a non-combustible air balance duct routed between the cabin and the corridor and located below the sanitary unit is permitted where the cross-sectional area of the duct does not exceed 0,05 m^(2). All ventilation openings shall be fitted with a grill made of non-combustible material. Doors shall be non combustible. For reasons of noise reduction, the Administration may approve, as an equivalent, doors with built-in ventilation sound-locks with openings at the bottom on one side of the door and at the top on the other side, on condition that the following provisions have been complied with: The upper opening shall always face towards the corridor and shall be provided with a grating of non-combustible material and an automatically operating fire damper, which is activated at a temperature of about 70 °C. The lower opening shall be provided with a grating made of a non-combustible material. The doors shall be tested in accordance with Resolution A.754 (18). Cabin doors in ‘B’ class divisions shall be of a self-closing type. Hold-backs are not permitted. The requirements for ‘B’ class integrity of the outer boundaries of a ship shall not apply to glass partitions, windows and sidescuttles. Similarly the requirements for ‘B’ class integrity shall not apply to exterior doors in superstructures and deckhouses. For ships carrying not more than 36 passengers, the Administration of the flag State may permit the use of combustible materials in doors separating cabins from the individual interior sanitary spaces such as showers.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-10 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.