Dorgard Fire Door Retainers

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Dorgard is a safe, legal and wireless solution that holds your fire doors open in any position and automatically shuts the fire doors in the event of a fire.

Installed in schools, theatres, hospitals and stately homes, Dorgard is the ideal solution to getting rid of the dangerous culture of wedging fire doors open with fire extinguishers or wooden blocks. Wedging open fire doors is illegal, dangerous and opens employers to the risk of personal prosecution. A closed fire door can stop fire in its tracks, but wedged open, the fire door provides no protection and the fire can spread throughout the building. Dorgard fire door retainers allow for better wheelchair access, ventilation and all-round convenience without jeopardising safety or breaking the law.

Dorgard complies with BS EN 1155 (electrically powered hold-open devices for swing doors) and BS 7273-4 category C (actuation of release mechanisms for doors). The use of Dorgard fire door retainers also improves access for wheelchair users in line with the Disability Discrimination Act.

The Dorgard fire door retainer is accepted by the Fire Brigade because it can save lives!

Dorgard requires no wiring as it is battery operated and self-contained. The Dorgard fire door retainer takes approximately 5 minutes to install and is affixed to your fire door with just four screws.

How Dorgard Works

The Dorgard's rubber plunger/stopper is in contact with the floor and, unlike magnetic retainers, can hold the door open in any selected position. When a fire alarm sounds, Dorgard's integral audio-electronic device signals the plunger to retract and releases the door to close. Dorgard is battery operated, so there is no need for complex and expensive wiring. Please note that your alarm's sound level has to be higher than 65dB at the location of the door. This is also the required alarm sound level for populated areas according to BS5839-1:2002 (Clause 16.2).

The floorplate is designed for use with an installed Dorgard. It is fitted to the floor using 4 screws.

Fire doors weighing more than 120Kg, which have a closing force in excess of 120nm (that is a force of about 15kg, 800mm from the hinge) must have the Floor plate installed in combination with the Dorgard unit. Dorgard can hold a fire door open safely without the floor plate installation if the fire doors weight and closing force are less than that above.

A Dorgard floor plate is recommended when:
A: Your fire door has a powerful overhead door closer and the fire door tends to creep closed even with a Dorgard fitted.
B: The floor is slippery/very smooth and a fitted Dorgard tends to slip closed.