Experimental Studies on Wheelchair Passing Through Fire Doors

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the criterion for the force required to open fire doors, and the required dimensions of fire door frames, from an ergonomic point of view for wheelchair users, through conducting experimental studies on passing through fire doors.
This study implemented two types of experimental design, observing subjects passing through fire doors, and measuring the force required to open them.
The results of the study show that it is desirable for fire doors to have a required opening force of no more than 40N and a width of more than 850mm. When using a wheelchair, the direction from which the door is approached has a significant impact on whether or not the subject can pass through the door. From these observations, it is postulated that in cases where corridors are narrow and there is not sufficient room to maneuver a wheelchair, a wheelchair user will often be unable to evacuate safely to the stairwell if they approach the fire door from the door knob side. Therefore it is essential that there is sufficient space in front of the fire door to bring a wheelchair parallel to the door, and also to rotate the wheelchair 180 degrees when necessary.