P118/1-2025, in practice: 8 questions before choosing solutions
Which version of the regulation applies to the project? What function must each door fulfill? How are evacuation, smoke control, and system commands coordinated?
More than a year after P118/1-2025 came into force, useful answers stem from asking the right questions before selecting products.
P118/1-2025: from regulatory requirements to building operation
P118/1-2025 is the regulation that establishes fire safety requirements for the design and construction of buildings. It was approved by Order no. 267/2025, published in the Official Gazette on March 10, 2025, and came into force on May 8, 2025.
The document should be viewed as a logic for building operation in case of fire, not as a catalog from which doors, smoke vents, or automation systems are selected separately.
A door can play a role in limiting fire spread, it can be located on an escape route, or it may need to meet both requirements. A smoke control system must coordinate smoke extraction with air intake. And automation and access control systems must reach the state specified in the design in case of an alarm, malfunction, or power outage.
Therefore, the selection of solutions begins with the building’s functions and continues with the products that can fulfill them.
1. Which version of the regulation applies to the project?
P118/1-2025 is the current technical regulation regarding fire safety of constructions, and the old P118-1999 ceased to be applicable upon the entry into force of the new regulation.
However, Order no. 267/2025 provides for transitional situations for certain projects already under execution or in different stages of design, procurement, approval, or authorization as of May 8, 2025.
Therefore, the first question is not “which door should be chosen?”, but “what is the applicable regulation for this project?”. The answer must be established and documented by the design team, depending on the stage of the investment at the date the regulation came into force.
For interventions on existing buildings, P118/1-2025 contains dedicated provisions, and the solution must be determined based on the specific situation of the construction and the proposed works.
2. What should the fire safety scenario establish?
The fire safety scenario should not be treated as a document completed after products have already been chosen. It must reflect how the building operates in case of fire and correlate elements such as:
- fire compartments;
- escape routes and flows;
- performance of separation elements;
- control of smoke and hot gases;
- equipment behavior upon alarm;
- the relationship between detection, access control, ventilation, and other safety-related installations.
The supplier can verify if a certain product configuration meets the received requirement. However, establishing the requirement and confirming project compliance falls to the authorized specialists involved in design and verification.
3. Is the protected opening analyzed as an assembly?
A fire-resistant door does not only mean the door leaf. Performance is associated with the evaluated and documented assembly, which may include:
- the leaf and frame;
- hardware;
- self-closing devices;
- fixing systems;
- joint sealing;
- accessories;
- the wall or supporting element in which it is installed.
For this reason, a requirement simply formulated as “60-minute door” does not provide sufficient information for product selection.
The complete classification required by the project, opening dimensions, clear passage width, type of supporting wall, opening direction, hardware, the door’s role, and how it interacts with access control or fire detection systems must be known.
Terminology also matters. For doors, the classification applicable to the product and its configuration must be used, not automatically adopting the structural classification of the wall.
4. What is the role of the door on the escape route?
A fire-resistant door and a door located on an escape route do not automatically fulfill the same function.
The fire-resistant door contributes to limiting the spread of fire and, where provided, smoke. The door on the escape route must allow people to move to the exterior or to a safe space, under the conditions established by the project.
A door can fulfill both roles only if the assembly, hardware, operating mode, and technical documentation demonstrate this.
P118/1-2025 explicitly includes “automatic sliding escape door with break-out system” in its terminology. In daily use, it functions as an automatic sliding door, and in the situation provided for evacuation, the leaves can be pushed and mechanically folded in the direction of exit.
However, mentioning this category in the regulation does not mean that any sliding door or any break-out system can be used on any route. The configuration, dimensions, clear width, position in the building, and product documentation must be checked for each project.
5. What happens upon alarm, malfunction, or power failure?
The behavior of equipment in these situations must be established during design and subsequently verified through functional tests.
For a door with a compartmentalization role, complete closure may be essential. For a door located on an escape route, the passage must remain usable. For a smoke control system, extraction devices and air intakes must reach the positions specified in the scenario.
It is not enough to know that a piece of equipment has a backup power source. It must be clarified:
- what position it adopts upon power interruption;
- how it responds to the fire signal;
- which command has priority;
- how it can be operated manually;
- what happens in case of a malfunction;
- how it interacts with detection, access control, and ventilation.
These behaviors must be documented, tested, and known by the persons managing the building.
6. Is smoke control designed as a system?
The device through which smoke is extracted represents only one component of the smoke control system.
In the case of natural-organized smoke control, the extraction of smoke and hot gases must be coordinated with air intake. The position of the devices, the grouping and control method, the automatic signal, the possibility of manual operation, and the relationship with other installations matter.
Nor does the geometric dimension of a smoke vent alone indicate what performance it can ensure. Two devices with similar external dimensions can have different aerodynamic performances. Selection must be made based on the parameters established by the project and the declared performances for the tested product configuration.
When the same devices are also used for daily ventilation, the fire command must take priority over the comfort function.
7. What needs to be checked upon acceptance?
Acceptance must confirm the functions provided by the project, not just that the equipment has been installed.
Depending on the installed solutions, tests may monitor:
- complete and free closing of fire-resistant doors;
- operation of self-closing and holding devices;
- release and folding of leaves of a door with a break-out system;
- absence of obstacles in the opening area;
- clear width obtained in the configuration provided for evacuation;
- coordinated opening of smoke extraction devices and air intakes;
- priority of fire command over daily ventilation;
- manual commands and status signaling;
- system behavior upon power interruption;
- consistency between installed equipment and delivered documentation.
The exact list of tests must be adapted to the project, scenario, and documentation of each product.
8. How is the function of systems maintained after acceptance?
Safety functions can be lost over time through seemingly minor modifications.
A fire-resistant door can be held open with a wedge. A self-closing device can become misaligned. An access control system can be added without verifying its behavior upon alarm. The folding area of a break-out door can be occupied by furniture. An air intake can be obstructed, and a smoke vent can be affected by subsequent interventions on the roof or facade.
Therefore, maintenance must verify the function for which the system was designed, not just its usual operation.
The verification program is established based on technical documentation, applicable regulations and standards, actual usage conditions, and the importance of the equipment in the building’s safety strategy.
What information is needed before quoting?
For the technical solution to be correctly configured, the supplier should receive, depending on the project stage:
- the version of the regulation applicable to the project;
- relevant plans, sections, and details;
- requirements from the fire safety scenario;
- the role of each door or system;
- complete classifications and clear dimensions;
- details of supporting elements;
- expected behavior upon alarm, malfunction, and power failure;
- integration with detection, access control, and ventilation;
- tests requested upon acceptance;
- in-service verification and maintenance requirements.
The earlier this information is clarified, the lower the risk of costly modifications during execution or before acceptance.
From project requirement to a verifiable solution
Establishing requirements and confirming project compliance belongs to designers, verifiers, and other authorized specialists.
KADRA’s role is to transform project-defined requirements into a documented configuration of product, installation, and control for fire-resistant doors, automatic doors with break-out systems, smoke vents and smoke control systems, fire-resistant curtains, and associated automation.
This continuity must be maintained after installation through testing, service, and maintenance, so that the functions provided in the project remain available in the actual operation of the building.
Do you have a technical requirement already defined? Send us the plan, relevant information from the fire safety scenario, and the intended function, and the KADRA team can analyze configuration options together with the project specialists.
This material is for informational purposes only. The requirements applicable to each project are established by authorized specialists through technical documentation and the fire safety scenario.
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