Firehouse Labs: Hörmann High-Performance Doors

Few things in a fire station are as iconic as the bay doors. When these doors open, members of the department emerge to serve the community. The doors’ reliability, speed, performance and other features often are an overlooked aspect of fire station design projects.

This review demonstrates how the right apparatus bay door can make a substantial difference in the overall response from the station. Firehouse Labs went to Station 52 of Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue in Silverdale, WA, to complete a field analysis of the Hörmann high-performance door and found that it not only increases efficiency but also adds value to the community.

Performance & value

Balancing fire station design, form and function can be a challenging experience when a department considers cost, budget, performance and mission-critical needs. Luckily, Hörmann high-performance doors are a great option, because they provide a balanced package. As a mid-level budget option, these doors provide performance that meets and exceeds high-priced doors and are a better overall value than lower-priced options.

Speed

In our independent testing, all four of the station doors opened in less than five seconds, which is just below the maximum speed at which the doors are capable of operating (60 inches per second). Compared with 7–12 inches per second for traditional doors, this door is fast.
Although speed is important, the doors also offer a variety of features that are designed to allow the doors to work with the department rather than the other way around. The doors can be programmed to work with station-alerting systems and auto-closing timers, are offered with a variety of warning lights and are versatile enough to be used with any level of technology that a department wants to integrate. Whether using a simple opener or an advanced door control system, the only point to consider is that the doors aren’t a do-it-yourself project. The speed of the door requires precise installation; however, Hörmann has partnerships throughout the country to help clients to find the right dealer/installer.

Low maintenance

Exceptional performance aside, another key feature of the doors is that they are low maintenance. The doors are springless and use a roller chain instead of strap, which helps them to live up to their 500,000-cycle warranty. Many of the doors have run more than a million cycles before they required maintenance.

Even if maintenance is required—generally related to damage rather than malfunction—the manufacturer has a great reputation with fire departments and local installers for getting parts shipped quickly.

Aesthetics

Let’s face it, fire stations are community icons, and even the best-functioning doors must have a certain degree of curb appeal. Hörmann offers configuration options, both with and without double-pane insulated windows. The door slats can be painted to match the architectural vision of the station, and Hörmann even collaborates with architects/engineers who are looking to incorporate its doors into their designs.

During our visit, we had time to talk with the department, installer and representative from the architectural firm about their experiences with Hörmann high-performance doors.

The department approached the decision with a main concern by asking how Station 52 best serves the community. The door choice fell into the “every second counts” category.

The installer discussed the critical points of initial installation but stated that the Hörmann high-performance door doesn’t provide continued business for routine maintenance.

The architect enjoyed collaborating with Hörmann on the project and praised the company’s exceptional technical assistance during the design phase, which ensured seamless integration of the high-speed doors with the architectural vision.

Given these findings, the Hörmann high-performance door earns the Firehouse Lab Seal of Approval.