Protecting commuters at Grand Central Station, New York City

The infrastructure segment of the US construction market is currently one of the fastest growing sectors of the market, benefitting from funding at federal, state, and local levels. Bilco has a leading position in the provision of fire-rated access doors and panels to the public and commercial construction markets

The challenge

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in New York City recently completed the largest capital project in their history to expand their service to Long Island and provide a much-needed expansion to the Grand Central Terminal. The centrepiece of the project is a new 350,000 square foot passenger concourse underneath Grand Central Station that includes 800,000 feet of underground raceways, 7,000 light fixtures, seven power stations and two off-track facilities. The MTA required a solution to access various plumbing and electrical connections through a fire-rated floor.

The solution

Bilco and its local representative designed and developed a range of doors that met both the size requirements and the critical life safety and performance demands of the application.

Amid all the tunnels and junctions for electrical and plumbing fixtures, 53 fire-rated floor doors manufactured by Bilco have now been installed. Each fire-rated floor door is constructed with door hardware and sealants to maintain the fire-rating. Bilco’s type FR fire-rated doors, often found in public buildings, office buildings and exit stairwells, are the industry's only UL listed fire-rated floor door. The UL listing indicates that it has been tested and certified to maintain its integrity in the event of a fire for up to three hours. The doors also incorporate a separate UL listed self-closing device that automatically closes the door in the event that the door is open when a fire breaks out.

Value created

Bilco’s UL listed fire rated floor doors provide the highest levels of quality and fire protection, attributes that are essential for such an important public infrastructure project. In addition to the fire protection provided, the FR door also allows for the installation of finished flooring in the cover, enabling the door to blend with the aesthetics of the new passenger concourse at Grand Central Station. 

“These doors provide a continuation of the regular floor.’’ said Jason Benfield of Tutor Perini, the civil engineering team working on the project. “If a fire breaks out, these doors provide access and give people the chance to get out to an adjacent space. If they weren’t fire-rated, smoke or fire could pass through the door and into the public area.”