Fire Retardant Scaffold Boards
VACUUM, HIGH PRESSURE IMPREGNATED
Duscaff Fire Safe® are the world’s only timber scaffold boards that offer ASTM E84 Class A fire protection.
Duscaff Fire Safe Class A scaffold boards are as noncombustible as carbon steel when subject to an open flame source of up to 750° C. The boards do not self-ignite, nor can they be set to fire by atmospheric heat radiation.
The boards are ideal for use in Oil, Gas and Energy projects where the temperature of the work environment are relatively high and there are risks of the wooden boards self-igniting into flames. The ignition-resistant nature of the Class A rated boards prevent them from automatically burning at high temperatures;
hence maintaining their structural integrity up until temperatures at which carbon steel would melt. In the unlikely event of a fire, the boards will not fail (before the metalwork would fail) as the fire-retardant properties of the boards will repel the flames until above 1,000° C. When the temperature crosses over 1,000° C, the boards start reacting to the fire by producing char that acts to insulate underlying wood and slows
the rate at which the cross-sectional area is reduced in size. The carbon dioxide and water vapor dilute the combustible gases to help reduce flame spread. The flame spread index (FSI) of a Class A boards is below 15, and the smoke developed index (SDI) is below 15.
HOW IT WORKS
An important feature of Duscaff Fire Safe® boards is that they react automatically when exposed to fire. The chemicals react with combustible gases and tars normally generated by untreated wood and convert them to carbon char and harmless carbon dioxide and water. Wood loses strength in a fire only as its cross section is reduced. The surface char acts to insulate underlying wood and slows the rate at which the cross-sectional area is reduced in size. The carbon dioxide and water vapor dilute the combustible gases to help reduce flame spread.
Preservative protection comes from the ingredients of the fire retardant solution. It renders the wood useless as a food source for termites and fungal decay, thereby avoiding damage caused by these organisms.