UNE 1047 Standard
Introduction
Fireproof cabinets are cabinets equipped with fire protection systems to isolate the products stored inside. The protection level is called RF (Fire Resistance) followed by a digit that indicates the number of minutes in which, after a fire has broken out, the temperature inside the cabinet does not increase by 180 kelvin. To determine these values, standardized tests are carried out in which the cabinet is placed in an oven at a temperature of 1,000 °C.
Fire resistance levels can be 15, 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. The walls of these cabinets are made of insulating and non-combustible materials. They also have other protection systems such as expansion joints that expand up to 20 times their initial thickness, to seal cracks in doors and ventilation ducts "Ventilation (architecture)") and automatic door closing systems with hot-melt components that act when the ambient temperature exceeds 50 °C.
The specifications of fireproof cabinets are included in the European standard UNE-EN 14470-1. Which details, depending on the type of product and activity in which it is located (industrial or laboratory), the fire resistance that the cabinet must have. In most cases, solvents of various types are located inside, which requires the provision of a resistance of 90 minutes, with 15 minutes only for inks or similar.
This type of cabinets have a double objective. Firstly, to isolate the interior from the exterior of the cabinet. When the temperature exceeds 50 °C, the doors and ventilation ducts "Ventilation (architecture)") are closed hermetically, protecting the products stored in the cabinet from an external fire or suffocating the fire if it has occurred inside the cabinet. Secondly, in the case of especially dangerous products, the protection level (RF) indicates to the firefighters the time margin that they have before the products stored inside the cabinets ignite or explode.
These cabinets are used to store dangerous products[1]-:[2] flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive or polluting. They are also used to store other products that, without being dangerous, require protection against fire as a priority (backup copies, documentation on paper or computer media, etc.).
Likewise, fireproof cabinets must have a CE certificate of conformity in compliance with UNE-EN 14,727.
The fireproof cabinet in Europe must be followed according to UNE standards, while in American countries the following standards are OSHAS, and more specifically NFPA-30 (National Fire Protection Association).