A fire screen is a just that, it is a screen that protects against fire
. They can be anything from an everyday domestic fireplace fireguard to a screen made from some of the most chemically advanced materials around.
They began life as a form of furniture that stopped the excessive heat of a fire making a room feel uncomfortable and also covering the boring fireplace up when there was no fire burning. They started of as flat panels that then became shaped. Around the 18th century the fire screen desk was very popular, this type of desk was placed in front of a fire so that person using the desk could keep their feet and legs warm whilst they were writing. The backs had a retractable screen that could protect the writers face from being exposed to too much heat from the fire. Unfortunately during the Victorian era with the industrial revolution taking place and the invention of central heating this type of desk started to die out. You can still find them in some of the better antique dealers but very few are still in working order.
These days in the construction industry some of the more advanced fire screens are made from glass fibre coated with a micronized aluminium polymer. This enables them to withstand intense heats and can protect against direct flames for up to an hour. This type of fire screen is quite common in the construction industry and regularly used when it is essential that sparks, flames and smoke do not go where they are not intended to.
An example of this is in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. As you can imagine the rules and regulations that surround this are very strict in order to protect workers and the public. In fact the Nuclear Regulatory Commission stipulates that if whilst decommissioning a nuclear power plant there must be absolutely no visibility of the ongoing work. This is particularly when using blowtorches or welding, if sparks are seen the work has to be stopped immediately.
I am sure there are many more weird and wonderful types of fire screen out there but these few should help you understand what a fire screen is for and where it should be used. If I find and other particularly odd types of fire screen then you can be sure I will be letting you know about them.