Introduction to fire design

Abstract

There are a number of approaches to ensure the safe design of structures under fire conditions. This range is from a simple elemental prescriptive approach to a more advanced structural fire engineering approach. In the simple approach, realistic structural and fire behaviour are ignored and optimum design solutions in terms of safety and economy may not be reached. By considering the actual fire and structural behaviour, through more advanced methods, any weak links within the design can be identified and rectified, allowing safer, more robust, and possibly more economical buildings to be constructed. This paper presents the state of the art of fire safety, introduces the benefits of using a performance-based approach to fire engineering, and calls attention to European materials, freely available on the Internet, which support such design. [Excerpt from Introduction]