This Technical Report provides an overview of the advances that have been made in understanding how structures respond to fire. This is reviewed in terms of heat transfer to the structural elements from primarily nominal (furnace) fires changes in the elevated temperature, physical and mechanical characteristics of structural materials, and how the information is used in the analysis of structural elements for the fire limit state. In reviewing the fire scenarios the report concentrates primarily on standardized heating curves but includes the basis of characteristic curves, which may at some time in the future be adopted in a standardized way. Reference is made to time equivalent as a recognized methodology in relating a natural or characteristic fire, to an equivalent period of heating in the ISO 834 furnace test.

This Technical Report is the result of the development of European Structural Eurocodes for application by member states in the European Community. These Codes enable practising engineers to follow agreed design procedures for application in individual members states irrespective of whether these are for building projects either inside or outside their own National boundaries.

The current UK national structural codes and the European (Eurocodes) are listed in Annex A.