ABSTRACT
Care should be taken to note the effect of any horizontal movements due to thermal actions during the fire. Often the initial response when looking over a fire-damaged structure is one of despair and horror at the extent of damage. This situation is exacerbated by the amount of non-structural debris lying around together with the acrid smell of many combustion products. The visual inspection, once carried out, will have identified those areas which must be either immediately demolished or those areas which may be capable of being repaired if sufficient strength can be attained. The inspection will also identify where there is no, or only very superficial, damage. The only common destructive test is to take concrete cores usually 40 mm diameter from the fire-damaged zone and test the cores in compression according to the relevant standard, for example BS 1881: Part 120: 1983, and then relate the measured strength to an equivalent cube strength using appropriate empirical formulae.
