ABSTRACT
The paper deals with three independent cases of lattice telecommunication towers subjected to elevated temperatures caused by fire. Each fire incident had a different background: a fire in a hall adjacent to the tower structure (case no. 1), a fire started deliberately (case no. 2), and a fire in a neighboring site (case no. 3). This comparison is relevant in that it involves towers of the same series of types (their structural components were made of the same type of steel sections), the only difference being height or the distance between their legs. The paper addresses the causes of each fire, degradation of the towers’ structural members due to high temperature, estimated fire temperatures, and, most importantly, actions that should follow to continue safe operation of the structures. The results and descriptions of the activities carried out as well as conclusions drawn can be useful when analyzing similar cases of actual damage in such structures.
