Fire design of timber structures – actual design and outlook: Estrategias de protección al fuego – Diseño y apariencia

Abstract

This paper summarizes the background of fire design of timber, as it is available to-day for an audience interested in interactions with various fields of science. The inten-tion is to give a broad overview for structural engineers together with available solu-tions but also existing limitations and outlook for the future. The paper addresses (1) the background of the legal design framework to achieve fire safety and (2) thoughts about fire safety in general and in particular for timber structures. The authors point out inconsistencies where further research is needed and also show where political actions are required. Further, the article summarizes the fire resistance design for var-ious members and gives an outlook to the changes in Eurocode 5 (EN 1995-1-2) ex-pected to be implemented in national laws in the year 2025.