Presenting a comprehensive overview of the fire resistance of building structures, this key text brings together a large volume of material from many sources on this increasingly important topic. starting with the fundamentals of fires and fire safety, the book gives an introduction to real fire exposure and the response of structures to such fires, outlining the important contribution of structural fire resistance to overall fire safety. methods of calculating fire severity and achieving fire resistance are described, including fire performance of the main structural materials including structural steel, reinforced concrete and timber construction. particularly valuable elements of the book are its design sections (incorporating international methods), where the earlier material is synthesised and recommendations are made for rational design of building structures exposed to fires. structural design for fire safety provides expert guidance on: ? interpreting code requirements for fire safety ? understanding the concepts of fire severity and fire resistance ? estimating time-temperature curves for fully developed compartment fires ? understanding the behaviour of structural elements and buildings exposed to fires ? designing steel, concrete and timber structures to resist fire exposure ? assessing the fire performance of existing structures in addition, the book includes valuable calculations and worked examples, unavailable elsewhere. this is an essential book for structural engineers who wish to improve their understanding of buildings exposed to severe fires. it is also an ideal textbook for introductory courses in fire safety in a civil or structural engineering degree programme, and is vital reading for final year students in fire protection and fire safety engineering. furthermore, it successfully bridges the information gap between fire safety engineers, structural engineers and building inspectors, and will be of significant interest to architects, code officials, building designers and firefighters.