As part of an investigation on the effect of temperature on the crushing strength of concrete, tests have been carried out using 2 in. diameter by 4 in. long specimens made with ordinary Portland cement, river sand and gravel aggregate, having various mix proportions and water/cement ratios.The crushing strength of concrete at temperatures up to 600°C was independent of the water/cement ratio used but was influenced by the aggregate/cement ratio. Concrete specimens loaded to produce normal design compressive stress during the period of heating showed less reduction in strength than specimens without imposed load. There was afurther loss in the compressive strength of the specimens when cooled ajter heating to a given temperature.

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The paper examines briefly the history of fire testing in the UK and outlines the current European position as exemplified by activities in the EEC member countries, the Scandinavian countries and Eastern Europe. The role of IS0 and the changing approach to the development of f i e tests is considered. The interactions amongst test developing bodies, regulatory authorities and the regional organizations concerned with harmonization are highlighted.-~~ HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDFrance, Germany, Sweden and the UK have been actively engaged in fire research and testing over the last 50 years in specialist institutes and have led the development of many of the well-known testing procedures. Other countries have become more active in the last two decades and this is particularly the case in Eastern Europe.A few remaining countries are in the process of establishing institutes for this purpose. In this paper no attempt is made to correlate the historical landmarks in this field, except for the UK but reference is made to the recent developments in different countries as appropriate.In the UK Edwin 0. Sachs, a public-spirited architect, played the major role in creating interest in fire protection matters in the early part of the century. He created the British Fire Protection Association in 1893 with the aim of providing information on the behaviour of materials and constructions in fire tests. A testing facility was set up in Regents Park in London consisting of a furnace for testing walls and floors. It was fired by gas but wood was added during tests to boost the heating. These early experiments were similar to the work undertaken by the National Bureau of Standards and the Underwriters' Laboratories in the USA. An extensive series of 'red books' containing the results of tests and other investigations were published and these provide a good insight into the early work.Sachs organized two international conferences in London in 1903 and 1910 to obtain agreement on the standard temperature/time curve to be used in furnace tests. Although this objective received wide acclaim there was no agreement and it was to be another 50 years before another attempt would be made for international agreement.The In 1961 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) set up a technical committee (TC 92) with the aim of producing international specifications on fire tests for building materials and constructions. Two committees (TC 45 and TC 61) were already in existence, dealing with rubber and polymeric materials respectively and others have since come into existence which are also producing fire tests for individual materials. TC 92 has so far published five standards (non-combustibility, heat potential, fire resistance of doors, glazing and other constructional elements) and about twice as many have been prepared by the other committees.Discussions have taken place since 1975 on the coordination of fire test activities amongst the I S 0 committees and in 1978 a new, Co-ordinating Committee for Fire Tests (CCFT) came into exis...

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