In standard fire tests, gas burners are normally used to heat the specimens. For structural elements, there are approved furnaces where a standard configuration of a wall, beam, floor or column can be constructed and tested. The typical dimensions of the elements are as follows:

• 3m × 3m for walls,
• 4.5m span for beams,
• 4m × 4m (typically) for floors and
• 3m height for columns.

Figure 1 shows the typical fire resistance tests conducted on various structural elements. The test follows the standard heating curve shown in Figure 2, where the temperature continues to rise continuously.