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Review | Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering | Volume 5 - Issue 2 - 2025 | 183−194 | https://doi.org/10.53623/csue.v5i2.810
© 2025 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Fire Safety and Concrete Performance in Malaysia: A Review of Incidents, Material Behavior, and Standard Testing Protocols

Author(s): Noorhapsari Ratihi 1 , Vikram Prasad Sharma 2 , Beatrice Achieng Otieno 3
Author(s) information:
1 Fire Safety and Structural Research Unit, Nusantara Engineering Group Berhad, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, India
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Corresponding author

Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering

Volume 5 - Issue 2 - 2025

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Fire incidents remain a critical and persistent challenge in Malaysia, posing significant threats to residential, educational, commercial, and environmental assets. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the Malaysian fire landscape, focusing on the behaviour of concrete structures under elevated temperatures, and examines standard testing protocols essential for assessing material resilience and structural safety. The analysis highlights an alarming frequency of annual fire events, which underscores the urgent need for a coordinated risk management strategy that engages both governmental agencies and private stakeholders. A central theme of the review is the thermo-mechanical performance of concrete, encompassing phenomena such as thermal expansion, spalling, residual compressive and tensile strength, and the effects of prolonged exposure to high temperatures. The study further evaluates the efficacy of material modifications, including fibre reinforcement, geopolymer formulations, and other innovative additives, in enhancing fire resistance and post-fire structural integrity. Additionally, the paper provides a detailed overview of critical international standards, including ASTM and ISO, for the mechanical and durability assessment of concrete after fire exposure, emphasizing their relevance and potential adaptation within the Malaysian context. The review concludes by highlighting the practical implications of these findings: the urgent need for integrated fire safety management, the adoption of advanced fire-resistant concrete technologies, and the enforcement of standardized testing and assessment protocols. Collectively, these strategies are essential to mitigate the devastating impact of fires on Malaysia’s built environment, safeguard human life, and ensure long-term structural resilience.

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SUBMITTED: 03 September 2025
ACCEPTED: 16 November 2025
PUBLISHED: 18 November 2025
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 74 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/csue.v5i2.810

Cite this article
Ratihi, N., Sharma, V. P. ., & Otieno, B. A. . (2025). Fire Safety and Concrete Performance in Malaysia: A Review of Incidents, Material Behavior, and Standard Testing Protocols. Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering, 5(2), 183−194. https://doi.org/10.53623/csue.v5i2.810
Keywords
Fire Incidents Malaysia Concrete at High Temperature Fire Resistance Compressive Strength Standard Testing.
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