On Mon, 28 May 2007 17:57:07 -0500, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

... diesel will
definitely burn hot enough to weaken steel. There have been numerous
incidents where tanker trucks have caught fire following an accident
and caused the structural collapse of a highway overpass.


Hiway overpasses built of steel reinforced concrete, that is. Not exactly
the same thing is it?



Quite so: concrete clad steel has a much better fire-rating than bare
steel. Stout timber columns have better resistance than bare steel,
for that matter.
But the achilles heel of concrete reinforced with steel is at the
fixings. Bare steel.....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK