In this paper we report on a series of experiments which were conducted in the large fire hall of SP’sThe unprotected steel column with Ø=200 mm and thikness 10 mm was placed with its base in a pan with the fuel and exposed to fires of various liquid fuels and magnitudes. Temperatures were recorded in the gas phase and in the steel. In the gas phase temperatures were measured with traditional thermocouples and Plate Thermometers (PTs). It was observed that measured temperatures were much lower than the correspond temperatures calculated based on the formulas presented in Eurocode 1991-1-2. For a better estimation of the steel temperatures the emissivity of the flame should be taken into account.