The ability to predict aspects of fire and its impact on a building's structure, contents, and people is discussed in terms of its application to safety design. It is presented from the perspective of how research has addressed the prediction of fire phenomena. A review of the state of the art on the capability for predicting the fire, its impact and response, is given. Examples are cited to illustrate the scope and accuracy of predictive methods and how they are being incorporated into some codes and standards.