We pursue a level set approach to couple an Eulerian shock-capturing fluid solver with space–time refinement to an explicit solid dynamics solver for large deformations and fracture. The coupling algorithms considering recursively finer fluid time steps as well as overlapping solver updates are discussed. Our ideas are implemented in the AMROC adaptive fluid solver framework and are used for effective fluid–structure coupling to the general purpose solid dynamics code DYNA3D. Beside simulations verifying the coupled fluid–structure solver and assessing its parallel scalability, the detailed structural analysis of a reinforced concrete column under blast loading and the simulation of a prototypical blast explosion in a realistic multistory building are presented.