SUMMARY: This paper proposes a novel technique to reduce the computational burden associated with the simulation of localized failure. The proposed methodology affords the simulation of damage initiation and propagation while concentrating the computational effort where it is most needed, that is, in the localization zones. To do so, a local/global technique is devised where the global (slave) problem (far from the zones undergoing severe damage and cracking) is solved for in a reduced space computed by the classical proper orthogonal decomposition while the local (master) degrees of freedom (associated with the part of the structure where most of the damage is taking place) are fully resolved. Both domains are coupled through a local/global technique. This method circumvents the difficulties associated with model order reduction for the simulation of highly nonlinear mechanical failure and offers an alternative or complementary approach to the development of multiscale fracture simulators. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.