Abstract The high sensitivity of the nonlinear terms of the elastic response of materials to the incipient appearance of damage has led to the appearance of the Non-linear Elastic Wave Spectroscopy methods (NEWS). Particularly, the Non-linear Impact Resonance Acoustic Spectroscopy (NIRAS) technique detects changes in the resonance of a material (frequency, damping factor, etc.) as a function of the intensity of the impact. Traditionally, mechanical waves have been monitored using an external sensor in contact with the material. Currently, alternative technologies are capable of capturing mechanical waves without direct contact or with embedded sensors in the material itself from its manufacture. This helps the automation process or the continuous monitoring of the material. Mortar is the most used composite material in construction. In this work, thermal damage on mortar samples is characterized by NIRAS tests using different sensing techniques. Accelerometers have been used as the reference technique, while laser interferometer and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) have been used as non-contact and embedded sensor techniques respectively. Two levels of damage are presented: sound samples and 400ºC damage. The different techniques offer similar results, showing the capability of the proposed techniques (FBG and laser interferometry) to be an accurate alternative to traditional contact techniques for NIRAS testing.