  A two-dimensional lattice model with bond disorder is used to investigate the
fracture behaviour under stress-controlled conditions. Although the cumulative
energy of precursors does not diverge at the critical point, its derivative
with respect to the control parameter (reduced stress) exhibits a singular
behaviour. Our results are nevertheless compatible with previous experimental
findings, if one restricts the comparison to the (limited) range accessible in
the experiment. A power-law avalanche distribution is also found with an
exponent close to the experimental values.
