read my edit, the fire never really reached the house, which is demonstrated by the greenry, untouched by the fire, that is still around the house. you are fallling for a sales pitch. You even admit that it was a "couple weeks" later it looked fine, giving reasons why, demonstrating you really don't know the true impact the fire had on it. regardless the picture itself shows the fire never fully reached the house to begin with. Don't get me wrong, construction and the materials does play a part in helping a structure to surviving longer in a fire, but it won't prevent it from not burning down if given enough time, or from not showing any visual indications, or evidence of a fire. But see, here is the difference between you and me.. I am not getting my information from a sales pitch. I am getting my infromation from 2 generations of construction trades, as well as direct faimly members houses that survived fires as all the ones around them burned to the ground. And non of them had to do with their construction.. Just as the picture in that sales pitch, the fire never made it to houses, they changed direction and didn't even burn all the greenery surround them.. or do you think common grass is magical?