Okay, something boring today--fire walls, area separation wall, and other types of rated construction. I'm writing about this to remind myself that this stuff is important. The history and performance of fire rated construction is a long one. Adam Smith makes a reference to fire walls in his economics writing. The Romans learned the hard way that stone does not perform as well as brick in fires. London burned down. Chicago burned down. Parts of Boston burned down (and I'm surprised more of it hasn't burned down). The big issue with fire rated construction isn't complete prevention of the spread of fire (and smoke) but the creation of time for evacuation, rescue, and some level of containment.
If you happen to live in a detached, wood framed house in the U.S. you don't have to think about this at all. If a fire starts, you have maybe fifteen minutes--sometimes less, rarely more. Get out and don't go back in.
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