Quote:
Originally Posted by jimjamuser
This is a really good thread starter. Response # 44 has the best answer to the question of how the fire gets through the fairly fireproof stucco exterior walls. I noticed that the houses that are standing (with neighboring houses totally destroyed) have small or no soffits. The purpose of soffits is to allow air to circulate inside the attic. The problem is that small spark embers during a FIRESTORM can enter the attic through those soffits. The house then burns down from the INSIDE OUT. The fire proof stucco walls get BYPASSED by the HOT RISING air which contains the SPARK embers. This was explained by response #44. I just wanted to add a little.
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Thank you, I looked back at #44 and it, like some other replies, paint a good picture of how the fire actually starts from the inside out. Part of my original question though is the rapidity at which it spreads. An ember would likely take more than just a minute or so to find its way into the house through a tiny opening in the soffit or vent, and once in the home, seemingly would take more than just a minute or two to get the whole house afire. Yet entire neighborhoods were eaten up in a matter of minutes. It's almost as if there's some sort of accelerant. Do you know if the gas company shut off the gas utilities?
I will reiterate for those who don't bother reading the entire post, I'm not doubting it happened, I'm trying to gain an understanding of HOW it happened.