While I did not take quite so long, I came here thinking the same and expected to find some crazy story. It then dawned on me that in other parts of the world t

While I did not take quite so long, I came here thinking the same and expected to find some crazy story. It then dawned on me that in other parts of the world they have massive forest fires that can't really be stopped and wind forecasts tell you if your house is at risk days in advance. I can not think of any situation where you would get any warning of a house fire where I live. It's either an accident, electrical fault etc, or arson. So you either aren't at home when it happens, or have to get out immediately. Best preparation I can think of is to place the most important documents in a fireproof safe or at a bank, and maybe have scans stored online.