There is some really interesting history here. When we started moving into the prairies after the civil war, we also invented the modern timber-frame house whic

There is some really interesting history here. When we started moving into the prairies after the civil war, we also invented the modern timber-frame house which was shipped via railroads. We soon learned that a simple timber frame with paneling on both sides meant the whole house was a collection of chimneys, which meant any fire would very quickly overwhelm the entire house. So we came up with some building codes which said that the timber frame needed more side-trusses to act as firebreaks. Note that this applies mostly to single and duplex home owners.