I think, "It wasn't very effective" is just the author filling space on a page with copy, not the assessment of an engineer. The conventional wisdom among expe

I think, "It wasn't very effective" is just the author filling space on a page with copy, not the assessment of an engineer. The conventional wisdom among experts is relayed here by The Chronicle: > Van Ness was once the city’s grandest boulevard, lined with Victorian mansions and impressive churches. That all came to an end when the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 set off a firestorm that raged for days. The fire came under control only after the U.S. Army dynamited nearly every building on the east side of Van Ness. So the avenue provided the firebreak that saved the city. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/The-bandages-are-coming-off-Check-out-S-F-s-16617835.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/The-ba... I think of Victorian mansions as being wooden construction, and from a fast look at the results of image searching "Van Ness Avenue before 1906" that seems to be the case.