Even architects agree the type of roof on a home did not determine whether a house would burn or not. In the Feb. 1992 edition of Northern California Home & Garden magazine, several architects gave their assessment of the Oakland fire.

Berkeley architect Max Jacobsen was quoted as saying: "We lost a very important house at 41 Vicente, which was one of our favorite houses, a real heart breaker. It was our most fire proof house; all stucco. The roof was totally noncombustible and the house burned to the ground."

His sentiments were echoed by David Wieingarten, co-founder of Ace Architects located in Berkeley. "A stucco and tile-roofed house his firm had designed literally exploded: even the steel in the retaining wall expanded in the inferno." The article goes on to note: But as San Francisco architect David Baker points out, there was an ironic twist to the fire "there were plenty of wood-shingle cottages that survived sitting right next to the shells of stucco homes." The article also points out "most architects agree there is no such thing as a "fire proof" house. It then made the point that even if there was, few people would want to live in (an underground bunker)."