Letters to the Editor: Why fireproof homes might do surprisingly little to help the occupant

To the editor: I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 50 years. I began taking part in evacuations in 1961 (“‘Herd immunity’: Pushing a coastal community to become fireproof after the Palisades fire,” Nov. 12). Bel-Air within the ‘60s, Malibu within the ‘70s, Sunland within the ‘80s, Pacific Palisades within the ‘90s. All skilled massive wildfires.

I knew numerous good, cussed engineers and that is what I realized from their efforts: Constructing homes that may’t burn doesn’t do something good for the occupant. Until you adorn like a jail, with concrete and stainless-steel, and preserve no possessions, every part inside melts, cooks and contaminates. Home equipment, plastic pipes — principally, you’re engineering a poisonous shell that prices some huge cash to get rid of.

Daniel Eisenberg, Los Angeles