[harimau777]

I think that may be due to differences in building standards between then and now. For example, fire was a much greater risk in previous generations.

[potato3732842]

It's not that buildings burn that much less readily today. It's that in the past they caught fire way more often. The plethora of wood stoves, lanterns for light, matches for smoking, etc, etc, had more to to with it than anything else.