The article on the "fireproof house" implies that the builder relied largely on "common sense" methods in selecting features to include (and exclude). Although it takes a little work to dig out the details, if any of our own need help with reduction of fire threats, a place to start could be http://fire.nist.gov/.

A fairly common slip is building a fireproof (fire resistant) structure and then filling it with flammable furniture and other contents. Classic illustration, from a link at the above: watch the first video and have a merry Xmas. (Note that the TV set goes in about 35 seconds.)

John