On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 09:19:09 -0500, Asher Hoskins
wrote:

While loose straw will burn easily, when bales are used in construction
they get compressed and all the loose straw is trimmed off the outside
before rendering. Prepared like this there's not enough air inside the
bales to sustain combustion

Is that why thatched roofs never catch fire? After all, the straw is
packed so tightly that rain can't get in..

sponix