If the house was constructed with ballon framing there would be a perfect path to the attic. No doubt you are wondering what is ballon framing? That is where the wall studs run from the foundation all the way to the attic, typically in two story construction. Such framing creates an almost perfect chimney if you get a fire in the wall.
I know about this because my son and I spent the better part of an afternoon putting in fireblocks on our house framing when we did some renovation work a few years back. FWIW the floor joists for the second floor were real 2X8's, 25 foot long with nary a knot in the half a dozen or so that I inspected.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
I'm not sure it was balloon framing, though I'm not familiar with the exact area, I'd expect 8' or so walls, a floor plate and another plate to tie the walls.
From the story, or the part I read, those things would have had to tunnel through a cinder block or two, and then two or three 2x plates to get through to the attic. That's impressive.
FWIW the floor joists for the second floor were real 2X8's, 25 foot long with nary a knot in the half a dozen or so that I inspected.
Wow!
You probably wouldn't miss it too much if you removed just one.