There are 10+ storey timber high rises in Canada now. The building and fire codes are being updated all across the country. Turns out heavy timber is actually pretty decent for fire - it chars before it fails whereas steel loses its strength at high temps.
It also expands. Sometimes pushing walls apart letting floors fall. I asked a neighbor who is a firefighter what his nightmares are made of. He said steel girder floors silently expanding and pancaking him and his best friends.
