Need some prayers

[Brmorgan]

I know this isn't the right section for this, but it gets a lot more traffic than the others. I got a phone call at 8:45 (Pacific) this morning to get my butt down to my cousin's place a couple miles down the road because it was on fire. Unfortunately, it's going to be a complete writeoff. The firefighters had to cave the roof in to get proper access to the attic which was burning very hot, and whatever is not burned to a crisp in the rest of the house is either smoke or water damaged pretty much beyond saving. The firefighters managed to get a small box of photos out, and were going back in about an hour ago after they got the fire out to see what else they might be able to salvage. My cousin and his family left town yesterday to go spend the weekend at his sister's place 5 hours away, as this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. It may be a blessing that they were gone, because apparently the fire trucks first showed up around 8 am, so who knows how long it was burning before the neighbors saw it and called it in. They might have been overcome by smoke while sleeping if they'd been there. So it's a sh!t weekend for Thanksgiving, but at least we can be thankful nobody got hurt. I'm sure he has insurance, as he's quite diligent with that sort of thing, but we all know what kind of a fight he could still be in for with them. Either way, it's a horrible time of year for this to happen; it's just starting to turn cold, this morning was -5C here with frost covering everything. But every fall we see more building fires as people fire up their heat sources. I just came home for a few minutes to shower and get cleaned up as I kind of just threw on some clothes and ran out earlier. My cousin is on his way back to town and will be here in the early afternoon sometime. That's one five-hour drive I wouldn't want to take, knowing that you lost pretty much everything you have and are nowhere near to do anything about it. The real kicker, too, is that he just finished a big addition last year and his wife had finally gotten the fancy baby-grand piano she'd always wanted, and he just had a bunch of roofing supplies delivered and was going to start work on a new roof on Monday. Anyway, I'm heading back down there now, my aunt is pretty distressed and we're all going to go out for lunch and calm down a bit before my cousin gets here. So please keep them in your thoughts, it's going to be an even tougher winter now.

 

[Four Paws]

Yeah, that sucks, but put things in perspective...he and his family are ALIVE AND WELL. I know lots of people would give up every material possession they owned to be alive and well and blessed with a happy and healthy family. Insurance will buy him a new house and new things, but life cannot be replaced. He has much to be thankful for.

 

[Nailgunner]

:agree2:
Yeah, it could have been worse. House fires are really dreadful, waking up to a smoke alarm and a burning smell is terrifying. Not waking up, though ... something I'd rather not think about. With that said it's still an absolutely vile thing to happen, and I hope the insurance doesn't get bogged down. They'll need help fast to get back to some sort of normality. Here's hoping things don't stay bad for long.

 

[lawnmowertech37]

it's going to be an even tougher winter now

dont be so negative miracles do happen

 

[Axmen365]

Jes goes to tell us that life is a vapor, very short, anything can happen.

 

[carvinmark]

At least they are safe, best of luck to them.

 

[Bruce Hopf]

:agree2:
Yeah, it could have been worse. House fires are really dreadful, waking up to a smoke alarm and a burning smell is terrifying. Not waking up, though ... something I'd rather not think about. With that said it's still an absolutely vile thing to happen, and I hope the insurance doesn't get bogged down. They'll need help fast to get back to some sort of normality. Here's hoping things don't stay bad for long.

:agree2: . As long as No One was Hurt, that is the Main Thing. Bruce.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Very sorry to hear of this, the main thing is they are all safe and as you said it could have been a lot worse if they were at home asleep at that time. Material things can be replaced,lives cannot. I went through a couple of anxious days this year myself when we were evacuated due to a forest fire really close by here and did not know if I would ever see my place again,luckily the fire did not get closer than 1/4 mile. Hope the insurance company will come through for them and get them set up quickly with accommodations,I know it will not be
like being home. Wish them all the best.
Pioneerguy600

 

[lawnmowertech37]

some other organizations that can assist in t his time of need here are some ideas for you

back in 1999 i my mom dad older brother lost our home to a fire

here is some ideas that may help out

contact Red cross get some help staying somewhere till they can get moved into another place

contact salvation army in your local area for clothes food etc.

go to your restaurants tell them that they lost there home see if they can offer some help towards them like free meals and such this is what this area did for us so maybe they be the same way there


i mean we stayed in a hotel rooms for 2 months at least

and if they do not offer any help you get there sizes of clothes post them on here we members here at AS can pull together with our excess clothes we can probily donate them to you thanks
calvin

 

[Brmorgan]

Well, on the plus side, the insurance has been surprisingly co-operative so far. Accommodations are not a problem as my aunt and uncle have a huge house all to themselves and my aunt is the type that would love nothing more than for one of her kids, no matter how old, to come live at home again. My mom's the same. They're going to stay there for a few weeks while they get things sorted out. I guess the insurance is good for either the cost of renting a suite at a hotel for the time, or for renting a whole house, so I think they're going to do that eventually. The insurance guy said that even if they had to sign a 6-month lease they'd pay it. As for other stuff, my cousin is pretty well paid at his job, and being management, even if the company shuts down operations, he will continue to draw salary until next June or something like that. So they should be OK to cover the basics until the insurance gets everything figured out, it's just a real pain in the neck and more unneeded stress, and coming up on the worst time of year too.

I guess it was kind-of a freak fire though. It seems it started in the attic - mouse chewed a wire, etc. - and then a burning piece from the ceiling happened to fall through an open floor grate into the basement, onto a bunch of cardboard boxes in a storage area. So the roof and basement are practically totaled, but for the most part the main floor is in surprisingly good shape, except for the kitchen which had varnished tinder-dry fir flooring, disregarding damage done by the firefighters. Apparently it got hot enough to crack the foundation though, so they're going to bulldoze the whole works and start over. I think it would be easier anyway.

 

[Brushwacker]

My sis and brother in law lost most all about 1 year ago. They were sleeping and their son in law and grand child were spending the night when a smoke detector went off and my sisters first thought she left something on the stove without shutting it off , the garage, wood patio between the garage and side off the house was fully engulfed and the kitchen was burning (Started in garage).My brother in law got out in his pajamas and the only possesions they grabbed was their son in law and grandson + 2 cell phones. The fire department recovered their cat alive but about 85% of everything in the house was lost and eveything in the 2 1/2 car garage including both their vehicles. I used to be on the Fire Department and have seen several people lose it when this happens but they were happy just to have got out. I drove there 60 miles to assist them that night and spent quite a bit of time with them a couple days. Their insurance company was pretty good all the way from the start, they just had to take a lot of pictures. I believe the Red Cross helped them out quite a bit and the Knights of Columbus gave them a check for $1000, their were a lot of helping hands , some being just good neighbors. They have since bought a nice house with insurance money but they haven't much furniture yet.
I hope things work out well for them.