A few things to think about

[Beau Cassidy]

We all get concerned about fire or theft. Well it hit home 2 weeks ago when the inlaws lost everything but the shirts on their backs. Luckily the mother in law was home and was able to get the 2 cats out but the wind was too strong and was blowing the flames back into the house. The mother in law heard a snapping or popping noise in the basement and when she looked outside thinking the wind was blowing a garbage can around the side of the house was ablaze.

This isn't about sympathy but a primer about disaster planning. First off- this has changed my way of thinking. A LOT. I live in a rural community as do my inlaws. It took the volunteer fire department about 40 minutes to get there. I wasn't there but as best I could tell 4 departments responded. All had limited manpower. My father in law did not have a gun safe but in this case it would have done no good. It would have just been an expensive oven with the degree of devastation here. In the city with quick response time a good fireproof safe would possibly have saved some things.

Another thing we typically do is back up our computers (at least I do) on a hard drive we keep IN THE HOUSE! No more. I am trying to find a decent cloud service with automatic backup.

Belongings- Take pictures or video of them and put them on the cloud! We are going thru old pictures and christmas video to help identify things that were lost.

Scan important paperwork and put it on the cloud. The inlaws have a farm and they lost all of their financial and tax data- a devastating thing into itself.

Talk to your insurance agent and see where you stand in the event of total devastation! I already did that and am covered pretty good. It is little things like where are you going to live and who is paying for it. How long are they going to pay for temporary housing. Who is going to pay for- such in this case- damage to the septic lines where the fire trucks ran over them. The insurance company is balking at that one. The inlaws do not want to leave the property because they have a lot of cows and are concerned about theft so the insurance company is giving them a set amount for a trailer or camper- its not nearly enough....

Birth certificates, drivers licenses, etc all need to be scanned in and put on the cloud. My mother in law lost her purse and had to have everything like that replaced....

A family member losing everything affects EVERY OTHER FAMILY MEMBER IN SOME WAY! My wife lost her wedding dress...

Now for the carnage...

This is NOT what you want to see going up your driveway!

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG950317_zpstyh2ngb0.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG950317_zpstyh2ngb0.jpg.html)

All the important stuff like taxes and guns were in the room that has not yet burned...
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG950319_zps1ggfyiqt.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG950319_zps1ggfyiqt.jpg.html)

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG_0321_zpsgrsrifb4.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG_0321_zpsgrsrifb4.jpg.html)

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG950325_zps8xgyrcoz.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG950325_zps8xgyrcoz.jpg.html)

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG_0324_zpszwrsmh7h.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG_0324_zpszwrsmh7h.jpg.html)

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG950339_zpsmqaenqb4.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG950339_zpsmqaenqb4.jpg.html)

Nothing at all salvagable...
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/IMG950335_zpstjtfdmxw.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/IMG950335_zpstjtfdmxw.jpg.html)

[Don Purcell]

Beau, so very sorry for what happened. A person can hear the cliche' that no one got hurt which is true but it still hurts in the worst way. My sister-in-law and her husband lost their house a few years ago also. Please keep in touch with us here.

[MrWolf]

So sorry for the loss but thank you for the reminder to make backups for off site storage and to take pictures of valuables.

[bedbugbilly]

Beau - I am so sorry for the loss that was suffered. You make some excellent points that unfortunately, not a lot of people think about.

In 1956, my parents lost their entire business due to a fire - a total loss. They rebuilt but I can well remember watching it during the middle of the night. It made a great impression on me as I saw what my parents went through and it affected the entire family.

I was on a township fire department for close to twenty years. I saw many "losses" suffered by families and even if covered by insurance, it takes a toll. For those that didn't have insurance - it is devastating. I have also seen more than my share of fire deaths, both adults and children and I have sifted for "remains". Not only do those things impact a family, it impacts those who respond as well. The loss of pets also is something that haunts a person as they are "members of the family" as well.

In the 1980's, my wife and I suffered a fire loss when a commercial building that we own was torched by the tenant who wanted to get out of his lease . . . it didn't work but even after collecting evidence, we were not able to get a conviction for arson.

Around 2006 or so, my wife and I got a call int he middle of the night telling us that the apartment building where my wife's mother lived was on fire. The fire started below my mother-in-law's apartment and luckily, she got out. After the fire was out, I had a chance in daylight to go through her apartment and it was a miracle that she made it out alive. She lost everything she had at the age of 85. Fortunately, we were able to find an apartment for her and her renter's insurance paid for replacement of lost furniture, etc. When I went through he apartment with the Adjuster, he just shook his head and then said to not even bother trying to do an inventory for the claim as he was going to expedite it the next day, I had a check in had for the full amount of her coverage.

Too many times, people put off making a "plan of escape" from their home should fire occur - whether it be day or night. I would urge anyone who does not have smoke detectors in their homes to install them . . not next week, TODAY. Take photos or a video of the interior of your home, shop, outbids with the furnishings, equipment, etc. It will be a blessing if you should have a loss. AND, keep copies of them in another location!

Safes are not a "fool proof" protection. Safes are rated by "hours" - i.e. how many hours they will withstand heat before the items stored in them are damaged. If it is a three hour safe . . . don't believe it will be good for three hours. Location of the safe, intensity of the heat, etc. affect the condition of the contents regardless of the hour rating. I have seen safes with a high rating that were in a very intense fire opened up and nothing remained but "char".

And. in the end, the old cliche of "at least no one got t hurt" may not make it any easier to endure a loss, but believe me, it is a very true statement. Material things can be replaced . . . a human life cannot. Anyone who has ever worked in the fire service, rescue or first response can tell you that or who has ever worked on someone with extensive burns which resulted from a fire.

Beau - once again, I'm very sorry for your family's loss and thank you for making this post to help make others aware that this sort of thing can happen to anyone at any time. If it happens, a lot of heartache and stress can be eliminated if people would follow the suggestions you make.

[runfiverun]

wow, just wow, that's horrible.



I wonder why they even try to put fires out when they get to that level.
the clean up would be a lot easier if they let it go right down to every stick of anything flammable.

[rancher1913]

have they figured out what caused it?

[Bad Water Bill]

Looks like the fire that Lloyd Smale had in his reloading building several years ago

[Beau Cassidy]

The insurance company did not send out an investigator. They just wrote it off. We have a pretty good idea of what happened but that is another topic unto itself. The mother in law was able to get the 2 cats out. That was it. The house was paid for. It was insured but not for enough. I have already been to my insurance agent and gone over a LOT of things that you don't think about until this happens. Some things the insurance agent could not answer and would just say "they are in your policy" which I had him give me.

[Blackwater]

Wow! What a horrible loss! My sympathies to your inlaws, and thanks to you for a very pertinent reminder. I've never had that happen to me, but have friends who've dealt with it. I've also dealt with the aftermath for folks who were customers, and I think in every case, after the initial shock wears off, the thing they wind up missing that nobody seems to think of is their photos and photo albums. Now that we have "the cloud" to put stuff in, if you can save the most precious of those to it, that would be a great idea too. I have a number of Dad's old pics from China in the 30's that are irreplacable, pics of the Roosevelt that he served on, and so many, many other old family and personal photos that are precious to me, that it'd take some real time to get them all scanned so I could reprint facsimiles of them after a fire. But it'd sure beat losing them forever, wouldn't it? I can't think of much more devastating than a big house fire. There is absolutely NO good that comes from them, and no home is immune from them. The only somewhat beneficial thing that CAN come from them is when the observers see its effects and get themselves prepared for its possibility. And at times like those, you REALLY learn who your REAL friends are, too! That's something that often seems to be surprising when you find out the truth about people is not quite what you'd assumed it would be.

Edited to add: One last thing - in times like these, there's never enough money to replace all that was lost, and a good way to stretch out what's available is to shop the thrift stores, like the one my wife runs. They vary quite a bit, and some are run like a business, and get all they can out of donations. The one my wife runs typically sells good, name brand pants, for instance, for no more than $2, and shirts for the same. Not all that's donated is first quality, but they get an amazing amount of really good stuff. They have a requirement that each item has to be offered for sale for a certain # of days before the volunteers can buy it, but when that point is reached, she'd gotten me some very nice shirts in great condition for very little. She, like me, has a hard time resisting a really great deal. And they get glasses, plates, forks, and all sorts of household goods donated after people pass away and the family doesn't want or need the stuff. Their store has been growing so much in these times of so many being in stressful economic straits, that they recently had to move to a much bigger building. They're called CSM for "Christian Service Ministries, and it's amazing how many folks shop there that you might think would ordinarily shun such "low class" places. Tight money makes for MUCH broader sensibilities, and with a washing, the stuff there is awfully good stuff. They don't sell rags. Just a tip that might help out a little, at least, and stretch what they have to work with.

[leeggen]

Anyone with guns needs to check the insurance. Some require an extra rider to cover them. Not a good thing to findout after the fact. Sorry for the loss it will never be over cause it just keeps coming to mind.
CD

[mold maker]

A list of arms and pictures along with the NRA Ins is a step in the right direction.

[TenTea]

Bummer!
Hopes for a speedy recovery for your family's loss.
As far as guns and such go...I have not found a better rated and reviewed company than Collectibles Insurance.
Good rates too.
http://collectinsure.com/