Well, As some may know, I am away from my house and will be for some time. I got a phone call oh maybe 5 or 6 hours ago from my wife saying our house cought fire and that our living, dining and master bedroom are gone. Along with a hefty portion of our belongings. She is ok (thank god) and the bike is fine, just some water logging and hopefully it was covered like I asked. She is prety stressed and ie spent the time until know making phone calls to make sure the rest of our family can be there to help in my absence. Unfortunately, we do not have renters insurance, heres to another lesson learned the hard way. Im sure some of you out there have dealt with stuff like this and Im looking for any and all advice that can help with the recovery process or anything that we might have over looked.

Thanks in advance for any advice people can give.

 

What was the cause of the fire?
If its not your fault, the homeowner's insurance should cover most of your stuff. Take lots of pictures. Photos of burned/damaged belongings is better than nothing. Any photos you have with your stuff in the background can help too. Dig up receipts, if you have any.

Glad she is ok. If I/we can help in any way, let me/us know. Socal is nice this time of year, if a place to stay is needed.

 

CJ,

Sorry to hear about your loss and am relieved the missus is OK.

74demon, I don't think that is correct. I am a "landlord" on my house in Utah (Uncle Sam has me in Italy) and my insurance only covers the structure, not the contents. It is on the renter to purchase renter's insurance.

 

We are in California, things are different here. If its not the renters fault, they can sue for damages if the insurance company doesn't pick up the tab.

But I'm not an insurance agent...

 

do they know what caused the fire?? faulty wiring?? guy downstairs smoking a cigarette and fallen a sleep.. kids playing with matches... ive seen it all. im a contractor and the people who dont get stepped on are usually the ones who lawyer up.. but before you go that road, you should check and see if theres any advocacy groups around... especially lawyers you do pro bono work.. this way you try to recoupe some if your valubles without spending much but your time..
and just quriuos why are you nit home??? are you in the military??? if so , there are things they can do for you, for sure!!
anyway ill be thinking about this today, if anything comes to mind.. ill be sure check back in..reading your post bothered me, it sux losing everything.. i hope it all works out for you..
jay

 

yup, in the military and I live in a two story townhouse, we share one wall with neighbors and that's a fire wall other than that no body above or below us. The fire marshal has already stated that there is no way it could be our fault; so that leaves electrical, accidental and unknown. My wife is brushing up on her renters laws and we are talking with our landloards who is a couple not a corporation. We have to be out of the house by sunday, Was able to get leave and a ticket home for veterans day but thats the soonest I can come home so I called around the family and they are helping her pack whats left and rent a storage unit. Its hard waiting to find out what caused the fire and not being able to help more than just monetarily right now.

First story is our living room and second story is our bed /bathroom.

 

cjardine, im really sorry man... if i didnt live roughly 3000 miles away, i would have been able to offer some hands on help.. i had a feeling you military... and your probably feeling really frustated you cant just go do what you need to to do, which is: go take care of your wife and belonings... everything in that house is going to be pretty close to ruined if not by fire/smoke def from water satuaration... does your wife have a place to stay??? i know up were i am, the red cross will help out families with more than just shelter and cloths.. i wanted to mention that yesterday and usually they show up at alot of these fires again at least where im from ...the military should really allow you to go home for at least a couple of weeks or tottally assume the responcability of relocating your wife..

 

Wow! So very sorry to hear this CJ. Been away for a few days or would have def responded sooner.

Def glad to hear that your wife is ok.

Please don't hesitate to email me.

 

Would this count towards an emergency leave? Have you checked with the unit
chaplian or your CO? The Red Cross is a valuable resource, as well.
Contact them for family support on the moving, temp-housing or re-location.

Thank goodness the most important was spared, your family.

Facebook can be a useful tool, as well. If you can raise local support for
an injured animal, surely it can be weilded to assist you.
Do you have a paypal account? You can use it to set up a fund.
Or have a friend do so, on your family's behalf.
I'd throw a Jefferson your way.

Good luck, Ern

 

id like to try to keep this one on top for a bit... just for the exposure.
i'm with urn on this one.. id like to help as well..
but i think more people need to read this!!! i hate to see it get buried by other threads... wish it could be a temp sticky or built into something that can help this man and his family and he's looking for advice from people who have been there before.. it will be hard if its at the bottom of the pile...
jay