Hi guys,

I am CJardine's wife. He told me that he had set this thread up and I wanted to come check it out and give you all what little information I could since I have been dealing with it non-stop for about a week now.

On Monday Oct. 29th I woke up around 12:30pm because I couldn't breath and found my room filled with a light gray smoke. I got my housemates help to look for a fire and we saw smoke (dark gray) pouring out of outside vents from the attic and from the eves of the roof. I called 911 and when the fire department got there they found that there was a fire in the front wall of the house. Once they and broken into the wall from CJardine's and mine room (they tore down the ceiling and the wall) they finally put the fire out 5hrs after it started. We were let back into the house around 6pm and our room was a mess! We lost most of our clothing. (I have a few bags left that I am going to try and salvage) but Jasonchristopher was right about the damage to most of our stuff. We only have one box of mementos left and over half of our stuff was damaged by the smoke. The homeowners insurance doesn't or won't cover any of our stuff, which is frustrating.

I talked to the Fire Investigator on Thursday (or Friday, I can't remember) and he said that it started in the floor and moved up the wall (lower left corner of the photos above, a bit to the left of the window). It was in the wall just smoldering and moving up the wall into the patio over hang and then up into the wall to the left of the upstairs door and then on Monday morning it got into a section of the attic. He said the only reason I am still alive is that I slept with the window open. He asked if I had been sent to the hospital by the fire department and when I told him I hadn't said I needed to go get checked for CO poisoning. So that's what I am doing tomorrow. He said I should have been taken a week ago by AMR (the local paramedics) but they weren't even on the scene. The Red Crose who was there didn't even have me checked out...but I am still working with them for help with other things. They are going to help us out with a bed and bedding and possible the deposit and first months rent for a new apartment. They can help us for as much to a year after the fire.

Ok, so I know you are all dying to hear about the motorcycle. The garage was not touched by any smoke, fire, or water. I checked the bike when the let us back into the house and it was fine then and I have been taking care of it since, making sure nothing bumps or scratches it. I won't let anything happen to it because I want to be able to ride two-up with CJardine when he gets back.

For the most part I am doing ok...I am at least alive. I hope I answered your questions. If I missed any I am sorry, I have been spacy from all the CO I breathed in. If any of you have any more questions feel free to ask I will check back when I have some spare time to read through the posts and I will do my best to answer the questions I have the answers to.

Thank you all for the concern and well wishes it means a lot to both myself and CJardine!

 

Glad you're safe! That's always the most important thing.
As long as you're alive and un-harmed, you CAN recover.

As I mentioned earlier, if you have a paypal account,
there are folks that would be more than happy, to assist you in your time of need (myself included).

A little effort, can equal quite a lot (depending on how widely you cast your net. ;-)
If you have a hard time with accepting charity from others, just spread the karma
later, when you're more able.

Ern

 

Danielle,

Thanks for the update. Great to hear that you're ok. Def get checked out asap. Your health is paramount. On a related note, I've had friends that have had lead poisoning & didn't even know it til they had tests for unrelated issues. Now, they are trying to play catch-up to correct the issue as best as possible.

Yes, we like CJ's bike but that's not our focus now. We care about your health & well being. :-)

Again, so sorry that this happened to you guys. Glad you are getting some assistance from The Red Cross, etc. Don't be reticent about asking for help.

Best wishes.

 

MadHatter - I'm am overwhelmed by people's want to help out in so many ways. Its amazing how many people come forward in times like these. I will gather my paypal info tonight and post it up here so people if they want can offer help. Its hard sometimes to accept charity from others but it means the world to both CJ and myself. So thank you to everyone who wants and is willing to help!

Gotcbr - Thank you! I am definitely going to go get checked out. I can tell something isn't quite right and as you said I don't want it to get worse.

Thanks again for everything!

 

Man,
if i wasn't the other side of the pond I would be round to help. Reposted to keep this up and get it noticed.
Glad you are all ok.

 

First!!! who ever made it a sticky.. good on you.. i think thats awesome..

Danielle, before reading your husbands (cjardine) thread.. i've never interacted with him before.. and i'm very new to this community.. hopefully you have most of your pictures saved and the things that you cant replace.. i know from my experience that everything else in that house is pretty much lost, even this weeks accessment will be different by next week.. i garrentee it.. i'm really sorry.. but their just things, so just keep that in mind.."most" of its all replacable...what you need to do is make sure you def get yourself looked at!! i'm a builder by trade and believe me, the chemicles that were burning in that house while you were sleeping are very,very toxic.. wires/rubber/plastic/insulation and depending on the age of the house all kinds of stuff behind the walls that can be really really bad for your body/lungs.. i just cant stress that enough.. please dont blow it off, thinking your fine.. you could be!! but dont chance it because you have alot on your plate. and fires that start in the floor/walls are slow burners and take sometimes more than an hour to really get going. it all depends on how the house was insulated and fire blocked.
so about setting up a paypal account, can you also set-up a address for people who would like to just send a check/money order too..
there will be people like me who read the thread (like me) and want to help.. again a lot of those people (like me) who already donate to local fire/police yearly will read this and find out a military guy lost everything and def will feel compelled to jump into action.. theres alot of us out there, i dont know how many people are on this site but i know its at least in the thousands and hopefully just a small percentage us will ease your pain.. i wish you the best, making a new home for you and cjardine.. if we cant take care of our own, who will!!!!

and bugkiller: your goodguy.. if i read about a brit(solder) i would do the same.. these are the guys i march my three year old up to and tell him meet a real hero.. he doesnt really get it yet, but understands the uniform.. which i think is important..
jay..

 

Condolances on the loss of your posessions, I hope nothing lost was utterly irreplaceable.

The main thing is that you're alive and (hopefully) well. Getting any poisoning checked out should be top priority; best of luck with the tests. Your health is important! I bet your nerves are shot too. Make sure you set yourself some time aside each day to just chill out and unwind, don't let it all build up on top of you. Come on here and let off some steam if you need to

Money is cheap. Post up your paypal. I've always had the deepest respect for anyone who puts their life on the line to defend me/my way of life/crown/country. The fact that you're American and I'm British is a pure technicality it takes the same kind of person.

Best wishes.

 

What part of CA are you in? You guys have any little ones? I have some of my kids clothes that they've grown out of I can ship to you if needed. ( 4yr son & 1 yr daughter). Def post up a PayPal account. I live just outside phoenix but if you need a place to stay for a spell till hubby gets home, I have a room and garage space for the scooter. I can load up the truck and bring y'all here.

 

Hi everyone, so here is an update. Most of our stuff is now in a storage unit. All the stuff that smelled I threw out (at least I think I did). The bike is still at the house but will be out on Saturday when CJ is home to help me. I think i found a place for it but I am not sure. I am now at CJ's mom's house which is where I will be staying for a while. I am hoping to possibly find a place to rent for cheep but we will see.

I talked to CJ today and he says thank you for all the posts, well wishes, and all the people who want to help. He is really busy with the trainings the marine's are putting him through which is why he hasn't posted up here in the past couple of days.

Sorry I didn't get this paypal info to you yesterday it took a little bit to set it up. It is attached to an account that CJ and I share. Here is the paypal account and for those of you who don't know directions to sending money free for both parties.

Paypal: JardineDanielle@gmail.com
1. go to 'send money' tab
2. within the transfer box click the 'personal' tab
3. choose the 'other' opption (see pic)
4. Input the email and amount in the correct places and send

Sorry if this was over kill.

Fearless - Thank you for the offer! Its very tempting. But I am a horse trainer here in NorCal and I can't leave my job. No, no little ones yet.


Thank you to everyone in advance who gives us anything! and Thank you to those of you who have offered moral support! It is all greatly appreciated!