Exactly two years ago my neighbors townhouse was totalled by a fire. What happened? They had forgotten to turn off the valve to the outside water spigot. The spigot dripped on the gas meter which froze the escape valve. Gas backed up into the hot water heater and BOOM!
We had just arrived home from a Christmas party and my neighbor came running out to tell us to call the fire dept. She had left her cell phone in the house and was in her bathrobe and slippers. It was -7 below zero.
First came the police, evacuating all 6 of the town homes that were connected because of the gas leak, followed almost immediately by the Fire Dept. After 4 hours of sitting in our car we were allowed back into our home which had suffered extreme smoke damage.
My neighbor was taken cautiously into her home by a fireman with a flashlight to find items they would need to survive the night in a hotel. After finding items such as insurance documents, other important papers if accessible, computer; cell phones and chargers, a coat, shoes, purse, & wallet. The fireman was very specific about the things they would need, except she later joked that he forgot to tell her to remember a bra!
They next came into our smoke filled house and made the calls to their insurance company who gave them the name of a company that would come out and help pack up all their belongings. I gave them new toothbrushes as theirs were contaminated by the smoke (as were ours), and a bottle of wine to take with them to the hotel. They had to make their own arrangements after being advised by the insurance people what hotels they should contact. This was the beginning of a very, very, long process.
No one is ever prepared for a devastating fire. But if you can learn anything from this post here is what you need to have accessible, just in case: Insurance papers, banking information, important phone numbers to banks, credit companies, (if you live in an association you need your association insurance documents, contact numbers for your association management company.) My neighbor, fortunately, had all her documents in a steel box which she kept in a special place that was easy to locate in the smoke-filled darkness.
Keeping your documents in a portable steel box that you can grab in a moments notice will eliminate having to search through a filing cabinet in a burned out room (that is if everything in the room hasn't burned or gotten soaked by water.)
My next post will cover the most important decision you will make and what you must avoid.
We had just arrived home from a Christmas party and my neighbor came running out to tell us to call the fire dept. She had left her cell phone in the house and was in her bathrobe and slippers. It was -7 below zero.
First came the police, evacuating all 6 of the town homes that were connected because of the gas leak, followed almost immediately by the Fire Dept. After 4 hours of sitting in our car we were allowed back into our home which had suffered extreme smoke damage.
My neighbor was taken cautiously into her home by a fireman with a flashlight to find items they would need to survive the night in a hotel. After finding items such as insurance documents, other important papers if accessible, computer; cell phones and chargers, a coat, shoes, purse, & wallet. The fireman was very specific about the things they would need, except she later joked that he forgot to tell her to remember a bra!
They next came into our smoke filled house and made the calls to their insurance company who gave them the name of a company that would come out and help pack up all their belongings. I gave them new toothbrushes as theirs were contaminated by the smoke (as were ours), and a bottle of wine to take with them to the hotel. They had to make their own arrangements after being advised by the insurance people what hotels they should contact. This was the beginning of a very, very, long process.
No one is ever prepared for a devastating fire. But if you can learn anything from this post here is what you need to have accessible, just in case: Insurance papers, banking information, important phone numbers to banks, credit companies, (if you live in an association you need your association insurance documents, contact numbers for your association management company.) My neighbor, fortunately, had all her documents in a steel box which she kept in a special place that was easy to locate in the smoke-filled darkness.
Keeping your documents in a portable steel box that you can grab in a moments notice will eliminate having to search through a filing cabinet in a burned out room (that is if everything in the room hasn't burned or gotten soaked by water.)
My next post will cover the most important decision you will make and what you must avoid.
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