FIRE! day 19

BOY howdy did we ever start construction. Attic is sealed and the wall is sheetrocked, my ceiling might have even been painted. WOW at this rate I might be back in my house by the end of next week!

FIRE! day 18

Got the contractor figured out, and now we start construction today...I hope. We figured out the money thing and it will be good when its done.

FIRE! day 16

LOTS of issues with the check thing. So this check is to pay for my construction loss...minus my dedcutible. That makes sense to me, except I have a bid from a contractor for 10,000 that was supposedly approved by my insurance. WHAT! yes that is what I said, so i did what I do, i analyzed it and did the numbers on what I got vs what bid I had. Took out the differences like the carpet was on the bid but is being handled seperately and the bid included something that the insurance had for got and attic sealer. So I took those out and got a 2100 dollar difference. I looked at it and from what I can tell the contractor is trying to hit us with 2100 dollars that are pure profit on his part....hmm thats the way to run a business. We are trying to get it figured out and not letting them work while we do...so longer wait on the house...

FIRE! Day 15

ok so we got a check in the mail on saturday and some paper work on friday...but it doesnt make sense. They are from the insurance company and I am not quite sure what they are for...the check barely covers the electrical part of the repair maybe its the insurance company trying to settle...I have to call my adjuster first thing this morning before construction starts...lots of fun...hopefully we should be back in the house in a matter of days.

FIRE! Day 12

we got all our bids in yesterday and they all came in under what insurance would pay for...yeah. That is a relief. We are waiting on the floors to dry so the contractor can come in and fix the wall. we are also waiting on us....to finish filling out the contents sheets. Man what a hassle going through most of your stuff to see what needs to be replaced and what needs to be fixed and what is fine. GIANT hassle but we should be ok in the end nothing that was precious was lost, sure some limited edition, not made any more , porcelin dolls of my wifes were smoke damaged beyond repair, and our custom made couchs were destroyed...but we still have everyone and heck we still even have pictures and memories. So hassle or not we are good, tired and ready to get back to my bed and my shower. but good none the less.

FIRE! day 11

Cleaning crew took everything...it was like we were robbed. It was extra weird. They are cleaning it and bringing it back. They are still waiting on the floors to dry out completely. We got a bid on our fridge..it was a lot to fix it and he wasnt sure that it would be safe afterwards. So we are going to talk to the claims guy after we hear about the computer. Still waiting on the bid from the contractor.

FIRE! day 10

Missed a few days because nothing was going on.. now we have emptied the attic, lots of smoke smell. we have had dish come out and now we know for sure that jacksons tv and dvd player and v smile dont work. We have gone through most of our contents to see what we need to replace. Electricans are done, not major damage but some things were replaced. We have had fans all weekend in the house to dry out the hardwood floors. I think it worked out ok, there is some bowing in the floor panels but not a lot so I am going to ask that they be left alone. I have to have some one look at my fridge today. I am hoping the guy that will fix the walls and stuff is there today to start on that stuff so we can get back in the house....we will see.

FIRE! day 4

Not much done yesterday, was able to get the electrician to start but not finish. I was able to deposit the check we were given for expenses, with no hold from the blank. We got the info from the maker of the couches and we got green tagged for our meter. Now we are wating on Oncor to re hook up the meter, we are waiting on service master to save my hardwood floors(please) and the electrician to finish up what they are doing. We were able to get dish to put our account on hold and we can cancel our internet for the time being and not have any issues with it, water will charge us either way if we cancel we get a fee and they take our deposit, if we leave it on there is a minimum charge. So the water is staying on..for sure. talked to a contractor from HBI about restoration of the house ( basically getting it liveable again) he is working up a bid for us. Need to talk to the claims guy about lots of things.

FIRE! day 5

carpet was ripped up and the cleaning crew did lots yesterday. Oncor turned the power back on and my electrician wasnt able to make it, they should be at the house first thing this morning. I am going to take a picture for our records and memories. We should get power back in the house today and start assessing contents today. I am hoping that we can save everything but I know that something is gone at least.

FIRE! Day 3

LOTS of good yesterday, was told by service master that my smoke damage wasnt extensive just three rooms. Insurance Guy was awesome really helpful and super encourageing. Today is the day of the electrical inspection. If no other damage was caused then I am good just about getting someone in to fix the fire damaged area and we are golden. If I have other issues (I am pretty sure I do) then we may be out of the house for months. So today tells a tale.

FIRE! Day 2

We have stayed at all three parents houses so far, We hope the insurance guy tomorrow will help us out we will see. Now its just the waiting game. So today is the last day of this life tommorrow starts a new one.

FIRE!! DAY 1

Ok we had a small fire at our house yesterday. First off we are good everyone is safe and the damage is minimal inside the house. Now let me tell you how it happened.

4:00am 10/09/09
The power goes out and wakes me up. I notice a light in my daughters room that is brighter than normal and a smell then I notice a weird sound coming from the fridge. Then it trips a breaker and I try to go to sleep. I get up an hour later to start to get ready for work and watch TV. I turn the breakers back on and go to work.

10:00am 10/09/09
Hali calls me at work. She has tripped a breaker. She says that she was vacuuming and it just tripped. She also says that she smells something but isn't sure what it is.

11:45am 10/09/09 Hali calls she is telling me that the fridge is not working, the light is on but its not cold. I tell her to call the Home Shield insurance we have(best buy ever!). I call my dad to give him the situation and he suggests calling Oncor to get them out to see what the deal is, we call them and they are going to send someone.

3:45pm 10/09/09
My grandmother calls from my house and says none of the TVs work and she smells something. I call my Father to see if he is anywhere near the house so he can check it out since he is an electrician. He is unable to make it but has a guy in the area and will send him our way.

4:00pm 10/09/09
I call my grandmother back and let her know that one of dad's guys is on the way to tell him to call me when he gets there, I also talk to Hali she is out of her parent/teacher conference and tell her the same thing.

4:05pm 10/09/09
Hali calls me and tells me she just walked in the house and its smokey. I tell her to get the kids and the dogs out and in the car and to walk through and see if she can see where the smoke is coming from and suggested that she look in the attic. She says that she does not see anything.

4:07pm 10/09/09
I am on the phone with my Friend the Firefighter and he is telling me what she needs to look for, Hali beeps in and tells me that smoke is billowing out of the attic and the fire department is on the way. I needless to say freak out and call my boss tell him I am leaving and that my house is on fire, I try to explain when I will be back and all of that and he has to tell me four times to go.

4:22pm 10/09/09
I did not hit anyone or run any one off the road on my way home. I get to the house and have to go inside to unlock my back door. I see the damage in my living room wall and think wow is that it? I am then told by My dads guy that the house is getting electricity but is cut off at the meter. I know little about electricity compared to my dad but I know that this scenario does not make sense. So he and I go through explanations and come up with nothing. I find Hali and she has the kids at a neighbors and the baby with my grandma and she is with her dad in the driveway. When we figure it out is seems obvious, the neutral from the street (the power pole) has come loose and is laying on the hot wire at the pole, this sent elcetricity up the ground wire. The ground wire runs through your house to and for everything, its a safety measure so if your house is struck by lighting it will run down the ground and out with out any damage. My dad told me that he has seen that happen many times and has never seen it result in fire or electrifying a house before. My Local firefighters were kind enough to let me see through their infrared camera to look at the hot spots, before we figured it out every piece of metal on my house was glowing in this camera. Oncor got out there and fixed the issue and we were able to get in the house. We were lucky we found it when we did, it burned the casing off of a Coax cable in the wall that caught the insulation and wood in the wall on fire all in one stud space. It could have been much worse as far as damage goes, the smell is bad but nothing was burned by the fire. All my appliances might be done for but we can replace that stuff.

9:45am 10/10/09
Sitting here now typing this I know how blessed we are and how much worse it could have been. One of my best friends' house burned to the ground several years ago and I helped her pick up the pieces. Fire can be devastating, we are inconvenienced for a few weeks at the least and a few months at the most, now its the waiting game. Waiting on insurance adjusters and contractors and everything else. I am grateful and thankful that its just what it is, repairable. Its funny that morning we went over the fire drill with JB for school.