Stay safe and keep your insurance and records up to date. 2 2

[Garf]

I really don't know where best to start other than to say the most important thing first.

We had a really bad house fire recently. Everyone got out safe, and over the 48hrs that followed directly afterward we eventually managed to find all of our pets who had also escaped. We had all the usual things in place just in case like smoke alarms, fire extinguisher, large escape window upstairs, but I can honestly say that I never thought that this would actually happen to us. We tried to fight it back for a short while, I think most people would, but it quickly became obvious the only sensible thing to do was to get out.

If you are reading this please take a moment to think about what fire safety precautions you have in your home and if there is anything you can improve. Even if you generally have things in hand it doesn't hurt to review, especially when a lot of countries are experiencing unprecedented heatwaves. Have a quick search online, the advice is out there and your local fire dept./brigade's website usually has a lot of good tips. It goes without saying that it is also just as important to be aware of your surroundings when staying away from home too.

It was scary how fast things happened, and it could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

Seeing as this is a place for collectors I should mention the other bit. There were some pockets of the ground floor which survived along with quite a lot of my art collection. My comics are all gone. I think I will miss the ones that I pulled off of the racks when I was a kid, and some of the dedicated stuff the most. Upstairs was completely gutted and unrecognisable. The comics and books in the loft were fairly densely packed and smouldered under the roof tiles which had fallen in when things started to collapse.

Anything that wasn't particularly well shielded from water or smoke downstairs didn't fare well as it took around 12 hours to get it all under control. What was left eventually reignited in the hot weather for round two. There wasn't much that we got out beyond the clothes we were wearing and what happened to already be out on the washing line.

Definitely a reminder for you all to keep your records and insurance up to date. I really wish that I had recently recorded a video tour of the house, that would be really useful right about now. That and also that some of my art portfolios and framed art was better shielded from water.

We have insurance and will rebuild. It is going to be a long road (9 - 12 months) but hopefully one that is not too uncomfortable. The conversations here about insurance and spreadsheets have certainly helped me to be in a better position now than I was before I joined these boards. I am trying to keep my chin up and take each day as it comes.

J.

[Fischb1]

This is terrifying on many levels. I'm glad you and all your loved ones got out safe. The rest is mostly just money. Thanks for the wakeup call!

[AnkurJ]

I’m so glad you and your family are safe. As collectors this is the thing of nightmares. If we can help in any way, please don’t hesitate.

[Randall Dowling]

That's really tough but I'm glad you guys got out in one piece.  Things < People.

[grapeape]

All of your preventative suggestions are appreciated. I am truly sorry you guys went through this.

☀️ the good news is you all are safe and unharmed. That’s a happy ending.

Please give us updates when you can. I’m hoping you have a roof over your head for family including pets.Please keep your chin up. I know losing those comics and some art plus all the 🏡 damage is painful. You guys are in my prayers for a complete recovery. That’s for mind, body and spirit. Hang tough.

🍇 🦍 

 

[Nate Hartz]

This is one of my biggest fears. I check things constantly like fire/smoke alarms. I am glad that you and your family are safe including your furry ones. Things can be replaced.

[fmaz]

Terrifying.  So glad you and your loved ones are safe and sound, but so sorry for the nightmare ahead of rebuilding and dealing with losses financial and things that cannot be replaced. 

Huge thanks to you for, in your moment of crisis, having a thought “hey, I should share this with my fellow collectors in case my loss can help them learn and prevent future such happenings.”  Takes a really special kind of selflessness to do that. 

[Garf]

Thanks for the kind words. It's heart warming to see that sharing this might have a positive effect, I do worry that (especially when it comes to sharing pictures) it might cause anxiety for some.

We have been lucky enough to have a wonderful community around us where we live which has helped get through the first week and beyond, and my employer has been very understanding. I couldn't ask for more. We are at the stage now where we have a long term let to move into at the end of the week and thankfully it is just a couple of streets away from our home. None of our routines will have to change, which is a huge relief. When you go through something like this it is all consuming for quite some time. I find it amusing when I look at how much we have achieved to progress out situation (i.e. dealing with the fire service, fire investigators, doctor, insurer, local council, mortgage lender, structural engineer, pets, kids & school, accommodation, replying to so many messages, etc) and then remember that I don't currently own a pair of shoes, still just wearing the sandals I ran out in. Keep saying I will sort that one out tomorrow .

Just want to say it one more time... I never thought this would actually happen to us. I'm just glad that we were cautious anyway.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Garf

[alxjhnsn]

On 7/24/2022 at 10:07 PM, Garf said:

I really don't know where best to start other than to say the most important thing first.

We had a really bad house fire recently. Everyone got out safe, and over the 48hrs that followed directly afterward we eventually managed to find all of our pets who had also escaped.

I am so sorry for your loss. Just awful. But those statements are the most important and I'm very happy for to hear this part.

Disasters are a major cause of the loss of OA and Comics. Chuck Rozanski, Mile High Comics, makes that point pretty often in his newsletter. I tend to agree.

[Pete Marino]

Glad you and yours are OK Garf.

Wishing you well, what a horrible thing to deal with!

[JadeGiant]

Wow, I am very happy to hear that everyone (including pets) are safe and unharmed. That is a huge relief! 

[nshzkaj]

Oh man, I can't even imagine how tough it must have been going through a house fire. It's a relief that everyone got out safely, including your pets. It's crazy how quickly things can escalate, and sometimes fighting the fire isn't the best option. I totally get the frustration of not having certain items protected from water and smoke damage. Keeping records and insurance up to date is so important, as you mentioned. By the way, I stumbled upon some helpful information about insurance and recovery at ibgportland.com that really gave me some useful information about how to protect myself in similar situations.

Edited June 9, 2023 by nshzkaj

[Garf]

I was hoping to post an update by now about progress, maybe even some art on the walls. It has been 11 months to the day since the fire, and unfortunately I can't. It turns out that even though I have really great cover in financial terms that there are other things behind the scenes which are a bit messed up. We aren't uncomfortable in our situation. Our alternate accommodation is paid for, really nice, convenient... but frustratingly life is still mostly "on hold" and may continue to be that way for quite some time.

We should be a lot further along with things, however they have barely started the repairs on my home. In 11 months there have been less than half a dozen part days of actual repairs.

As far as I can work out several years back my insurer used to resell. They were ultimately underwritten by whichever of the market leaders were most competitive on their back end system. However, I assume to grow that arm of the business, they then took it all in house. They are still, after many years, woefully immature with their processes. Literally to the point where they are often blatantly breaching the guidelines set out in the UK by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), in both the general conduct of business and insurance conduct of business sourcebooks. By the looks of things also struggling with retaining staff and trying to re-structure, it's funny how information leaks when people run out of excuses.

Policy said 5 star on the can, opened the can and it was full of worms. It's going to be a hassle but we will complain, and if there is a deadlock then we will take it to the FSO and beyond if necessary. Then hopefully the people after us won't have to go through similar, but I am not holding my breath for them.

If I had to give you all one example to illustrate the overall level of incompetence that we have seen then it would be one that doesn't even impact us. The insurer didn't even attempt subrogation. They knew what caused the fire, they were even stood next to it with me pointing at it. They didn't ask if it was new, and they didn't take it away to investigate to see if they could recoup from the manufacturer. They just chucked it in a skip/roll-off dumpster. The one that really hurt us though was that they did the same with our surviving possessions on the ground floor, indiscriminately and without authorisation. We just stopped by one day and it was all gone. There is a lot more to this, and a lot of emotional baggage, but this isn't the place to dump it all.

Everyone's situation when things go wrong is going to be different, but it is always going to be easier to pick stuff apart with your hindsight goggles on. At least we all have that in common.

When I took out my policy it was mostly governed by my collecting habits and general levels of cover. I should have been more diligent when checking their reviews. Maybe I should have sought out some personal recommendations instead. Seems like 4.3/5 or similar on a lot of review sites for a company with £1B in revenue just doesn't tell the whole story. The main body of those reviews might be because they had a decade (or more) of being backed by others. Those recent 1/5 reviews seem a lot more believable now, even though they appear on paper to be in the minority.

If you ever find yourself in a similarly life changing situation and have the means to temporarily remove yourself from it then I would personally recommend doing just that. It wasn't until 9 months had passed that we managed to get away on holiday. At which point we found ourselves again. For a whole week we weren't in survival mode any more, and everything was a lot clearer on our return. Things that might seem obvious or common sense can remain hidden when you are in the middle of a crisis.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Garf