"Not So Good. The House Is On Fire"

It has been a few weeks since the fire and now I am finally able to talk about it.  There is so much to learn from having a major fire in a house you own.  When that property is a rental house there is even more.  I am thankful that my tenant and his young daughter were not home at the time of the fire but I am so sorry that their dog perished due to the smoke and heat from the fire.  

This will be the first in a series of several blogs to help others who have fires or other damage to their own home or a rental property.  Today is the story of the fire. 

I was driving home from my office when my tenant called.  I greeted him with my normal cheerful hello and how are you? His answer… “Not so good.  The house is on fire.”  My heart sank as he went on to say that the fire department was on the way but he could not get in to get his dog out.  I was still hoping the fire would not be so bad but his description started to bash that hope. 

I went home and pulled out my insurance policy on the house and headed for the house.  It was the longest half hour of my life driving there.  I got there as they were cleaning up and was immediately ushered into the Arson Van. “Oh my goodness, could someone actually believe this was arson?”  Luckly the investigator was great and after filling out forms and providing insurance and mortgage information I was able to go inside the house with the fire chief to see the damage. 

The fire department had done an excellent job of containing the fire but the damage was still extensive inside.  The fire had originated in or near the electrical panel and burnt that up completely.  The fire burned up through the floor into the living room and dining room.  The actual burn stopped there but the smoke and traffic through the rest of the house ended up being a total loss. 

There is nothing worse than the feeling you get when a major fire occurs in your house.  For weeks after I have experienced fear as I leave my own home and worry over other rental properties I have.  I will leave off today with a few pictures of the fire.  I future blogs I will discuss insurance, working with an adjuster, and other related lessons learned in my journey so far.  There is still a full rebuild to go through as well so stay tuned.