House Update 6-19-10

As many of you already know, our house caught fire on Wednesday, June 16th.  Jeff, Hayden, and I were in Gulf Shores, Alabama on vacation with Jeff’s brother and his family and with our friends Matt, Amy, and Barrett.  We had just finished eating dinner when Jeff’s dad called him and gave him the bad news and tried to answer as many of our questions as he could.  Needless to say we were devastated.

Robin spotted smoke coming from our house when she was coming home from work.  She went down to our house to check it out and immediately called Mom and Dad.  Mom called 911 and Dad immediately went into firefighter mode.  He was a firefighter for 30 years.  Dad first pulled the Jetta and Jeff’s truck out and saved them.  We had driven the Tahoe to Alabama.  After he figured out where the fire was coming from, he and Robin started spraying water in the window in the garage.  The window was breaking due to heat when Dad got there.  He knew he needed to keep the air out as much as possible to minimize the actual fire.  Anyway, 7 or 8 firetrucks from three different volunteer fire departments, MANY hard working volunteers, family members, neighbors, and friends, and a few hours later, the fire and smoke was under control.  How do you ever repay these men and women that worked so hard to save our home? 

After we got the call, we drove back to the beach house and tried to patiently wait (Ha!) for updates from our family members about the items that could be saved and we both hoped for the best. The feeling of being so far away from home and feeling so helpless was the worst feeling you can imagine. Jeff called our insurance agent and got him working on a claim then we started making plans to get back home as soon as possible.

We booked a flight out of Mobile, Alabama that left at 6:10 am the next morning. We had to pack some bags, get Hayden’s stuff together and tried to get some sleep but it was a long drive to Mobile so we were back up at 3:00 am to leave.  Jeff’s brother and mom picked us up at DFW Airport and we made the dreaded drive home to look at the damage. When we arrived Jeff had a small break down and took some time to look around and collect himself. Once the initial shock was over we started working on our plan to get back on our feet.

The insurance adjuster and fire investigator both came over that afternoon and they started the process. The investigator did an outstanding job of digging through the mess, putting the pieces together, and finding what he believed to be the cause of the fire. He felt like the dryer in the garage may have had a faulty control panel. When that panel got hot and fell off the dryer it ignited some items that were on the floor of the garage.   Everything in our garage (washer, dryer, gun safe and all its contents,  important documents, furniture, refrigerator, deep freeze, tools, ETC.) is gone. From there the fire spread to the attic and burned everything we had in storage (teaching/work files and books, Christmas/Holiday decor, house decor,  Hayden's baby stuff, furniture, most all our memorabilia, family memoirs, and tons of other stuff).   Thankfully the actual fire didn’t get into the living area of the house.  Although, smoke and water damage in living area was extensive and ruined clothes, carpet, decorations, insulation, Hayden’s toys, bed, furniture, electronics, kitchen items and appliances, and just about everything else you can think of.

Jeff and I have spent the last two days sorting through our property, taking inventory and listing all of the damage. The insurance company has sent a company in to help us with this process.  There are a lot of long days ahead as we rebuild and start over but in the end we will be so much stronger for this.  Right now we are staying with my parents and haven’t made a decision as to where to live until this is done. We would like to thank everyone who has called and offered to help.  We can’t thank you enough for all the prayers and kind words you have expressed.

We are doing as good as possible.  Yes, it is hard.  It’s hard to think about only living there for less than 8 months after putting so much hard work, heart, and soul into building our home.  We have had a few breakdowns, but we are trying to just process it all and stay positive.  We feel so blessed we weren't hurt and are so thankful for what we do have. Luckily, Hayden brings so much sunshine and keeps a smile on our face! 

Here are some pictures of the damage…

The before…

The after…

The window blew out…

They cut holes in the roof to vent the smoke…Jeff always wanted skylights.

  The safe, washer, and dryer…

 

The culprit…

The attic…

What’s left of my teaching/asst. principal things…MAKES ME SICK!

My baby doll furniture I had growing up…MAKES ME SICK!

My Granny’s dishes…

My grandmother’s dishes…

What’s left of a quilt my mom had just given me…one square.

 

Back of the house…

 

North side of the house…

The inside of the house…

  

Last year’s birthday present…the before…

The after…

 

Everyone worked so hard that night and got almost everything out of our house hoping to minimize smoke and water damage.

Cracking (drilling, sawing, etc) open the safe…

So, so, so SAD!

 

Sickening!

My only gun in the pile…The Remington 700 25-06 mountain rifle with a Leupold scope Dad got me for my 16th birthday.  MAKES ME SICK!

Lesson to learn…if you have any prized possessions…get a fire proof safe…a GOOD one!  We said we were going to get one many times, but never did.  We will not ever make that mistake again!

On a much lighter note…we had a GREAT time on vacation!  More to come…