My House Caught Fire; Seeking tips for what to do (not do) and watch for now

[Robert Coats]

Accidentally left a candle burning after heading out with the wife for dinner 2.5 hours. Opened door to house on return and heavy black smoke began pouring out. Wife called 911, while I quickly found a small pile of embers right where the candle was in the den, and doused it with bottled water. Okay, fire out, 3/4 pets survived (lost one elderly cat that we were pet-sitting for my daughter ). Killed power to house. Fire Chief/Supervisor on site told me I was lucky it caught fire but burned out, never spreading more than 6 feet from the candle. Nearly anything plastic within 10-12 feet melted. Worst, the entire upstairs, every possible location, is covered in a thick layer of soot.

Scene of The Disaster

The Chief said to take a zillion photos of every square inch. Start building a list of charred/melted/damaged items along with MSRP or receipt. This is also what my ins. co. wants from me to keep the claim moving forward.

Here's what the PPOT Brain Trust™ can do: I'd like to hear from others who've gone through the post-burn process, specifically, lessons learned, "I'd do this different if I could", and how to get maximum from my insurance company. Anything you can suggest/contribute is welcome. Help me brainstorm and I.D. some key 'must do' items.

P.S. The good news is our fully-finished and unscathed basement can easily function as a 1,200 sq-ft apartment. Full bath, kitchen (no stove) full-size fridge. I think the master bedroom bed upstairs could be cleaned and moved downstairs. This would work best for the wife's wheelchair, dogs back in 'their' backyard, etc.

[A930Rocket]

Wow! I have no idea, but I’m glad you and your wife are safe.

Take care and good luck.

[pete3799]

Wow.....i can't believe the whole house didn't go up.
Sorry i can't give you any advice but hope you recover from this quickly.
Wishing you well.

[KNS]

Thank goodness you're alright!

I'm sorry I don't have any advice except a note to pass on to others - Never leave a burning candle unattended!! I had a coworker who lost her entire house because they left a candle burning.

[masraum]

I think bivenator had a much, much worse fire years ago. I'm not sure if anyone else has.

[vash]

Sorry for the troubles. And the poor cat.

The other pets; were they looked at by a vet? Must have been scary

And the candle. Was it a canister candle? The kind in a jar or just a wax freestanding candle? Just curious.

Hood clean-up and repairs go smoothly for you.

[unclebilly]

I can’t help the op with his question but the entire house didn’t go up because it was oxygen starved. If you left you left a window open, it would have been gone. The thick black smoke when you opened the door was the clue.

There are some fascinating videos we watch as part of our firefighter training on this.

[Seahawk]

I'm sure you have been hitting the interwebs for professional help (I was surprised at the number of post fire remediation outfits) so all I have to offer is my condolences.

All the best.

[id10t]

Think it depends on what type of insurance you have and the actual policy. Friend lost everything to a fire 30 years ago. When he bought, he got the "I don't care, the insurance covers it" expensive as all heck policy. He got burned out again ~10 years ago.

Computers and fish tanks have fixed values unless you can provide receipts. He made out great on the 486s and early pentiums sitting around, almost lost $2k on a media center PC/NAS box he had just set up a few weeks prior but he had receipts. He made out great on some old saltwater tanks he was using to condition water for his office tank, lost a lot on his 8' freshwater planted tank.

He also had an issue with his meds - the fire got about 30% of the house (started in attic) but the soot and spray everywhere had all of his pain meds, heart meds, etc. covered in nasties, and the fire crew recommended that he not take any of 'em. Went thru some heck w/ his insurance, doctor and the DEA ....

Smoke smell everywhere, soot everywhere, water damage everywhere. Ended up tearing down the house and doing a 100% rebuild. But then, as I said, he had *very* good insurance.

[Scott Douglas]

That is scary as heck!
I bet you would have lost the house if there'd been a window open upstairs which would have created a chimney effect. Sounds like it got snuffed out because it couldn't breathe.
Glad you're OK and have a place to 'live' that is compatible with your wife's requirements.

[dad911]

Not sure I'd want to stay there. Smoke remediation can be intensive.

It will be interesting to see what the insurance company will do. I know a few cases with water damage in which the insurance company immediately sent in their own crews to remove drywall and carpeting to prevent mold.

[Bill Douglas]

GF had the same thing in a rental. Young female tenant lit a candle on the table under the curtains then left the room.

Just a warning you may not like to hear... It turned out to be the most major PITA. A year later all's well but there is different carpet of course, the window is a bit different, the list goes on. AND the tenant just left. Because of the tenancy laws in this country she can't be chased down by the insurance company to pay for anything.

It was interesting. The fire inspector was there in no time at all to smell/look for meth lab or accelerants.

[pwd72s]

We had an oil furnace malfunction & catch fire maybe a decade ago. Never forget driving home from the Barber shop, realizing the fire trucks were at my place! Luckily, Cindy was home...figured out the smoke was blowing in from the heat vents, turned off the furnace, then Moved the Mustang over to the neighbor's driveway across the road.

Luckily, only smoke damage. Our State Farm agent couldn't have been better...new furnace, gas this time...agent sent the clean up crew, even offered to buy us firewood until a new furnace could be installed.

Fireman said more than once..."Tell your wife she did the right thing." This after he said he needed a 1/4" nut driver to pull the furnace panel..my rollaway was right there...didn't take me long to hand him one. Looking in the furnace, he said it again.

Other than smoke damage...none. Repaint, new drapes & curtains were about it. Yes,
we were VERY lucky!

Robert, here's hoping your insurance agent is as good as ours was...and very glad to hear you're okay. Sorry about the kitty....

Not just candles..never leave any open flame unattended. Obviously, you already know that...it's too easy to just forget.

[Robert Coats]

Originally Posted by vash

The other pets; were they looked at by a vet? Must have been scary

And the candle. Was it a canister candle? The kind in a jar or just a wax freestanding candle?

The two dogs were outside in the backyard the entire time, so no issues. Cat #2 was in the sealed-off basement, and while spooked, never even got a whiff of smoke.

The candle was a simple glass jar type, single wick, probably a bit less than a quart in total capacity. It was new, with less than 5 hours of burn time since purchased last week. I have no clue how it could have 'jumped' from the glass to the sofa, which was clearly where the core of the fire was found.

[pwd72s]

Cat could have caused it's own demise? Cats love knocking objects off tables...

[vash]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

The two dogs were outside in the backyard the entire time, so no issues. Cat #2 was in the sealed-off basement, and while spooked, never even got a whiff of smoke.

The candle was a simple glass jar type, single wick, probably a bit less than a quart in total capacity. It was new, with less than 5 hours of burn time since purchased last week. I have no clue how it could have 'jumped' from the glass to the sofa, which was clearly where the core of the fire was found.

thanks. I've left jar fill candles on many times. sucks this happened to you, and I am gonna be more careful. damn.

[Zeke]

You asked for advice. You are on the right track with receipts, etc. Anything that has enhanced value should be noted. Like if the sofa had just been reupholstered or cleaned, and you have that reciept, that will help. Needs to be very recent to make much of a difference.

Ins co's like to prorate things. if you had old dirty $100 per sq yd wool carpet, you'll get a cleaning at best with as little replacement done with a standard grade carpet.

Unless......

you bicth a lot and a lot more. And keep turning in receipts. All your clothes are done that need dry cleaning. Oh, they may pay for a cleaning but you won't be happy. Some washable clothes might make it through. Same with soft goods like curtains and lamps shades. I hope you didn't have lot of silk shades. They are now junk.

The rest of it should go fairly smoothly. The painters that work in the restoration business get a flat rate so they will hurry through the job. If you're the kind of guy that doesn't want to see door hinges painted, too bad.

Prolong settlement as long as possible. You need to get moved back in so when that ceiling fixture still is full of soot, you have some wiggle room. The smoke goes everywhere.

I know, I worked a few of these jobs at the beginning of my career. It was so bad that I went over to painting low end tenements instead. There I had to deal with cock roaches, cigarette and cooking smoke plus just general filth and it was better work.

On fire jobs I had to go into the attic and spray white shellac all over to kill the smell. Horrible work.

[h.wong]

interview and hire a Public Adjuster in your area...!

They will take all the headaches away...and know how to handle your
claim with your insurance co. and get all ...what your deserve out of
this fire damages!

Good luck!

[crb07]

I had a fire years ago. Fire was limited to one room. Furniture and a few Persian carpets were pushed to the center of the room while it was being painted. A halogen light bulb exploded and sent glass around the room and lit various items on fire. (no more halogen bulbs in my house, the temp of the gas in the bulb when on is like over 1,000 degrees).
Anyway, insurance company was great. They insisted on repainting the entire inside of the house. No visible smoke damage in most of the house but they used a sealer/primer that ensures you will not smell smoke residue later. They used special cleaners on everything and it was amazing how much residue there was that you don't see. All clothes and curtains were dry cleaned. End result was good and we were lucky.

[flatbutt]

Somewhat tangential but who has receipts for all of the stuff they own?