Talk about bad luck!!
 

I sent a birthday message to a friend of mine I've known for 65 years, since we were kids in elementary school. I hadn't heard from him in a long time. I wasn't concerned about it since he's always a busy guy. I was flabbergasted to get his answer after a few days. He lives in a rural area of the Owens Valley area of CA. The "Jeff" he refers to is his son who lives next door to him. Below.

"Hi, Marv, thanks for the birthday greeting. I’ve been out of touch since I lost my house to the Round Fire in early Feb. Jeff lost his, too. Nothing left at all, and I was away so could not salvage anything. Pretty tough for the first few weeks, since I had had a fire safe for my valuables, including my savings- I had been the victim of identity fraud a couple of years ago. I can tell you 100% Fire safes aren’t, no matter what you paid for one. In a real house fire, windstorm, such as we had, my safe left no remnant to be found. The garage and shop were lost, too. My new car melted and so did my motorcycle. Everything was a total loss, and it turns out that I am underinsured, since it was based on the collapse of ’08-’10. Taking some adjusting. I’m looking for a small travel trailer while Jeff and I rebuild. Of course this time, I won’t be doing the work myself- I’m too old and slow for that now. What I did not lose was the love of family and friends. Stuff is stuff. However, pictures, mementoes, letters, art work, computer and backup are all gone. Sigh."

P.S. The last time I saw him was a few years ago when he stopped by when being treated for prostate cancer at Loma Linda.

Man that sucks.

Important reminder why I review all my coverage yearly.

Just terrible.

The guy had some bad luck for sure. He made some very bad decisions and it caught him.

There simply is no valid reason at all to not trust a bank or credit union. The bank is responsible for the security of your funds and the Federal Government insures it.

There is simply nor valid reason to NOT have adequate insurance. If you don't you are self insured and take the risk on your own.

I feel sorry for the man. He is paying the full hard price for his ignorance and bad choices.

That sure is some bad luck. Best wishes to your friend and his son, Marv.

His savings were in his fire safe? That means, cash that got burned up?

I'm really sorry for him. That was a really terrible decision.

Yes, he did have bad luck, but there is truth in what Glen said. His good luck is that he's still alive at his age. Both of his parents were alcoholics and died in their early 50's of heart disease. He avoided that (according to doctors) by coaching cross country during his teaching career and running for years with his students. The primary arteries feeding his heart were totally clogged by his 50's, but the secondary ones had developed to take over the function so has lived close to a quarter of a century longer than his parents. He has led a life of drama with its up & downs.

Oh man. I love the Owens valley and have spent a lot of time in that exact area hunting deer and birds and fishing for trout. I am thinking about that valley for a retirement location. Really sorry to hear of your friends troubles. First I hear about this fire too - shows you how dry the state is in Feb!

Like others, I don't get how you'd have all your savings at home. I just hope it wasn't much to start with, otherwise it would have been good to have a safety deposit box or two.

I hope you can help him out with some labor or lending him tools / trailer etc.

G