# At least none of us were hurt.....



## jwstewar

Just thought I would give a quick blurb here and let you know what is going on. I received a call yesterday at work from my wife that said I needed to come home. I asked her why, she said our house was on fire. Upon getting home I find that it has destroyed everything and it is still burning. I keep my scense about me, the firemen had pull the meter box so I got the wires disconnected from the house so we could turn power back on to the garage. I then used the tractor to take stuff the firemen were retrieving from the house back to the garage. While they were taking stuff out, none of it is really "saved." It all has parts either melted/singed or whatever. I was able to grab a few pictures today, but I forgot the camera in the car and the hotel is full so we are parked around back, I will try to post them tomorrow sometime.

The fireman got a few of Keagan's toys and some shirts. They didn't get anything of Alexandrea's. We have been able to get to Monica and my closet yet. The only clothes we had were what we had put in the camper to go out last night.

I love the community we live in. We had probably 35 - 40 firefighters from three different townships w/ probably 8 or 10 firetrucks working to save our house all because they want to help their neighbor not because it is a job. We have had neighbor come and give us money that we've never met before. Churches have taken up donations and given it to us - even though we've never set foot in their door. 

The amazing thing that happened is, even though the fire started in the office by the computer. We were able to retrieve pictures in photo albums stored across the room. Last night I looked over at the front of our garage. There were probably 20 people sitting on the concrete in front our garage pulling pictures out of albums and drying them to try to keep them from getting ruined. They've estimated somewhere between 5 & 10k pictures they've save. So far I'm out of our digital pictures. I know they were on one hard drive, so I'm going to look into some data recovery companies to see how much they would charge to try to recover as the computer is laying in front of the house right now. Right now we are staying at the Hampton Inn. The adjuster is supposed to be there Monday. We'll see what happens then, but the house is a total loss.

We will rebuild, it will be bigger, better and strong. At least none of us were hurt or killed and no firefighters were injured in fighting the blaze.


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## NorthernRedneck

Man, that sucks!  Hope everything works out for you and your family.  It's times like these when everyone pulls together.  All the best to you and yours!


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## Snowcat Operations

How old are your children?  We have clothes and toys here we dont use anymore.  But our kids are young.  3 and 7.  I am sorry to hear this.  We had some friends loose a house.  Its a devastating lose.  Our prayers to you.


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## LarryRB

Terrible! Losing one's house is second to losing a child or spouse. Our heartfelt prayers for a quick recovery. Last week we were out your way in Ironton, Portsmouth, Chillicothe and Columbus, finishing soutwest of Cleveland..


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## Doc

What an ordeal.  Sorry to hear about this Jim.  For just a day later you sound like you have your wits about you.  I'm iimpressed.  Thank goodness no one was hurt.  I sure feel for you, Monica and the kids.  You all will be in my prayers.
PM me a list of things you need REAL bad.  I might be able to help.  
My wife and I have clothes we have moved from our main closet and eventually we take them to the Salvation Army.  If the sizes are close I'll get em to you guy.


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## Cowboyjg

We are sorry for your loss but are grateful that it was only material and not life. You and your family will be in our prayers. It sounds like you have a great group of neighbors and friends and I can see you are thankful for them. There should be more of that in this world. Post some info on how we can help. You may be working things out ok but maybe a gift to one of the local groups that have helped you would be in order.


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## thcri RIP

Wow,

A night mare I have a lot of losing everything.  I know insurance covers the majority but the pics other stuff can't be recovered.  Big thing here is your family is alive and well.  My prayers are with you and your family.  Great the community came together like they did.

murph


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## jwstewar

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support, while I've never met most of you. I feel like I know a lot of you from the years as we've moved through the forums together.

Snowcat, our daughter is 7 and wears a size 7. Our son is 6 and wears a size 6.

Doc, funny you should mention that I "appeared to be collected." There were a few people at the scene that asked Monica, "Does he get rattled by anything?" Once I got there, I had "taken control" a little bit. I worked on the electric so I could get power back to the garage. I started peaking through the house house looking to see what was OK, even though there were flames in the other part of the house.

I went down yesterday and pulled a few things from the kitchen. Though they really aren't usuable. Some of them just had special meaning to Monica. I also was able to put a new valve on the water line so I could turn the water back on to the garage. This will allow us to keep water going to the camper and have a hose for clean-up. It will also allow me to feed and water our dogs and rabbits.


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## Big Dog

Words can't describe how I feel just to say I'm glad nobody got hurt! Let us know what you need.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Oh my God Jim...........Thank goodness all of you and the firefighters are okay. Is there anything you need right now?


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## ddrane2115

Praise God above no one was hurt.  As for the losses, it tears me up to see a fire like this.  I dont know the feeling of this loss, but I have seen homes go up, many years ago.........My prayers are with you and your family.


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## BoneheadNW

Jim, first of all let me say how sorry I am for you and your loss.  I see these situations all the time and I marvel at how well people cope with the loss of their house.

I am assuming that your pets made it out safely.  That is always the toughest situation to deal with as a firefighter next to the rescue of a human family member.  While pets are considered "property" according to the lawyers, the rest of us don't see it that way.

Have they determined the cause of the fire?  You mentioned that it started in your office.  Which, if any, of your pictures would that be?  Lastly, in my district, our department has an emergency fund to cover hotel expenses for for the first several nights for people who have been displaced by fire.  That might be the case in your area too and it might be worth checking into.

Good luck and take care.  You are indeed fortunate to have so many neighbors who care.
Bonehead


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## jwstewar

Thanks Jerry and Danny.

I think we are OK for right now. I know we are going to have start looking for a place to stay. Right now we are at the Hampton Inn, if the insurance company is willing to rent a place, I'm going to see if they would be willing to let us spend that money on insulating and heating the garage and let us live there. I would rather do that and be on our property to "protect" it vs. paying rent for something that won't be of any benefit when we are done.


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## jwstewar

Bonehead (that sounds funny in a serious conversation),

That would be the bottom picture in the first column. I've also attached more. The bottom two in the picture are where our computer was sitting. The other desk is where the kids would use their laptops. Sitting beside of it is our new HP ColorLaser printer. Man, I really liked that printer.

The American Red Cross was here and offered to put us in a hotel. I told them our insurance would cover it, so I wouldn't accept it. I would rather they save their funding for someone that didn't have insurance to cover their immediate needs. I told them I wasn't to good to accept their help and I appreciated it, but I didn't want to accept it since I didn't have to.


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## BoneheadNW

Any word on the cause of the fire?  Could it have been a Cadet in-wall heater?  These things continue to cause problems years after they were recalled.

I also noticed that you have quite a bit of space around your house which I'm sure made attacking the fire easier.  Do you have hydrants in your area or did they have to bring water in by tanker?  How long did it take to extinguish?
Bone


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## Cityboy

I'm very glad you and your family are OK. Material things can be replaced for the most part, but a life cannot. Best wishes for you and your family as you rebuild.


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## jwstewar

Nope, no heaters like that. We are guessing somewhere around the computer (at least mine and the folks that were there) initial go over. I'm a computer geek so we had a bunch of stuff. I tried to spread the load out across multiple outlets/circuits. Everything was also at least double surge protected and the computer and monitor were on a UPS. The studs in the area are burnt more than they are anywhere else, as you know that means they burnt the longest. I took a picture of the breaker box, that is where the breakers are kicked as well. Along with one in the kitchen? 

As far as hydrants, nope. We have county water, but no hydrants. They can fill those trucks fast though. I guess they had asked about the pool and Monica told them to stick a hose in it and suck it dry. That is 15000 gallons. They probably could've suck it dry in 3 minutes flat, but they didn't.

The first calls came in around 2:30 PM. They had most of the heavy flames out by 4:00, but they continued fighting flare ups until around 6. I believe they left around 7:00 - 7:30 after picking up and helping us look for items.


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## XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Wow what a nightmare!  I'm sure glad everyone is OK!  

Let us know if you need any help.


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## jwstewar

Thanks everyone. Doc just sent me a PM and you guys all have me crying again. We really do appreciate it. I didn't post asking for help, just wanted to let you guys know why I probably wouldn't be checking in here or NTT as much for awhile.

Sizes

Keagan, he is 6 he wears size 6 and size 2 shoes.

Alexandrea is 7 and she wears size 7 and size 2 shoes.

Monica is a 10 and wears a 10 shoe.

I wear 36/30 jeans and 38/30 in Khaki/Docker type pants (that is what I wear to work) and an extra large in shirts and size 10 shoes.

As far as bank account goes. Co-workers have work have started a fund at the Grange Employee's Credit Union. Their info can be found here: http://www.GMECU.com. I would assume it is under my name Jim Stewart. My co-workers had the fund established before I had even made it home, what great friends we have there.

Mom is also working with a local bank to get a fund established, but will know more tomorrow. I'll post it when I find.

As for a physical address, I think Mom and Dad's house would probably be best as I would be afraid to send stuff to our address.

So I would send it to:

Again thanks everyone.


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## Doc

Thanks Jim.
Like I said in the PM I had requests for the info.  I'm glad you didn't mind posting it.  
How about PM'ing me your mail address so we can UPS or mail something to you.

I'm glad you listed the bank account.  Some mentioned a combined FF donation but then paypal gets a chunk.  I'd prefer all the funds go directly to you, and thanks to those who asked me about it.

If anyone else wants to mail something to Jim (jwstewar) PM me since he will not be online near as much for awhile.  

Best wishes Jim.  We'll help as best we can to get you and your family back in the saddle again.


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## Doc

Jim,
Another thought on your address.  We could make a .jpg file with your mailing address.  We could remove it later ....  search engines do not read .jpg's so you shouldn't get spammed if I post it that way.  Let me know if that's okay by you.


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## Melensdad

Jim, sorry to hear it.  Any clue what caused the fire?  Be thankful you were able to save some of your things, and mostly be thankful that nobody was hurt.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Jim,
I sent you a PM. When you get it, please call me. The kids need clothes now and I want to help.


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## Ice Queen

Thinking of you, is there anything I can do to help?


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## jwstewar

Jerry, I'll give you a call tomorrow and see if we can set something up for Tuesday or Wednesday (or whenever you can). I'm supposed to me the adjuster and the investigator tomorrow. I've also got an appointed to meet someone else for a donation. We are also going to "move" from the hotel room to Mom & Dad's house.

Bob, looks like it started around the computer, but nothing definate yet. My priorities were, were the 4 of us OK, yep. No firefighters got hurt while battling the blaze, and lastly could we get the pictures. With all of those accomplished we are good. Everything else is gravey.

Ice, right now we are OK. Once we find a house/apartment to rent it may be another story as it'll be we don't have.....

Thanks again everyone for your generosity, thoughts, and prayers.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Ok Jim, let me know when one of you can come up. We'll go shopping for the family


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Jim,
Unknown to me, Phyl has been burning up eBay all day. By the end of this coming week, there should be 8-10 outfits for Keagan coming and close to that for Alexandrea. She said she'll work on you two tomorrow.


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## BigAl RIP

Sorry to hear about this . Wish I lived a little closer ,I am pretty handy with a hammer .


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## bczoom

Jim,

I am so sorry to hear about your loss.
Your kids are a bit older/bigger than mine but let me see what I can do.

Brian


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Had limited phone contact with Jim today. He was in the process of plumbing in and wiring for hot water in the garage, so at least they can clean up while at the homestead. He already had a sink and water heater that had not been installed just yet. He'd already met with the Fire Marshal and was meeting the insurance guy next I think. He is in good spirits considering the circumstances. He and his family are coming into town Weds, so I'll meet up with them then.


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## Melensdad

OhioTC18 said:
			
		

> He and his family are coming into town Weds, so I'll meet up with them then.


Keep us informed.  I'm sure some of us would help if we knew what to do.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

B_Skurka said:


> Keep us informed.  I'm sure some of us would help if we knew what to do.



Bob,
Once they get somewhere stable, like an apartment or a rental house, I'm sure there will be things they will need to live "normally" until they can get back to their property again. It can't be much fun living at Mom and Dad's, except they seem like good people. 

There was not much of anything salvageable from their house. That is except for a bunch of pictures. They were thankful for that.
Between what my wife has already done and the shopping trip on Wednesday, along with an anonymous donor from here and NTT, the kids immediate clothing needs should be taken care of. 

I'll try to keep everyone here informed.


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## Deadly Sushi

Holy crap! Thats horrible. But like you said, at least everyone is alright. Please keep us up to speed on what happens. 
How much of the house was damaged??


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Deadly Sushi said:


> Holy crap! Thats horrible. But like you said, at least everyone is alright. Please keep us up to speed on what happens.
> How much of the house was damaged??



Sushi, it looks like it was totally destroyed according to the pics Jim posted.


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## JayC

Wow. I'm sorry for your loss but at least everyone was ok. I know it is hard to go through. Earlier this year at the end of June my sister and her husband's house caught fire. It was a total loss. What made it eery was listening to the scanner as the fire departments we dispatched. There were two full departments and a third for tanker support. An ambulance was on scene for standby and treatment of heat exhaustion. It was very hot and humid that day. Everything was a loss but they are currently building a better house. Her husband is a carpenter and they did a LOT of renovations to this house. They got it pretty cheap because it was a fixer-upper. It was practically completely remodeled. I've got photos of the fire, too, but I'm not gonna hijack your thread. It's tough to go through but things do get better.


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## jwstewar

Thanks everyone for you thoughts and prayers. It has been rough the last few days, but our family and friends (including the great people here at FF) and in our community have made getting through this possible.

I'm just so grateful that our family wasn't hurt or....... I'm also so grateful and thankful to what everyone has offered. You never hear about all of the good left in the world, but it is still there. You just have to search a little to find it.

I met with the adjuster yesterday (sorry for cutting you off Jerry - still haven't gotten that sink & water heater hooked up though). Looks like we are progressing. They have given us an advance to buy our necessities. We got here at Mom & Dads yesterday afternoon. Mom had one extra bed, Keagan and I are sleeping in it. The insurance said they would pay for an air mattress, so we got a really nice Simmons queen size one last night from Wal-Mart. Monica and Ally are sleeping on it.

As far as temporary housing goes, we are looking at the insurance company renting a trailer and setting it on our property. This will allow us to "keep an eye" on things let there as well as on the rebuilding process. Just spoke with the guy coordinating this. It will be a new or almost brand new trailer. It will come completely furnished including all beds, TVs, furniture, and linens. That should keep us pretty good until the house is finished.

Monica have been trying to do an inventory of items lost. I've made it through the office. She is in Ally's room.

After the adjuster left yesterday, we went into our bedroom and closet. Monica got a couple pair of jeans and found her wedding dress. It has a couple of burn marks in it, but for the most part intact, how I don't know because everything else around it was gone. Maybe when we had it preserved the cardboard box is somewhat fire resistant. The other thing that was neat. She had a Crystal Cross sitting on our dresser. It was out in the middle of the room (I won't say floor because you can't see the floor), we don't know how it got to where it was halfway across the room, but it wasn't hurt. Not even so much as a chip.


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## Snowcat Operations

Keep us posted.


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## buckle97

So sorry to hear about the loss of your house.  Keep up the good spirits!


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## Doc

So Jim, is there anything you really need that is not being taken care of?  PM me if you would rather not post an answer here.


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## jwstewar

Thanks Greg, I appreciate the offer. I think all of our current needs are being met. One of the great things about living close to your family is you can go back home. Mom has enjoyed being a "Mom" again. Mom and Dad are having a ball have us here with them, though certainly not under these circumstances. I had to tell the kids a few minutes to pick their toys so they didn't get stepped on as we have twice as many people and half the amount of space we had before so we are a little cozy. Sure beats the hotel room though.


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## Doc

Sure sounds like you are handling it all very well.  The kids will remember the loss for sure, but they will remember the good times about staying at Granma's.  You sure are making the best of a bad situation.  Your kids will learn a lot by seeing how you and your wife handle the whole ordeal.  I'm sure they'll remember and be very proud of their parents.


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## Snowcat Operations

DITTO.  Doc said it best.  God Bless.  Keep us posted.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

jwstewar said:


> I met with the adjuster yesterday (sorry for cutting you off Jerry - still haven't gotten that sink & water heater hooked up though). Looks like we are progressing.



That's quite alright Jim. Meeting with him was much more important. I'll see you tomorrow evening if everything's still a go. I'll probably have to meet up with you this weekend or early next week too.


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## jwstewar

We are still a go Jerry. Monica and I were just talking about our schedule for tomorrow. Might have to get me a day planner.

I forgot to mention a bit of good news that we've had. Monica has been looking for an office type job now for quite a while - probably almost 3 years. We met with a buddy of mine last night for some items him and his wife were giving us. His wife and Monica had met once before, but not ever really talked. They hit it off pretty well. She knows of a job (actually the job she held prior for 21 years - left to go to a job with benefits) that she thinks Monica would be a perfect fit for. Her former boss isn't happy with the lady that he hired to replace Vickie and he just called Vickie asking if she knew of anyone. Basically Vickie is going to call him back and tell him she found someone, but she needs a little bit of time. We are sitting here with fingers crossed hoping that will work out. Again, just amazing how things work out.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

That's great news right now Jim, especially if they can wait for Monica.


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## Pigtails

Jim,

So, sorry about your home..  Our prayers are with you and your family..


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## terbear1963

Sorry for your loss, but very glad to hear of the good things that may be coming out of this tradgy.


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## Galvatron

jim this as touched me in many ways....first the loss of your family home and the stress it involves dealing with it...as stated many times god bless no one was hurt.
secondly it brings back memory's of when this happened to my parents home many years ago when i was still a lad...i was about 12 at the time and it was a shocking experience.
i can remember as a child feeling unsafe for some time in our new home with the fear of the same happening again and it scared the life out of me...and i remember the pain my parents had to deal with trying to rebuild our lives and trying to put on a brave face at the same time.
i know im on the other side of the big pond (uk) but if there is anything you feel i could do to help feel free to ask.
will being praying your family get sorted sooner than later and keep an eye on the kids as they may be hiding some fears that they are scared of sharing.

all my best wishes.


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## DAP

Jim ... if its any consolation, I have also lived through what you went through though it was a loft in the middle of a large city.  Everything, litterally everything I owned was lost except for a pair of dungarees I was wearing after my escape.

Silver Linings:

1.  You and yours are now the very easiest people to holiday shop for.  Period.  And will continue to be so for a while.  

2. The odds of loss of life or severe property loss in a fire related incident have skyrocketed dramatically.  Probably can cross it of your list of worries permanently.

By far and away, the most difficult part was losing personal effects with no intrinsic value except for sentiment.  For instance, in my situation, all my baby photographs were lost. Images of me as a baby and youngster are basically lost for all time (with a couple of exceptions).  All my identification pieces were also lost.  For a number of months, I walked around feeling very much like a ghost.  Everything will return to normal in time though, I promise.

And tell Monica that it will be years before she completes the list of things lost.  To this day, some 10 years later, I will be some place and suddenly something will remind me (or it will simply fall into my head) of something that I no longer have because of that fateful evening.

I was actually asleep when the fire engulfed my loft, and am extraordinarily lucky to be typing this.  I did lose a pet - particularly horrible me thinks.

Enjoy all the new stuff!!!!!

Let this be also be a wakeup ... I would venture to guess that t least 75% of all homeowers or renters are *UNDERINSURED*.  I certainly was.  

....


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## jpr62902

Great post, DAP, and Jim, sorry that you have to go through this. Perhaps we can start another thread with suggestions to minimize the impact of such a calamity?


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## jwstewar

Thanks Doug. Those are some points I hadn't thought about  

Quick update. Met Jerry the other night. Just wanted to say thanks to Jerry and whomever else may have donated. We greatly appreciate it.

We had moved to Mom & Dad's for awhile. We got there Monday, but it was awful crowded. 7 (5 adults) of us in probably 900 SF house w/ lots of furniture was pretty crowded. Saturday night  my second cousin got married, while we were there one of my cousins offered to loan us his new Fifth Wheel Camper. Sunday we took him up on the offer. It is a 35 ft w/ floor slideouts. We have some room to move now. It is a 4 seasons camper so it has heated holding tanks and everything on it. It is really nice.

On a more permanent basis, we are still in talks with the insurance company to see what we can come up with there. We have also talked with a couple of builders. OK, we talked with one and the other 2 I left before talking to them after looking at their model homes.


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## LarryRB

down on hwy 23 in South Point was Jim Barna that have some nice home set ups and across the street from him they had two at least two story manufactured homes that looked good at least while we drove by last week


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## OhioTC18 RIP

jwstewar said:


> On a more permanent basis, we are still in talks with the insurance company to see what we can come up with there. We have also talked with a couple of builders. OK, we talked with one and the other 2 I left before talking to them after looking at their model homes.



Jim, any update lately?


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## jwstewar

Still waiting on the company to deliver the mobile home the insurance company is renting for us. It was supposed to be delivered last Thursday. They called me and said it was in a field and they had to get a dozer to pull it out. OK, fine. They finally told me it was on its way, but wouldn't be there until 11:00 on Friday. OK, fine. 1:00 Friday they tell me they bent the axle(s) pulling it out and they could tow it  I then started  because they told me the day before it was on its way. Anyway, they said it wouldn't be there until Monday. After arguing again with them about missing work, they were supposed to give me 1 1/2 hour lead time so I could get home. About 3:30 yesterday they call me. Not only did they bend the axle(s) they also broke the frame.  They couldn't bring us that trailer they would have to get us another one from somewhere else. This required the whole permit process to start over. It is now supposed to be there tomorrow. We'll see, I'm not holding my breath. I just want to know what the hell they hit with the trailer to do that much damage.

Monica and I are still working on our inventory. The kids' rooms are taking awhile because of all of the toys. Try to get prices on toys from a couple of years ago. You can't buy them anymore. The one that is really driving me nuts is Keagan's Geo Trax setup. He had tons of them, I can't remember what he had and I can't find a good list of them anywhere.

House wise, Monica and I are still up in the air on that one. She wants a house - which I like, but I'm trying to rein her in a bit on costs. So that is where some ....um.....dicussions....yeah, discussions are occurring.


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## Doc

Thanks Jerry for bumping this thread.
What a life changing event.   Thanks Jim for keeping us posted as you work and weave your way through all of this.  
Good luck with getting the mobile home set up this week.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

Doc said:


> Thanks Jerry for bumping this thread.
> What a life changing event.



Just trying to keep tabs on my friends down there. Must be getting a little cramped in that 30 some foot RV by now.


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## Galvatron

cheers for the update.....feel a little useless on the other side of the pond but i hope this can help....some links on geo trax with prices.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search.php?form_keyword=geo trax&mode=ink_kwfeed_8&skd=1

http://www.amazon.com/Geo-Trax-Rail-Road-System/dp/B000A7ZOWC

http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-toys-games-Geo-Trax-Train-set-W0QQAdIdZ26074636

http://www.allaboardtoys.com/geotrax/

the last link is most likely  the best....and dont forget to try ebay for some older replacement prices....hope this helps and if you need any running around online finding prices just post up the items and i will be happy to look for you.

chin up and good luck.


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## jwstewar

Quick update....

We've got the house trailer in place. We've been in it for a week now. It is amazing how much stuff we had accumulated in a period of about 3 weeks. Took awhile to move everything - mainly just clothes and some toys for the kids. Monica was so happy to get a washer and dryer.

Because of the rain we had trouble getting the trailer backed in. They had to pull it in. That made hooking it up a bit more difficult - everything had to be run farther than we had planned. While they were trying to back the trailer in the sunk down beside my culvert and crushed it sideways. I'm going to have to dig the end of it out and cut the end off now. A little bit of seat time on the NH.

The excavator came on Saturday and demoed the house. Only took him about an hour and a half. Keagan got to have fun, he rode in the excavator driver for about 15 minutes. He loved it. They hauled it away Tuesday and Wednesday. It was amazing how thick the footer was that it was sitting on. It was a good 8 - 10" thick. I was thinking it was only 4". He said it took him 6 semi truckloads to get everything hauled away - he was planning on 4. He also moved the deck for me. I had cut the 4 posts that I had put in the ground and put boards across the open ends of the deck. He then just picked it up and set it back by the pool. I'll have to do some work to it to clean it and maybe replace a few boards mainly to extend the legs. With a small addition to it to make it "wrap" around the pool, it should be a great deck for the pool. I had originally built it plenty strong with the joists 16" on center and cross bracing.

As far as a permanent house, we are still debating that one. Leaning toward one builder, but want to talk to a couple more before we make our decision. We are also still working on our inventory and getting prices for things. We spent about 2 hours the other day at Toy 'R' Us. It was a big help to walk up and down the aisles to remember what they had. It is amazing how much you forget - and it is amazing how much money we (and others) had spent on toys 

Life is starting to get back to "normal" - whatever that is.


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## Doc

Great Jim!   That sure sounds good.  
Thanks for the update.


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## OhioTC18 RIP

I kinda figured you were in by now, from what I saw in a few previous posts you have made either here or somewhere else. I'll bet Monica is glad things are getting to where she can get comfortable. Hell, all of you must be glad your at that stage. We got the card Jim and *you're welcome*. Just to let the FF anonymous donor know, Jim and Monica sent a wonderful Thank You card signed by all the family including the kids with a drawing from each on it.


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## Deadly Sushi

Im hoping that all is going well by you. I thought about you guys a few times in the last few days. Wish i could do something meaningful for you folks.


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## BoneheadNW

Jim, sounds like you and your family are on a good road to recovery.  I was actually thinking about you guys quite a bit yesterday.  We had a large house burn not too far from mine.  The family lost everything except possibly some small items in the garage.  I wish you and your family the best.
Bone


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## jwstewar

I posted this in the water heater thread, but thought I should post here as well. We have picked a builder and a home. We signed the contract on Saturday. Now that we have all of that, we can get going on the bank approval. We have the main check from the insurance, they still owe us the "depreciation money" but since we have a contract I have faxed that to them so that they should be getting that money out to us. We are still working on our inventory and prices. That is the biggest hurdle at this point. It is amazing how much time that takes up.


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## jwstewar

Just another quick update. We got approved for our loan. 2nd bank we went to. Haven't heard anything back from the first one, they were just moving to slow. Went to the second and we were approved in half an hour - ain't technology great. Hope to close the 1st week of December and the builder will start 3 days later (by law has to wait 72 hours). I think I'll start another thread in another subject about tearing the house down and the rebuilding process. I'll try to do that as soon as the air card that I'm using for Internet access is responding a little quicker.

Thanks everyone for the support and your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time.


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## Doc

Congrats Jim.  You are moving right along.  
I look forward to the construction pics.  Feel free to document the process here on FF if you like.


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## Jen's Jeep

Wow...glad you are all fine . Keep us updated


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## jwstewar

OK, just a quick update to go along with the official sidetracked House building tread. 

We closed the loan for the house Friday. We were supposed to have closed Thursday but the title company didn't everything completed in time. So we closed Friday morning. Unfortunately, we need to confirm the closing Thursday for the builder to start Tuesday as the sub had another job that he was going to be - if we let them know Thursday. Well, we couldn't. So we got bumped to Thursday this week, but it could've been as early as yesterday or as late as tomorrow. Well, they haven't showed up yet, I'm assuming because of the snow. I'm betting they won't be there until next week when the weather is supposed to be nicer (mid 50s and dry).

Anyway, back to our lovely trailer.  We knew it had some insulation missing underneath. It got cold last night . The line going where we knew insulation was missing didn't freeze, but the kids' bathroom did. Turns out there is a piece underneath missing according to the plumber big enough for him to fit into. Now the real kicker, since they have put the skirting around the trailer as required by state law, the plumber can't put any heat to the pipes to thaw them. This has obviously happened before as the plumber says the line has been cut out and replaced before. 

The housing company the insurance contracted through is really chewing the company that owns the trailer a new one. The lady from the trailer company called the plumber saying, I just got my butt ripped.  I guess the housing company threatened to break the lease, make them get the trailer out immediately and pay for us to be put in a hotel. It isn't what we want (we want to be at the property, but what ever). Telling them our expensive heat bills are rediculous because of the no skirting and now the water problem.

BTW, just to keep things entertaining, I had a deer commit suicide on the front my car yesterday morning on the way to work - only about 150 yards from the house. Unfortunately we only carried liability on the car because of its age and mileage (10 years/252k) so we will probably end up just totalling it. Oh well, keeps life interesting doesn't it?


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## Doc

Never a dull moment ehhh  Jim?  Is the car still drivable?  
Leaving water dripping very slowly usually will stop it from freezing.
At least the weather will be better next week for them breaking ground.  That will be exciting for sure.
Here's to a trouble free build.  Cheers!


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## jwstewar

> Never a dull moment ehhh Jim? Is the car still drivable?


 
It is, but only has one headlight and the other was misaligned in the process. There is also antifreeze coming from somewhere. Not sure where though. The radiator is bent, but not busted. I actually think the antifreeze is coming/came from the overflow tank but don't know for sure. I told Monica she could take the kids to and from school if she wanted, but I wasn't going to drive it to work. I'll probably drive it into my buddy's junk yard tomorrow. He has a 2000 w/ 70k that we might buy. He only had to put a fender and fix the door on it. It would make a pretty good work car for me to drive back and forth to work putting a bunch of miles on and getting hit all of the time - I'll make sure he de-magnetized the next one.

Just as a reference, the car has already had 3 front bumpers, 3 hoods, 2 deck lids, 5 windshields, 2 new front doors, 3 front fenders and 2 rear bumpers. Of course this doesn't include the repairs to the prevously mentioned items. We call it the world's most expensive Honda Accord. Between the lease, buying it out of the lease (at the same price Monica could've bought it new), and all of the repairs we figure it is about a 90k Honda Accord.


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## Doc

Holy Moly.  Sounds like you've taken out a whole clan of deer.  They must have a contract out on you.    

That is the most expensive Accord I've ever heard oF.    Better luck with whatever you get next.  I think the deer knew your old car, way to well.


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## bczoom

Sorry to hear things aren't going well.  Hang in there.


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