The Fire - Answering Some Questions

Dave's View as He Came Home

Mopping Up as the last, stubborn hotspots are put out.

  I wanted to put these pictures side by side but blogger is having none of it.

Part 1

I apologize for leaving another story hanging. I thought I was going to have regular access to a computer. That turned out not to be as easy to accomplish as I'd thought. The truth is when you have a fire like this, whether its uninsured like this one or not, life has changed in more ways than just that roof over head. I find myself thinking as I sort through this chaos that's now my life, that even an insured homeowner would be dealing with the daily issues I find before me.  Before I resume the story about the fire I want to address the questions folks must have since the fire.

First off, the Red Cross was on the scene as the fire fighters were still mopping up. They provided uss with a debit card loaded with a small allotment for food, clothing and gas and they put us up for 4 nights in a motel in Puyallup that allows pets. Thankfully, the Red Cross understands the important role animals play for us humans in coping with life's tough issues so Red Cross contracts only with facilities that let the animals come along. Hopefully, I will get to posting regularly enough to tell the stories of some of those adventures in the motel room since Delilah is after all my annual open house , I hope he's right. I hate to see what the rent by the month will be.

When it comes to showers, we have to punt. We do have people who have told us we can shower at their homes but after this much time we don't want to be taking advantage and are unsure where that line is. Sponge baths are becoming my friend. With hot water in the motor home now, the shower in it is available (once we clear out the clothes hamper, garbage can, dogs' water bowls and the clothing hung there) but the water goes cold about the time I think the temperature is right so I try hard to get my hair washed and hope for the best. The cold water sends my pain through the roof.

The first days people stopped in to see what we needed and the truth of the fact was and is we need pretty much everything. I was so overwhelmed I didn't even know what to say. It is as hard to answer that question now as it was then because the list is so extensive.

We did get loads of clothing but the sizes and assortment leave big holes in our wardrobes. Funny thing that word, wardrobe, seems way too highfalutin for the barn clothes we need most. Then it was cold when the fire struck, now it's hot. Dave and Lindsay made a trip to Goodwell over the weekend and couldn't find a thing that would work for any of us. We're digging through the clothing we've been given to find the coolest clothes we can that will still protect our arms and legs from the hay since we all seem to be allergic, not to mention how those ends can get under the skin as bad as any wood or glass sliver ever could.

We have had a couple of different parties who have done our laundry. There is no laundromat in Graham and I am still trying to locate the nearest to our location because I feel like I am taking advantage of these women's generosisty. Some things I can wash by hand but the sinks in a vehicle like this were never intended for such use. Dave's lost a lot of weight but even his trim size 34" jeans are too big for what I have available for washing.

I think I've covered the most obvious questions . If not, let me know in the comments and I'll try to cover things as I try and write this story of the effect of this fire of my family and my horses. Before I do that, there is one more thing I want to mention.

Because Dave allowed our homeowner's insurance to lapse, the mortgage company put what the industry refers to forced-placed insurance on our mobile home. I learned of this dilema a while ago, not long enough to have fixed it, unfortunately. Now that we are actually dealing with a loss insured by such coverage, I am learning far more than I ever wanted to know about the mortgage, mortgage servicing and forced-placed insurance industries. At this point I could do many blog posts on the subject but for now I will just say this. I always thought such insurance would at least replace the building that it supposedly covered but forced-placed insurance really doesn't cover a building, it covers a mortgage and only in the amount of the outstanding balance on that mortgage. In our situation where we are somewhere around 20 years into this mortgage, the amount of funds available to rebuild is far less than what it will cost to do so. The fundraising we are doing is falling way short of what we actually need

Even now, I am still trying to figure out what the next step is.....and just when I think I do have it figured out....something else changes.



Thank you to those who have donated to our go fund me account http://www.gofundme.com/rebuildingourhome or to the savings account at Chase Bank, South Hill Fred Meyer Branch by requesting the David Caillier rebuildingourhome account. The advantage of the account is they don't take out fees like Go Fund Me does. Either way, any and all donations are appreciated.