To ask for a hand hold. We lost our home.

[notgreatthanks]

We have had a house fire. We weren't there and are all ok. We have lost the majority of our belongings, we were visiting family so had a suitcase of clothes/toiletries . We are staying there until accommodation can be sorted in our home town. It was upstairs so some of down stairs may be salvageable although some has smoke damage but need to wait till it's been assessed . It's just unreal we have gone from having normal everyday lives to losing our home within a few hours. We are lucky to have family support and that we are all ok but all our stuff is gone (memories etc. we don't know if it will all be covered on insurance yet and there's stuff that's irreplaceable. Nothing anyone can do just want to share.

Oh bless you, that’s so awful

So sorry to hear that.

The same thing happened to us in March, a battery that was charging caught fire, and while the fire wasn't too serious, the smoke damage meant that everything was beyond repair.

Our insurance company has been amazing, making sure firstly that we had somewhere to live (hotel for a month, now in a rental) and arranging for the various trades to come in and fix everything. Everything has been cleaned and redecorated and no longer smells. We're going out today to tell the carpet fitters that their quote has been approved, and next week we're going to start ordering some beds, mattresses, etc.

Once that arrives we're going to move back in and start replacing everything else.

If you haven't already get in touch with your insurance and let them deal with it. And everyone has said the same thing to us - thank God everyone is safe. It's true and I'm grateful for that, and possessions can be replaced. It hurts that some things have been lost forever, but actually those were the things that we never really used, or even looked at.

I still feel anxious, but I know that when we do move back in it will be to a house which has been redecorated, with safer electrics (we're paying for that ourselves), with new furniture which is more appropriate for our kids ages and without a lot of the clutter that we had accumulated in the 10 years of being here.

Good that you're all safe. It must be devastating though. I'm sorry.

Sorry to hear that op. I am glad that you and your family are safe. 💐💐💐

One thing that we DIDN'T have to do was itemise what we lost - the company that cleared our house did that and the provided a spreadsheet for us to value everything. Doing the valuations was the most time consuming and difficult part of the process so far, but it also made us realise just how much unnecessary stuff we had.

Big hugs, I am so sorry.

So sorry.

I'm just glad you were not there and everyone is safe. Possessions can be replaced, people can't.

I'm so sorry

I am so sorry to hear this OP

I don't have any experience but I remember reading that for such large claims that it is worth hiring your own loss adjuster. x

What an awful shock and a terrible thing to happen.

It will take time to properly digest what has happened but for now focus on the fact you are all safe and you will get your home back.

You have a roof over your head for now and will be sorted with somewhere to stay longer term soon.

Things can be replaced. I know it's hard to loose sentimental items but, when it comes down to it, they are just items.

Hopefully, some of your belongings will be salvageable. Smoke stains can clean off.

Don't worry about any of that yet. Wait until your accommodation is sorted and let your insurance company do what they need to do. They will have done this many times before and will have procedures in place so can guide you through them.

The insurance should cover everything. Clothing and linen is usually covered less wear and tear. This happened to a friend. The hardest thing for her was remembering what they had, including loft contents, so start jotting stuff down as it comes to you and don't "finalise" your list too soon.
I'm sorry that this has happened to you.

So sorry OP, I know how devastating something like this, this happened to us, many years ago. Thank goodness you have insurance. The insurance company will sort it all out. The main thing is you and your family are safe, everything else can be replaced, the memories will always be, wherever you are. It will be ok.

I'm so sorry I wish I could think of something more helpful to say.

How awful. But thank God none of you were there. And nobody was hurt.

Everything else can be sorted and replaced eventually.

I'm sure you will feel in shock for a while so look after yourself and try to take time out from constant sorting things.

So sorry OP. This happened to my family when I was 10. It seemed like a big adventure but I'm sure it was awful for my parents. I remember my mum giving us the Argos catalogue and asking us to itemise all our toys for the insurance claim. And we never moved home, the house was sold, took ages to fix and we'd all moved on - we'd ended up living in a different area for schools and going back into our old lives made no sense.

I am quite sentimental and fret about what was lost - my mums wedding dress went for example. Some things can't be replaced.

But the most important thing is that you weren't there and you're all safe x

I had similar a few years ago (although we were in the house). It is awful and a real shock, your life is turned upside down in a few minutes. We were fortunate our insurance covered everything (ours was Saturday night and we had to wait til Monday for confirmation). The Red Cross fire support service were amazing in the early days explaining things, might be worth calling them. As pp said, don’t go back and try to clean, it could invalidate your insurance. They will sort through everything - send what can be cleaned off for cleaning and list what can’t be cleaned so you can put a valuation by it. We had a choice of like for like replacements of stuff or cash equivalent. We chose the latter (some stuff we didn’t want to replace). We were out of our house for 6 months while the repairs were done (given a rental house of our choice). Once it was all redecorated you’d never have known there had been a fire, it smelt lovely and fresh.

I feel for you. Hope your insurance gives you positive answers tomorrow.

So sad for you- happened to my colleague . But like her you are all safe and that’s huge.

I'm so sorry OP. I really hope your insurance covers everything. Our house was completely floodedon the ground floor and was had to move out while it was redone. We had a visit from a man from a specialist company, via insurance, to assess the works that needed to be done. He specialised in floods, fire and vehicles crashed into buildings and really knew his stuff. So hopefully you will get someone like him. He will write a report and then they put it out to tender to building firms who then come and do the work. We moved back a year later. I really feel for you. It's absolutely devastating.

And claim for absolutely everything you lost. Even tiny things as it all adds up when you have to replace it, and your premium will go up anyway so don't feel guilty.

Really good advice not to finalise your list too quickly. You will remember more things as time goes on. The insurance company should give you money for immediate essentials to keep you going.

So very sorry OP, sending you best wishes ,

@scorpio32 thank you for your post and sorry this happened to you. Insurance have started the process . Can I ask did they organise decorating etc and u chose or did they pay and you organise? And did you get a fixed sum for contents to buy everything ? Did you have to haggle? Thanks x

Was it in the news OP?

I’m so sorry to hear this OP. This happened to us when I was little although my DF had just cancelled the home insurance because the price had gone up and he was shopping around.
Have you had chance to find out if anything is salvageable? Our fire was because of the TV and strangely the family photos that were around the TV and of dead relatives survived.

This happened to my 87 year old mum a few weeks ago. She got out with her handbag! Insurers have been very helpful and are paying for a chartered surveyor to help her with the buildings claim. Finding companies with capacity to do the work is the issue at the moment. DH and I were able to enter the property wearing suitable PPE a few days later to retrieve anything salvageable and personal items that could be professionally cleaned e.g. jewellery that was in a locked security box. Luckily we have room to put her up for as long as necessary. However listing the contents is the trickiest but we will get there. My advice is to set up a spreadsheet room by room and think about everything that was in there. Then put a replacement value against it. Don’t forget things like the contents of a sewing basket and food cupboard items! Good luck you will find people very helpful.