Well, that was an experience. Let's not repeat it.

[Umael]

There was a fire in my home, about four hours ago as of this posting.

Everyone is okay, except my housemate who took it on herself to put it out. I am with her at the hospital where she is being treated for smoke inhalation, among other things. The fire was just in her room, mostly minor damage, but a lot of her clothing got burned.

Oh, it's about 5 'til 4 in the morning, Pacific Standard Time.

I don't think I'm going into work tomorrow.

:smallsigh:

[_Zoot_]

Glad you're all ok, do you know what started it yet?

And yeah, maybe a day off work is a good idea.

[arguskos]

What Zoot said. :smallfrown:

*hugs* Umael, god knows you need them.

[Adumbration]

Well, it's a good thing it didn't spread. Commend your housemate for her bravery! (Unless she was the one who started it, of course.)

[Shas aia Toriia]

Yeah, I agree with commending the housemate. Seems like they were pretty brave (if possibly stupid).

[Starscream]

Hope your housemate is alright, and that there wasn't too much damage.

[Lycan 01]

Glad to know ya'll are okay. Hopefully they're recove soon and successfully. Coulda been a lot worse... :smalleek:

Any idea what caused it? :smallconfused:

[Partof1]

Glad to hear the injuriess werte kept to a minimum.

Fires are scary, in fact, I had a thread here about a grassfire myself. Not fun.

[Umael]

Thanks, everyone.

As far as we can tell, one of the candles fell into a basket full of my housemate's clothing. And for the record, I was as much to blame as she was.

She (my housemate) still feels horrible, because she lost a LOT of her stuff, including most of her clothing. Her bedroom is unlivable until it gets cleaned up and repaired.

:smallsigh:

Basic fire safety, people. Never forget it, no matter how tired you get.

[Water-Smurf]

Jeeze. Were anything other than the actual room and clothes damaged? Anything irreplaceable for financial or emotional reasons?

[Umael]

Jeeze. Were anything other than the actual room and clothes damaged? Anything irreplaceable for financial or emotional reasons?

To make things easier, here's a list of damages as I know it:


The big thing is, of course, the (relative) feeling of safety and security that kinda went up in smoke. After that, the fact that my roommate is forced to be sleeping out on the couch for probably a few weeks is the next big issue.

There is a stench of smoke, weak within the house itself, stronger within the garage, and pungent in the office/bedroom itself. The cleaning service brought an air scrubber, and it is still working in the house itself (will be going for another day). Given that the house is starting to smell better than it did BEFORE the fire, I would call this a silver lining.

The cleaning service (which, I should add, is paid by the insurance company) is currently cleaning out the garage, separating things into damaged (clothing and the like - they absorbed the smell), totalled (boffer weapons, paper plates, etc.), and fine (garden tools - one wipe with a rag and it's okay). Since we wanted to clean the garage and never got around to it - another silver lining.

Structural damage was assessed at about $2600. Minus $500 deductible and $400 depreciation, we have a check for $1700. With that, we plan on getting the materials we need and hiring some friends to do the work for cheaper. Once we have the place looking all nice and new, the insurance company will cut another check for the depreciation amount ($400).

What we know is gone - just about every scrap of clothing to be found within that room. If it didn't burn, the smoke literally in the clothing makes it unsafe to even wear. Furniture - bed, box springs, dresser, table, bookshelf - all pretty much totalled. I think the brick and board bookcase is fine, but some of the books (a lot of old gaming books) are damaged, but will survive. The massage table is gone - not the smoke, but actually had a chunk of it melt away from fire directly. The deep freezer and everything in it - totalled. Carpet - ruined.

A lot of smaller things were damaged or destroyed. My daisho set - totalled (it was cheap, no worries), my bokken - damaged at least. My boomerang from Australia is okay, thankfully. Various shoes, cosmetic products - gone.

The biggest physical property loss from an emotional viewpoint are some photographs, particulary because they are of my roommate's daughters (whom she might never see again).

*sigh*

I'm pretty sure we'll come through okay. But in the meantime, it's kinda rough on everyone still, especially my roommate.