Disaster Strikes! – Are You Prepared? Most People Are Not!

This story is for anyone with insurance and what to do if you want to ensure that you get what you paid for. 

The Day That Changed Everything

We learned the hard way that we were woefully unprepared for a home disaster, despite thinking we were safe because we had insurance. The day our house caught fire and burned down changed everything. That day, we discovered that having insurance was just the beginning; the real challenge was proving what we had lost. It was and still is a journey into uncharted waters. 

The Fire

Our lives were irrevocably changed on Saturday, March 30th, before Easter. It was a beautiful Spring day and we were preparing for Easter and our daughter upcoming wedding. I am unsure when the fire started, but my wife, Mary, and I were out of the house. I was getting a haircut, and Mary was running errands. It was a typical day filled with routine activities, but quickly became a nightmare. 

When Mary returned home, she did not notice anything amiss and started making Easter eggs in the kitchen. Lucky, a passing neighbor, Ben, saw the flames overtaking the back deck of the house. He was kind and concerned enough to stop and look. He saw Mary's car in the driveway and could see her in the kitchen. Ben pulled into the driveway, banged on the door, found it unlocked, and rushed into the house to tell Mary she had to leave because the house was on fire. She wanted to race back into the house and retrieve money she'd been saving for our daughter's wedding, which was coming up on May 4th. Still, as she walked through the dining room with Ben, she could see the flames beginning to lick through the windows on the outside, and they were starting to bulge in. She quickly decided to leave, and Mary grabbed her purse and keys, and moved the car to the bottom of the hill, and called me. Later, Ben would be credited by the fire department for saving her life.

When Mary called me, her voice was filled with panic and urgency. "The house is on fire!" she exclaimed. I could hear the fear in her voice, and the fire in the backgound, my heart sank. She continued, "I'm safe, but you must come home right now." I could barely process her words but knew I had to get home quickly.

I rushed out to my car, my heart pounding, and as soon as I was on the highway. I could see the smoke billowing in the distance, and it got bigger and bigger when I arrived at Lake Quivira. The dark plume rising ominously into the sky made my heart beat even faster. When I finally arrived home, the fire department already was battling the blaze. Neighbors had gathered across the street, watching our home of 30 years burn down.

The next day, the first responding fire captain picked his mother up to bring her to Easter, and he saw us in the driveway in the morning. He stopped, came up, introduced himself, and said he was sorry they couldn't save the house. We learned that a couple of fire responders had suffered minor injuries—smoke inhalation and one firefighter twisted his ankle pretty badly and had to be taken to the emergency room. My wife and daughter agreed to visit each fire station and deliver a card of thanks, which they did.

Thank-you these Johnson County Fire Departments! Shawnee, Olathe and Lenexa 

During the fire, we were introduced to the Fire Battalion Commander, the Fire Inspector, and the police. Meeting the Fire Inspector was interesting. His questions were thorough, and it was clear that a detailed investigation would follow. All in all, we heard that our fire was a two-alarm fire involving three fire stations, 65 firefighters, and over 20 emergency vehicles, including ambulances. 

The First Step in Recovery

On the day of the fire, amidst the chaos and devastation, the first step to make is an urgent call to your insurance company, ours was and is Kansas Farm Bureau. I called our agent, Anthony, on his mobile phone and caught him while driving out of town with his family for Easter vacation. I told him I was my watching my house burn across the street from the neighbor's yard. First thing he asked was if everyone was okay—everyone's first question, which is nice. I told him yes, and he said he would pull over as soon as he could and start the claim within and get an adjuster assigned. And within hours and before nightfall we had an appointment for Monday morning to meet with the adjuster, Dustin at the house. This would be the first step to recovery - getting the insurance involved and that experience taught us how little we  actually knew about our insurance and how unprepared we were to work with the insurance company in such unforeseen circumstances.  

The Day After

We awoke in the comfort of our friend's house on Easter morning. We realized that we were homeless, with nothing more than the clothes on our backs and the items our friends had provided for the morning, including a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Our friends had left Easter Baskets outside the bedroom doors filled with mini-bar bottles and candy.  

I got up—not knowing what to do except drive to the house. At 7 AM, nobody was awake, so I took a shower, changed, and headed over to see what I would find. I walked around the house when I arrived, and embers were still burning on the hill. I found the watering can, filled it up, and emptied it to try and put out the embers, but it didn't work because the fire was deep into the wood. But there was nothing for it to catch onto because everything was burnt up. The main bedroom was gone entirely, wholly burnt, and collapsed onto the floor. The roof had fallen in, and the mattress was just a charred mess.

I just stared at the remains in shock. The only thing that did not burn was the garage, which included a man-cave area with computers, monitors, and a sectional rattan couch that I had restored.