Fire?!?!

orangesprinkles13

So Sunday night our neighbors apartment caught on fire. It's totally burned. The fire came through the attic and burned our upstairs (a townhouse) anyway our room and my 3year old daughters room is completely gone along with all the baby things (they were going to share a room). I was wondering if anyone knew any tips or tricks for getting the smoke smell out of certain things. Everything downstairs is pretty much ruined from water damage. Except a few my daughters elsa bear from build a bear but it's super smelly. Also a few electronics that don't seem to have gotten wet. Like my husbands ps4 there are a few other things just wondering if there is any ways to clean things.

HT3zfam

Oh my goodness, how awful!  Glad you all weren't hurt though!  I don't have any advice, but I hope that you get plenty of assistance with the rebuild, and can salvage some things. 

 

orangesprinkles13

Yeah I'm just glad we're all okay as well! Thank you. Unfortunately we didn't have renters insurance. So we're kind of on our own. My daughters birthday is tomorrow and we were suppose to take her to build a bear to get clothes for her new bear.... I was gonna try and wash it in a net bag thing.

AshleyS512

Oh no! I don't have any experience but sending positive thoughts your way. Hope your insurance is able to get restoration crews out to you quickly.

cesquer

I am so glad you are ok but it's frustrating you have to deal with this so close to baby's arrival! Sending t&ps your way.

DragonflyDreaming

I'm so sorry this happened. I'm glad that you are all doing ok,and it sounds like everyone is safe.

Is there any chance that your neighbors insurance would cover it?

massiejs09

This is so awful and scary. Glad that you and your family are okay. Do you rent from a person or a management company? What about the home where the fire started? You might talk to them about what their policy covers (if they have one). If its a management company that rents to everyone, I would get in touch with them to see if anything can be done. If you rent from an individual, their homeowners policy would only cover damage to the property itself, but unfortunately, not your stuff that was damaged.

jap618

I don't have any experience but I'm glad you guys are ok & I'm sorry you're dealing with this.  How scary!  I would start with calling your insurance company to see what they will help you with and if they can give you any guidance.  Best of luck!

CoozieInMyPurse

I would definitely contact a fire restoration company, even though you are not insured. It doesn't hurt to get advice and a price quote. Good luck and I'm glad you and your family are okay!

stepherly

I'm so sorry to hear about your home. I don't have any advice, but am glad everyone is ok.

colleen4019

I'm so sorry! I'm glad to hear you're okay.

I don't know if if applies to this situation but my parents use a bowl of red wine vinegar to help with smoke smells from their wood stove. They leave out a small dish and it absorbs the smoke smell. I don't know if there is a way to use it for clothes & household stuff. Good luck!

Boycrazymommy

CoozieInMyPurse said:

I would definitely contact a fire restoration company, even though you are not insured. It doesn't hurt to get advice and a price quote. Good luck and I'm glad you and your family are okay!

I agree with this. Some professional guidance seems needed. You may find out that paying for professional restoration/cleaning is less expensive than replacing all of your belongings. I am so sorry to hear about your disaster and am hoping for the best for you! I hope all of us here on M15, both homeowners and renters, heed this warning and look into the details of our insurance coverage. With growing families, it's so important to protect ourselves.

colleen4019

Also- reach out to a local Elks/Lyons/Rotary club. They typically have funds to help local families with emergencies like this.

MalVough

Not sure where you are located, but the Red Cross helps with providing a ton of resources. I would reach out to them.

Glad your family is safe!

marthah05

I would call your insurance company, they may cover the replacement of all of these items. More likely than not these things are damaged beyond repair, because the smoke smell be gone, but chemicals that were given off during the fire may stay in the items. Good Luck!

genmccarley

I'm so sorry you're going through that! We had a house fire about 4 years ago & there was 1 room left standing- the stuff that was in there we just left because the firefighter warned us we'd probably never be able to remove the smell. I remember even getting the smell out of my hair after walking through what was left though was ridiculously hard!
I would try to soak the bear in hot water, maybe some dawn dish soap and vinegar? Good luck! I really hope you can salvage it!

Bluebell0315

T&P for you! I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this!

scrappypom

orangesprinkles13 said:

So Sunday night our neighbors apartment caught on fire. It's totally burned. The fire came through the attic and burned our upstairs (a townhouse) anyway our room and my 3year old daughters room is completely gone along with all the baby things (they were going to share a room). I was wondering if anyone knew any tips or tricks for getting the smoke smell out of certain things. Everything downstairs is pretty much ruined from water damage. Except a few my daughters elsa bear from build a bear but it's super smelly. Also a few electronics that don't seem to have gotten wet. Like my husbands ps4 there are a few other things just wondering if there is any ways to clean things.

That's awful!! I'm an insurance agent, fyi. It is nearly impossible to get the smell out, and even if you did, there would be tiny smoke/ash particles for baby to breathe in! It all needs to be ozoned. It's a fancy machine the disaster restoration companies have that breaks down smoke particles. So it will get rid of the smell, and the stuff that well give baby repository problems. Make a claim.

jarrard1983

This is horrible. Glad everyone is OK. I'm sure washing it in a net bag on delicate would work fine. Maybe try trying it with dryer balls to keep the stuffing fluffed up

scrappypom

massiejs09 said:

This is so awful and scary. Glad that you and your family are okay. Do you rent from a person or a management company? What about the home where the fire started? You might talk to them about what their policy covers (if they have one). If its a management company that rents to everyone, I would get in touch with them to see if anything can be done. If you rent from an individual, their homeowners policy would only cover damage to the property itself, but unfortunately, not your stuff that was damaged.

-------
@massiejs09‌ , the person who caused the for could have insurance, but normally their liability is used up in structural damage. Honestly, they only place to get coverage is usually your own policy, even if it's your neighbor's fault. Note for others- you can get a bare bones renters policy for $10/ month. Do it!!

@orangesprinkles13‌ , I'm so sorry this happened. You may want to contact a local restoration company and have them take a look. They will usually assess the damage for free. Then they can tell you what the highest priority stuff is, like ozoning. At least then you know what you are looking at.

kella0708

Glad you and your family are safe! I second what PP have said - contact your home owners insurance they should have options for a professional service to come in and clean.

lawsonellis

I am so very sorry! I'm glad you all weren't hurt, but it's still really devastating to have that happen! (My mom's apt caught fire when I was in college and she lost a bunch too).

I was the HOA President for my group of townhomes for a couple of years, and according to *most* association bylaws, if you have a shared wall and/or roof, and the neighboring unit catches fire, the owner of the fire unit should be responsible for your losses with their insurance. If they did not have fire insurance (which most HOAs will REQUIRE for shared structures) then the HOA itself should be responsible.

I'd definitely contact the owner of your unit, have them contact their HOA or Mgmt Company and give you a number where you can file a claim for the value of your losses. And add up EVERYTHING. Count the clothes, bears, furniture, curtains,...everything. Babies can't mess around with smoke inhalation. 

Good luck with this, and again, I'm so sorry!

FrecklesInside

So sorry this happened I'm glad everyone is ok.

jack12trip

I'm so sorry this happened to you and your family. don't have any advice but certainly hope you get some assistance in getting everything cleaned up.

071115

Oh no that's terrible. Sorry no advice. But I hope someone can help you.

BitsyBelle84

I don't have any advice, but I'm glad you and your family are okay and am so very sorry this happened.

scrappypom

lawsonellis said:

I am so very sorry! I'm glad you all weren't hurt, but it's still really devastating to have that happen! (My mom's apt caught fire when I was in college and she lost a bunch too).

I was the HOA President for my group of townhomes for a couple of years, and according to *most* association bylaws, if you have a shared wall and/or roof, and the neighboring unit catches fire, the owner of the fire unit should be responsible for your losses with their insurance. If they did not have fire insurance (which most HOAs will REQUIRE for shared structures) then the HOA itself should be responsible.

I'd definitely contact the owner of your unit, have them contact their HOA or Mgmt Company and give you a number where you can file a claim for the value of your losses. And add up EVERYTHING. Count the clothes, bears, furniture, curtains,...everything. Babies can't mess around with smoke inhalation. 

Good luck with this, and again, I'm so sorry!

---------------

Insurance agent here.

It would be great if there was any coverage through the HOA, but I think it's incredibly unlikely. The HOA covers the shared structures, not anyone's belongings. And the liability from that policy would not kick in because they did not cause the damage. The only way I could see any coverage coming from that is if it was caused by faulty wiring and the HOA happened to cover the wiring (usually the master policy with the HOA won't cover anything from studs in).

Also, the liability insurance from the person who caused the fire (IF they have coverage) will get used up to pay for the structural damage. The HOA's insurance company will use up the liability to pay for the damage to the building itself before you have a chance at it. Most people carry 100-300k of liability. That will be gone in a hurry.

Not trying to be negative, and certainly look into it, but without a renters policy there almost no chance any other policies will kick in. Just don't want OP to get her hopes up.

dreyes4

Im soo soory for what happend. Im glad that you guys are ok.

lawsonellis

scrappypom said:

I am so very sorry! I'm glad you all weren't hurt, but it's still really devastating to have that happen! (My mom's apt caught fire when I was in college and she lost a bunch too).

I was the HOA President for my group of townhomes for a couple of years, and according to *most* association bylaws, if you have a shared wall and/or roof, and the neighboring unit catches fire, the owner of the fire unit should be responsible for your losses with their insurance. If they did not have fire insurance (which most HOAs will REQUIRE for shared structures) then the HOA itself should be responsible.

I'd definitely contact the owner of your unit, have them contact their HOA or Mgmt Company and give you a number where you can file a claim for the value of your losses. And add up EVERYTHING. Count the clothes, bears, furniture, curtains,...everything. Babies can't mess around with smoke inhalation. 

Good luck with this, and again, I'm so sorry!

--------------- Insurance agent here. It would be great if there was any coverage through the HOA, but I think it's incredibly unlikely. The HOA covers the shared structures, not anyone's belongings. And the liability from that policy would not kick in because they did not cause the damage. The only way I could see any coverage coming from that is if it was caused by faulty wiring and the HOA happened to cover the wiring (usually the master policy with the HOA won't cover anything from studs in). Also, the liability insurance from the person who caused the fire (IF they have coverage) will get used up to pay for the structural damage. The HOA's insurance company will use up the liability to pay for the damage to the building itself before you have a chance at it. Most people carry 100-300k of liability. That will be gone in a hurry. Not trying to be negative, and certainly look into it, but without a renters policy there almost no chance any other policies will kick in. Just don't want OP to get her hopes up.

It could've just been our by-laws that were incredibly generous :P I think we covered up to a certain amt of property damage, property including items inside, BUT we were a very small community, not managed by an outside company, and because we had a large amt of shared space, I want to say our policy was more robust than others. (Doesn't hurt that a member of the board owns a large insurance firm :P)

I definitely know nothing of the insurance aspect of it, though.  I agree in that I don't want to inflate hopes for OP. I just hope it all goes well!!!

Sugarplum0217

I'm glad all of you alright! See what you can do to talk to your neighbor's insurance and see if there's anything left after the structural damage. Also check with the owner's homeowners insurance. I'm assuming you'll have to move so I wish you all the best.

I would really look into renters insurance if you are renting. We pay less than $15 a month for coverage, if anything gets damaged or stolen or destroyed. We have usaa now but Allstate has some of the best rates and coverage.

rm2013

OP I'm so sorry this happened, but so happy you all are safe. I definitely would agree with PPs to call your local Red Cross, your church if you have one, and at least getting a quote from a fire remediation company.

As a total long shot , I'd try to see if any of your credit cards have some type of loss/damage coverage - if so the items that you bought in the last year or so on those cards could be covered and possibly replaced/reimbursed. You'd be surprised what you may be able to get.

happybabe123

I don't have any advice but I'm sorry you are dealing with this! Glad to hear you all are safe. Hope it works out.

I also reiterate getting this handled trough insurance as much as possible.

ashleyrh661

So so sorry this happened!! Glad your family is safe!

thursday

I am so sorry that this happened to your family. So happy everyone is ok. Like pp said you can try to call a salvage company to come in. I would definitely contact the insurance company not sure you can get smoke out of the baby's things.

Amoreenamarlin

So sorry! A few years ago my house burnt down completely, but the situation was slightly different because it was a freestanding house that I owned rather than rented. We didn't realize at the time how under-insured we were for the entire house and had to hire an insurance adjuster, who helped tremendously. The main thing, as everyone has mentioned, is that you all are safe, but it is still very sad to lose personal items especially those with sentimental value. As far as that terrible smoke odor, it really never fully comes out that I have found. That mixed with water damage makes most things unsalvageable unfortunately. I have a $10 build a bear gift card if they will let you use the code, but I'm not sure it would work with just a picture of the card. I wish there were more I could do to help! Hang in there & good luck @orangesprinkles13‌ !

Puppies+Rainbows+Unicorns

April lurker--Our house burned down ~1.5 years ago.  I hate to say it, but we found it impossible to get the smell of smoke out of our things on our own.  We hired used a fire restoration service that was able to fix things using ozone.

orangesprinkles13

Hey everyone! I really appreciate all the T&PS our neighbors didn't have insurance either there from a foreign country and don't really know a whole lot about all those things. We are definitely getting insurance next time my dad always told us to. /: as far as the bear I soaked it in vinegar and ran it through the washer In a mesh bag twice then put a bunch of dryer sheets in the mesh bag. Oh i unstuffed the bear first to and you could smell it at all!! Yay my daughter was so happy we took her to build a bear and they refilled it for free!! As far as anything else I didn't keep any baby items. Also we should have a new apartment to move on to next week! Yay! The church down the street also got a lot of donations for us so my daughter has a bed again.

hetispagetti

I'm glad your getting everything sorted out now for you and your family! Really happy everyone was safe!

Kdeanda

I'm so sorry and have no experience with this. Just glad to hear you guys are okay.