Fire! Fire! Fire! Oh, No! ......UPDATE

Oh man, that sucks. But like you said, nobody was hurt. Was the garage insured? If so, you should at least be able to get compensated for the kits.

What a terrible thing to have happen but like you said, nobody was hurt.  Wonder how a stack of lumber could catch fire like that?

Obviously, Manny is trying to become an amateur Arsonist....

wow! sorry to hear that! while it's just stuff, it's still not fun losing it. Glad nothing living was injured though!

Man, sorry to hear about the fire. At least no one was hurt. Ya gotta let us know how it started.

Thank God no one was hurt!

The stash is irrelevant.

Bad one!

Although on the upside it could have been far, far worse.

I'm sorry for your loss, but like everyone (yourself included) said, no one was hurt.

Having been through a fire myself I know how it feels. We were renting a basement suite and the landlord lived upstairs with his family. He was a landscaper and kept fertilizer and other similar items in the garage. On the day before ai was scheduled to start school, we were taking down the Christmas tree and I smelled something burning. I asked my wife if she was baking and we searched the suite for the source of the smell. During our search we noticed an orange glow coming from beneath the door leading to the main floor. I touched the door and it was still cool so I opened it.

Flames were coming into the house over the door exiting to the garage. The landloards wife was home and panicking, she had a three-month old baby and she couldn't decide what to do. I used to be an EMT so I wasn't too freaked out by the situation and I got her and the baby out as my wife got our 1-year old out. Five peole were home and no one got hurt Most of our stuff survived the ordeal. We lost a lot of tupperware-type stuff because we couldn't get the smoke out but other than that everything was intact. The worst part was having to pack iin a house with no power or heat and it was -36C (-32F).

But I digress, the point of my story is that the cause may be similar. The landlord was running a 20' extension cord to a freezer 3 feet away from the plug. He had the cord coiled up and the resistance in the wore generated heat which melted the cord and lit the walls and, set the house, fertilizer, etc. on fire.

This is just a long-winded way of saying the cause could be as simple as that.

Sorry for the hi-jack.

Quick update...

The cause of the fire was good-ole human error on three very avoidable levels. All of them by the same lazy, careless person.

One... a car battery charger was left plugged in and unsecured (this thing is (was) at least 20 years old by the way)

Two... said battery charger was plugged into a faulty outlet (made that way by removing the breaker,  it kept tripping he says, WTF!?) 

Three... Two lumber pallets (one on top of the other leaving less then a foot clearance from the ceiling above) were pushed all the way to the back of the garage seemingly on TOP of the charger.  He forget it was there he says. Never mind the wood leaning to one side because its sitting on a CHARGER!!

Yes, he did have insurance on the building.  Given his actions I wont be surprised if he gets nothing. Then again I have no idea what the terms of his fire insurance are, however.  

He did promise to pay me back for my losses.  We'll just have to wait and see.

I can say one thing... he is lucky no one was hurt or killed.  I have a huge headache.... what a day!

I am no longer sad.. I am @#($%*% OFF!!!  

Must build something.... oh yeah thats right.... because of dumb@$$  I don't have anything to build!

(I deal with stuff like this with humor, its what keeps me sane)  

Good Luck! I hope he does right by you.

Wow. That's messed up. Truly sorry for your loss. Maybe we should take up a kit collection for you. Anyone else interested?

I know how you feel.  When I was younger, I lost my entire collection of about 200+ kits which I had been accumulating since I was a young kid.  Although in my case it wasn't a fire.  I also lost my completed kits at the same time so I was pretty frustrated and it took me years to get back into the hobby.  Just don't let this put you off your feed as it were, on the hobby.  Like you said, no one got hurt, which is the most important thing.  Models and supplies can be replaced over time.  I wish you all the best.

Rich

joeviz

 

Got a phone call about an hour ago with a voice on the other side screaming FIRE!!

It appears my stash has been destroyed by fire!  Kits that I have stashed since the late 80s are gone.  My best estimate is 60-70 models all un-opened and in their original boxes.

The good news and most important is that no-one was hurt, thank God!  The damage was limited to a small area.

What we know so far...

My cousin has a detached garage in his property.  Its a metal building (we call it an annex). Its two story; garage on the bottom and a studio on top.  We use the studio for storage. It is climate controlled and very secure (and organized).

Due to the cold he stacked a large pile of treated lumber in the garage (a common practice for him).  The wood cough fire.  It just happened this morning so we don't know how (yet).  

The damage was contained to the lumber pile and the area on the second floor directly above the lumber.  It just so happens that area is a closet with all the kits and Xmas decorations.

I am told the heat ruined everything in the closet and the water from the fire truck finished off what was left.  I have not seen the damage first hand; I am at work and unable to leave.

I am sad about the loss but very thankful that it was only material items.  This could have turned out to be disastrous.

Crazy that just by typing this and sharing it makes me feel better.  Thank you for  listening (err... reading).

 

Looks like it's time to go to the LHS in your area and start with the basics.  Better yet, make him go with you and pay for it.

joeviz

Quick update...

The cause of the fire was good-ole human error on three very avoidable levels. All of them by the same lazy, careless person.

One... a car battery charger was left plugged in and unsecured (this thing is (was) at least 20 years old by the way)

Two... said battery charger was plugged into a faulty outlet (made that way by removing the breaker,  it kept tripping he says, WTF!?) 

Three... Two lumber pallets (one on top of the other leaving less then a foot clearance from the ceiling above) were pushed all the way to the back of the garage seemingly on TOP of the charger.  He forget it was there he says. Never mind the wood leaning to one side because its sitting on a CHARGER!!

Yes, he did have insurance on the building.  Given his actions I wont be surprised if he gets nothing. Then again I have no idea what the terms of his fire insurance are, however.  

He did promise to pay me back for my losses.  We'll just have to wait and see.

I can say one thing... he is lucky no one was hurt or killed.  I have a huge headache.... what a day!

I am no longer sad.. I am @#($%*% OFF!!!  

Must build something.... oh yeah thats right.... because of dumb@$$  I don't have anything to build!

(I deal with stuff like this with humor, its what keeps me sane)  

Medicman71

Wow. That's messed up. Truly sorry for your loss. Maybe we should take up a kit collection for you. Anyone else interested?

Oh, no, no.  Please don't.  Thank you that is very kind of you but not necessary.  I am more than capable of replenishing the stash myself.   Thank yo so much for the gesture though, you rock! 

Sorry to hear about the mess,, but glad nobody was hurt and glad you found the cause.

I hope things work out for you.........   Keep moving forward!

All the best

Crazy. I never heard of someone losing a stash due to fire. Glad to hear that everone is safe though. At least models can be replaced.

Gonna throw my in and say along with everyone else that I'm glad noone was hurt. Of course, it's no fun losing the stash, even if you can replace it (also glad you have the means to do that). I'm sure you'll deal with your cousin appropriately.......

Removed the circuit breaker? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot indeed....

joeviz

Medicman71:

Wow. That's messed up. Truly sorry for your loss. Maybe we should take up a kit collection for you. Anyone else interested?

 

Oh, no, no.  Please don't.  Thank you that is very kind of you but not necessary.  I am more than capable of replenishing the stash myself.   Thank yo so much for the gesture though, you rock! 

 

 

Hey no problem. Anything to help. If you need anything just ask.

Just got back from my cousin's house.  I looked over the damage.  As expected the garage is totally reparable as is the studio.  The kits and everything in the closet are a total loss.  I discovered that something else was destroyed.  On the outside of the closet wall is a shelf.  On that shelf was 5+ years worth of Scale Ship Modeler Magazine (and assorted books) all were destroyed by the water, heat and smoke.  Oh well, all things must come to an end.   ...moving on.

Thank you everyone.

I know what your going  through.In 1989 the day after Thanksgiving I had a house fire,I lost  everything, The fire itself was contained to the 2cd floor were my bed room was(is) My model shop was in the cellar so guess were the water went..... Then I got to spend 6 months in a trailer while everybody involved screwed my Grandmother(the homeowner) I still smell smoke upstairs when its hot outside.... Like eveyone else said atleast no one was hurt,although the mags suck...

John

that does indeed suck