Exile Day 5.

I know that most of you have been out there wondering what in the world is going on. I figured I could take a bit of time this morning and get you up to speed. Our house is not a total loss. I've posted some new photos now that we are allowed to go into the room that caught fire. The insurance showed up the day after and the investigator was there 2 days after. Our house is now empty of stuff and I think next week they will work on pulling out all the burnt and destroyed stuff and then begin the plans for a re-build.

The investigator found that it wasn't the aluminum wiring but a faulty outlet. The outlet went and started sparking - it caught a mattress on fire. It burned all day and our house was sealed up really tight. Which meant that there was a lot of smoke and ash, but mostly it was contained in one room. This was a picture that was taken off the wall down the hall from the fire.


Inside the room there was nothing left of the mattress or bed (other than what you saw in the previous post). Here you can see Methow's favorite toys and the carpet.


This was a poster as you walked into the room and the door. The investigator said that the fire was extremely hot. It melted plastic in the room, bubbled up paint and was probably over 400 degrees in the rooms next door to where it was burning.


This is the wall that had the faulty outlet. You can see the outline of the bed frame on the wall. This room will have to be gutted. Almost all the furniture in the house can not be saved. Most of the electronics can't be saved. All the flooring, molding and insulation can't be saved. This next week I think we'll be getting the full update of what can't be saved and then what our budget is to re-build.

We are currently staying at a friends house - but all three cats are stuffed in one room. The insurance company is looking into a rental for us (of course having a heck of a time finding one for a short period of time). They aren't sure on how long everything will take. Could be as fast as 2 months or 6. We are sort of living by the seat of our pants here. Being exiled from your home makes you really appreciate everything. We miss the small things. And I think it will be a long time before either of us can stomach the taste or smell of smoke.