Sometime after I left, around 9:15-9:30, someone driving by saw smoke billowing out the eaves and called 911. We live in a rural area with no fire hydrants. The fire department had to bring in tanker and pump trucks to supply the firefighters with water. It took some time to get all the tankers, pumpers, and other equipment on scene. By the time they got there, the fire was "fully involved" . 30-45 minutes after the 911 call, the house, and everything in it was gone. When I got there around 11 there was 10 fire vehicles and over 30 fire fighters from 4 different agencies. The conditions had been very warm and dry and they were worried about the fire spreading to the grass fields the surround my property.
You can see our house on Wildcat Rd. from the main highway (Hwy 213). As I passed the spot where I could see the house, I saw the firetrucks...lots of fire trucks, and column of smoke coming from the house. I slammed the gas pedal to the floor and sped home. My mind was racing, what could have happened? Could it have been the flea bombs? They always kind of scared me a little. Butane propelled, oil based insecticide just didn't seem wise.
One lane was blocked by fire trucks right in front of the house. I pulled into the field across the street. I walked over and told the firefighters who I was.The fire was pretty much out and they were just working on some hot spots. I must have looked like I was in shock, because the firefighters immediately had me sit down and called the medics over. They took my vitals and put and put me Oxygen. After 15-20 minutes I was feeling better. I called Vickie at work and told her what was happening. She called our insurance agent and our sons. I walk around what was left of the house with the chief. All that was left of our house was two walls and a big pile of smoking wreckage. I can't describe the feeling of seeing everything you own in ashes.
Vickie raced home from work as soon as she got the call, shaking the whole way. Danny rushed home, too. To say it was a shocking and emotional experience would be an understatement. The fire fighters were great, they really are heroes I went around thanked each and every one of them. The local Red Cross volunteers were there before the firetrucks left. They were awesome. They gave us a debit card loaded with $500 so we could get some food, a motel for the night and replace some of my meds. Our insurance agent was there pretty quickly as well. He made all the appropriate calls and had a contractor come out and secure the site with fencing. There wasn't anything left to salvage.
Next comes the questions. Silverton fire and a OSP arson and explosives investigators asked what I did before I left that day. I told them the sequence of events. The also asked about any other ignition source I could think of. Faulty outlets, etc. Then it occurred to me. The night before, I had applied Watco danish Oil to some shelves for a entertainment center I built. I spread newspapers on the floor of the spare bedroom. After I was done, I gathered the newspapers and oily rags and put them in a paper bag. I had fully intended to take the bag outside and throw it on the burn pile. Vickie got home from work and I came out of the room to talk to her and closed the door behind me. I didn't give it another thought. They both got a "aha!" look on their faces. In the end, they rule the fire accidental. Spontaneous combustion. The origin of the fire was obvious. There was a 2 ft diameter hole burned all the way through the floor in the spare room. Boiled linseed oil, the main component of Watco danish oil creates heat when it cures. Normally, the heat dissipates harmlessly. However, if confined, like in a paper bag full of oily rags and crumpled newspapers and if the air is warm, like it was that day, it can create enough heat to self ignite. I kick myself every time I think about it. I knew better. I've been using Watco for a long time and EVERY OTHER TIME I disposed of the rags properly. I think the butane and insecticide laden air had to contribute to the intensity of the fire. Impossible to say. But yes, I burned my house down. Not intentionally, but it was my fault.
It was 5 when we finally left. We got some dinner, found a motel and crashed, shellshocked.
The next day we met with the insurance adjuster. I had heard stories of people who lost their home in a fire and before the smoke cleared they had a $10,000 check in their hands to help them get on their feet again. Not this time. He made us feel guilty for even asking and then only cut a check for $2500. Yeah, that's a lot of money, but we lost EVERYTHING! All we had was what was on our backs. They paid for the motel, but we had to eat in restaurants 3 meals a day. We burned through that in two weeks. The second draw was even harder to pry out of him.
By Wednesday it was clear this guy was looking out for the best interest of his employer, not us. He wrote a preliminary estimate of the value of the old house that we $100K under our coverage limit. We needed advise. We had one shot to get this right. I did some research and decided to hire a public adjuster, Adjusters International. Their fee is 10% of the total claim. Their average increase of the insurance companies original offer is 40%. They have been great. Just the advise and the fact that our guy handles all of the communication for the insurance company makes it worth it.
