On January 12th we were woken at 0630 by all of our smoke detectors going off. We couldn't see anything wrong in the house. I opened the door to the garage and couldn't see any smoke or flames but I felt a serious waft of heat. I closed the door ('good move' said the Fire Marshall) and we headed outdoors while dialing 911. A few hours later we saw that what initially looked like a very minor deal was actually a big deal. Garage contents were mostly ruined, including our car, a 2005 FXSTSi, a 2019 Heritage Classic, and our golf cart. They took the power meter because 4 or 5 breakers were tripped due to melted wires, so our house has been reduced to being a shed. Actually, just got the power back on yesterday, after 6 weeks. The house has been emptied out so our possessions can be either cleaned or scrapped due to soot and smoke. The root cause was initially thought to be the golf cart charger. Our home insurance decided to go after the cart company and brought in a 5 man forensics team. They ultimately found that a 3 way adapter plug at the end of an extension cord that fed the golf cart charger and an ultrasonic mouse repeller had failed. The extension cord was in continuous use since 2014 and the adapter plug was added in 2016. Turns out it was a slow moving time bomb. Here's what I've learned that might be of interest to you:
-Soot is incredibly corrosive in a damp environment. I went to wipe down the bikes about 26 hours after the fire and it was too late to save any of the chrome. The Springer was an obvious write-off once I tried to wipe it clean and saw the extent of the rust. The Heritage wasn't so obvious but it was also written off. There was chrome damage, paint damage, and compromised wiring. I was able to start it but the kill switch would not shut it down. I had to stick it in 2nd and stall it. If this ever happens to you, try to clean the crap off absolutely as soon as possible.
-Dairyland Insurance was very good to me. Both payouts were well researched and fair.
-I had 5 smoke detectors in the house, and had added 1 in the garage and another in the attic. I will replace all 7 as and when we are able to move back in. Very cheap insurance.
-From now on I will have my smoke detectors monitored. I was always too cheap but some of the plans are as low as $100 a year. If we had not been home there would have been nothing but a slab. It's probably hard to demonstrate what you paid for a contaminated couch when your paperwork is drifting across the meadow in little black flakes.
-Using an extension cord can be a permanent solution, but it does present a risk. I always meant to add a plug beside the charger but after a year or so it just became unimportant.
-Some of our friends have basic home insurance policies that cover recreational items like a golf cart. Ours did not. It would be a great idea for you to dig up your insurance policy and review the details. If you have toys of value you may want to get them itemized in your policy.
-Our policy is like many of them. There are 3 'buckets' to draw from. One is reconstruction, another is replacement living, and then there's contents. I thought I had plenty of contents coverage at 90k. However, I have learned that removing, cleaning, storing and returning your contents, plus wiping down all walls and ceilings and fixtures will typically range between 30 and 60k. It's possible I will bump my head against my 90k limit and have to eat the rest.
-Things stored in closed plastic bins did really well. Things out in the open or on shelves or even in open top plastic bins did not do well at all.
-I could have grabbed several possessions that would be very handy now. At first I thought we'd be back home in a week, then I thought maybe 3 weeks, and now we are 6 weeks in and looking at another 6 or 7. I wish I had grabbed a motorcycle jacket and helmet. I did get them to find my helmet from the storage warehouse that's about 70 miles from here. They struck out on any of my jackets. I just picked up a new bike today and will tough out the weather rather than buying yet another jacket.
In summary, if you want to live a full live with all of the experiences that life can bring, you owe it to yourself to have a fire (not). Some pictures are enclosed; one of my springer which I had just installed new steering head bearings. I had the pleasure of completing the job while wearing a respirator with no lights except a flashlight, while 5 workers were ripping crap out of the garage which became a filthy hellhole. The shot of my 'old' Heritage shows the gas level. This was custom paint (Midnight Blue) which was destroyed above the gas level line. Another shot shows my just complete Norton Commando engine which will now take a major polishing effort and partial teardown to replace rubber parts like seals. I lost a $300 set of Norton mufflers and likely my new fork tubes, didn't have time to inspect them, probably several other parts are toast. No insurance on the Norton, likely went $1k backwards just on it. Finally, a shot of my 'new' 2019 Heritage that I picked up today. One of the few bright spots right now.
WOW, very sorry to hear this. Glad it was not worse. Thank you for sharing it may help save someones life or property. I hope the insurance company makes you whole.
What a buzz kill. Sure makes a person think, especially about some of their own connections around the house. Hopefully insurance will make everything whole again.
We have replacement value on the house, contents and additional insurance on my detached garage. I didn't accept what the insurance company said my house would cost to replace. I upped everything to what a new replacement building would cost.
Man what a bummer..... sorry to hear this, but happy you and your family is ok. Be patient and everything should pretty much work out. Sorry for your losses.....
02-25-2020, 08:47 PM
Garage Fire
