chrisk
Hero member
- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
Anyone know what Cam is up to, haven’t seen him here for a while.
Cam question, not technical
- Thread starter chrisk
- Start date
Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
Hi folks. Thanks to those who have contacted me directly, and to Chris for starting this thread.
Just letting you know I'm not dead. I've just been going through a bit of a shit storm lately. Laverda forum has necessarily taken a lower priority than general life issues, and probably will for a while yet.
Just to fill you in on what's been happening, my sister and I own a property together that used to belong to our parents. It's a house with a flat underneath. My sister lived in the downstairs flat while I had a tenant upstairs. My sister (Katrina) was a pre-war baby and I'm a post war baby boomer, so there's a 12 year age difference between us. She is now 84 years old. She's been divorced for a long time and her 50 year old daughter is living in Sydney, so Katrina lives on her own.
On the night of 6th August, the upstairs tenant (also an elderly lady, Margaret) had a stupid accident with an electric bar type radiator and set fire to her bedding, which ignited the curtain and then the fire spread very quickly via the 1970's wood panel internal walls and got out of control within minutes. The entire top floor was gutted. Margaret managed to get out with only minor burns and raise the alarm. My sister got out too, so there was no loss of life, except for Margaret's budgie.
However, the house is a wreck, no longer habitable. The upper level was declared a safety hazard and was demolished down to the floor slab. The lower level is still intact, barely affected by the fire, but with substantial smoke and water damage.
On the night of the fire, we (myself and neighbours) had two distraught elderly women to deal with. Margaret (who got out in only her nightie and bare feet), and my sister who hadn't yet gone to bed so was still dressed. Both of whom were suddenly homeless and in emotional distress. Poor old Margaret looked so distressed I thought she was going to have a heart attack and die, but neighbours took her in, found her some warm clothes and comforted her while an ambulance came to deal with her burns. My sister was more stunned than in emotional distress. After the fire had been brought under control I took her home to stay with me.
The next day she and I went back to pick up her car and salvage what we could of her clothes and other useful stuff. I emptied out her fridge and freezer and took all her (vegan) food to my place. She wasn't with it at all, she was grabbing useless stuff like a bar of soap and a packet of drinking straws. She was obviously in some kind of mental fog and had no idea what she was doing. She still has no memory of this because of her state of mind at the time. Most of her clothes were OK. Some needed the smokey smell washed out of them but at least she had some stuff to wear.
It's been over a month now. My sister is now in a temporary rental house paid for by the insurance company (they only pay for 12 months rental).
She is starting to recover her wits but is still somewhat scatter-brained. I guess it's partly her age and partly the trauma. She obviously has PTSD. I don't yet know whether she'll fully recover mentally. She may end up going into aged care. I seem to be the only person helping her through this as I'm her nearest relative, geographically speaking. I live only a few minutes away. Her daughter is planning a 2-week visit next month.
Most of the contents from her downstairs unit are presently in storage and being sorted through by her contents insurer to work out what's recoverable and what's a wrie-off due to smoke and water damage.
I've been doing all the insurance stuff. Lodging the building claim and my sister's contents claim (different bloody insurers FFS!), negotiating with a seemingly endless array of people dealing with it. There's been umpteen site visits by various people with clipboards, cameras, measuring tapes, etc., but at present I still don't know what the insurance company will decide to do with the building.
The top floor has been demolished and the bottom floor boarded up. I've been told they have engineers working in conjunction with the building authorities to determine whether the lower floor is up to current code to rebuild the top floor on top of. If it's decided that the bottom floor doesn't comply with current building regs, and remedial works are not practical, they'll demolish that too, but they don't seem to be in any hurry to make a decision.
Images below show before, during and after. It's a bloody mess now. It didn't occur to me to take a photo when it was fully engulfed in flames. I think I was too busy looking after distressed people.
I was expecting a nice quiet retirement. Not having to deal with this shit.
Just letting you know I'm not dead. I've just been going through a bit of a shit storm lately. Laverda forum has necessarily taken a lower priority than general life issues, and probably will for a while yet.
Just to fill you in on what's been happening, my sister and I own a property together that used to belong to our parents. It's a house with a flat underneath. My sister lived in the downstairs flat while I had a tenant upstairs. My sister (Katrina) was a pre-war baby and I'm a post war baby boomer, so there's a 12 year age difference between us. She is now 84 years old. She's been divorced for a long time and her 50 year old daughter is living in Sydney, so Katrina lives on her own.
On the night of 6th August, the upstairs tenant (also an elderly lady, Margaret) had a stupid accident with an electric bar type radiator and set fire to her bedding, which ignited the curtain and then the fire spread very quickly via the 1970's wood panel internal walls and got out of control within minutes. The entire top floor was gutted. Margaret managed to get out with only minor burns and raise the alarm. My sister got out too, so there was no loss of life, except for Margaret's budgie.
However, the house is a wreck, no longer habitable. The upper level was declared a safety hazard and was demolished down to the floor slab. The lower level is still intact, barely affected by the fire, but with substantial smoke and water damage.
On the night of the fire, we (myself and neighbours) had two distraught elderly women to deal with. Margaret (who got out in only her nightie and bare feet), and my sister who hadn't yet gone to bed so was still dressed. Both of whom were suddenly homeless and in emotional distress. Poor old Margaret looked so distressed I thought she was going to have a heart attack and die, but neighbours took her in, found her some warm clothes and comforted her while an ambulance came to deal with her burns. My sister was more stunned than in emotional distress. After the fire had been brought under control I took her home to stay with me.
The next day she and I went back to pick up her car and salvage what we could of her clothes and other useful stuff. I emptied out her fridge and freezer and took all her (vegan) food to my place. She wasn't with it at all, she was grabbing useless stuff like a bar of soap and a packet of drinking straws. She was obviously in some kind of mental fog and had no idea what she was doing. She still has no memory of this because of her state of mind at the time. Most of her clothes were OK. Some needed the smokey smell washed out of them but at least she had some stuff to wear.
It's been over a month now. My sister is now in a temporary rental house paid for by the insurance company (they only pay for 12 months rental).
She is starting to recover her wits but is still somewhat scatter-brained. I guess it's partly her age and partly the trauma. She obviously has PTSD. I don't yet know whether she'll fully recover mentally. She may end up going into aged care. I seem to be the only person helping her through this as I'm her nearest relative, geographically speaking. I live only a few minutes away. Her daughter is planning a 2-week visit next month.
Most of the contents from her downstairs unit are presently in storage and being sorted through by her contents insurer to work out what's recoverable and what's a wrie-off due to smoke and water damage.
I've been doing all the insurance stuff. Lodging the building claim and my sister's contents claim (different bloody insurers FFS!), negotiating with a seemingly endless array of people dealing with it. There's been umpteen site visits by various people with clipboards, cameras, measuring tapes, etc., but at present I still don't know what the insurance company will decide to do with the building.
The top floor has been demolished and the bottom floor boarded up. I've been told they have engineers working in conjunction with the building authorities to determine whether the lower floor is up to current code to rebuild the top floor on top of. If it's decided that the bottom floor doesn't comply with current building regs, and remedial works are not practical, they'll demolish that too, but they don't seem to be in any hurry to make a decision.
Images below show before, during and after. It's a bloody mess now. It didn't occur to me to take a photo when it was fully engulfed in flames. I think I was too busy looking after distressed people.
I was expecting a nice quiet retirement. Not having to deal with this shit.
chrisk
Hero member
- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
Bugger.
That’s a lot to deal with.
Thanks for the update…. Re insurance companies, keep banging your head against the brick walls, while they’re still standing
That’s a lot to deal with.
Thanks for the update…. Re insurance companies, keep banging your head against the brick walls, while they’re still standing
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi Cam
sorry for your and your sisters loss.
I have some recent personal experience with fire and insurance adjusters.
They had 5 people at my place for 5 days doing the contents inventory. When i saw the "finished" list I could see there was a lot of stuff not listed. I had made the insurer put a big enclosed locked storage unit on the property into which all the damaged stuff went. My son and I then went though all the "already inventoried" stuff in the storage bin, with cameras, and made our own list. The inventory done by the insurance people was missing almost a third of what had actually been damaged....... then some of the stuff had just been incinerated, and I had to dig out photos etc to prove it had existed. Then when dealing with replacement value I had a huge fight with them on many items that they undervalued.
then things started to drag. I made a huge demanding nuisance of myself on pretty much a daily basis, demanding prompt response, setting deadlines for them to meet and when they did not meet them, raising a huge commotion all the way up the ladder of seniority. If you sit back and wait for them, nothing will happen for months..... get on them, hard and often. You paid for the insurance, be demanding of results. These people are not your friends and are not acting in your best interests. They want to resolve the claim as cheaply as possible and typically are in no rush, they will wear you down with delays if you allow it.
not to be corny, but light the largest fire under their ass on an ongoing basis, demand the structure be torn down and fully replaced and get on it.
be sure to get out your copy of the insurance policy, and read the bloody thing. The bastards will lie to you about what coverage you actually do or do not have, in my case they even tried claiming to me that my deductible was higher than it really was, and that there were coverage caps lower then actually provided for in the policy, etc.
would be interesting to know if there is any coverage for the issues the fire has caused with your sister..... might be worth having the insurance policy reviewed by a lawyer specializing in insurance. You have to be careful, a lot of them do work for the insurance companies and don't want to piss the insurers off, you have to find someone independent but appropriately knowledgeable and skilled.
sorry for your and your sisters loss.
I have some recent personal experience with fire and insurance adjusters.
They had 5 people at my place for 5 days doing the contents inventory. When i saw the "finished" list I could see there was a lot of stuff not listed. I had made the insurer put a big enclosed locked storage unit on the property into which all the damaged stuff went. My son and I then went though all the "already inventoried" stuff in the storage bin, with cameras, and made our own list. The inventory done by the insurance people was missing almost a third of what had actually been damaged....... then some of the stuff had just been incinerated, and I had to dig out photos etc to prove it had existed. Then when dealing with replacement value I had a huge fight with them on many items that they undervalued.
then things started to drag. I made a huge demanding nuisance of myself on pretty much a daily basis, demanding prompt response, setting deadlines for them to meet and when they did not meet them, raising a huge commotion all the way up the ladder of seniority. If you sit back and wait for them, nothing will happen for months..... get on them, hard and often. You paid for the insurance, be demanding of results. These people are not your friends and are not acting in your best interests. They want to resolve the claim as cheaply as possible and typically are in no rush, they will wear you down with delays if you allow it.
not to be corny, but light the largest fire under their ass on an ongoing basis, demand the structure be torn down and fully replaced and get on it.
be sure to get out your copy of the insurance policy, and read the bloody thing. The bastards will lie to you about what coverage you actually do or do not have, in my case they even tried claiming to me that my deductible was higher than it really was, and that there were coverage caps lower then actually provided for in the policy, etc.
would be interesting to know if there is any coverage for the issues the fire has caused with your sister..... might be worth having the insurance policy reviewed by a lawyer specializing in insurance. You have to be careful, a lot of them do work for the insurance companies and don't want to piss the insurers off, you have to find someone independent but appropriately knowledgeable and skilled.
GregT
Hero member
- Location
- Christchurch NZ
The main thing we learned here post quakes was that you have to keep kicking the insurance companies - and don't give them a chance to kick you. They will if they get an opening.
I hope for your peace of mind Cam that your sister makes enough of a recovery to take some of the load off you. Stress like this you don't need.
I hope for your peace of mind Cam that your sister makes enough of a recovery to take some of the load off you. Stress like this you don't need.
pf1
Hero member
- Location
- Portsmouth UK
Good luck with all of this Cam.
Scout63
Junior member
- Location
- Orleans, MA USA
Best of luck to you no your sister no tenant. This is a good reminder that motorcycles are fun and interesting but life can be serious.
CLEMTOG
Hero member
Not forgetting that you, yourself Cam, have had health issues, very difficult to remain calm at all times, but I have found that it works. Do not allow it to get "under your skin" too much,its not preventably but manage it. As above re the insurance companies, your sister and yourself has every right to be "put in the position you were in before the incident" that is why you buy it, hound them, hound them, hound them. Dont forget to remind them of (their own) imposed limit of 12 months in a rental property, demolish and get on with rebuilding as was.
Book a slot in your diary to ride your bike(s) for at least an hour once per week and stick with it!
best wishes
simailar aged CLEM
Book a slot in your diary to ride your bike(s) for at least an hour once per week and stick with it!
best wishes
simailar aged CLEM
henrywillms
Hero member
- Location
- Canada
Tough situation. I agree with Paul....you need to really manage the insurance guy. A friend had a fire in his 100 year old historic house and it has been two years and he is not back in yet....but should be real soon. Every step has been a fight but he is getting what he wants by micro managing the situation including the contractors and sub contractors who are repairing the house.
Shajota
Hero member
- Location
- Whitsundays Qld
Shit Cam, that's no good. Not for you or the 2 old girls, hopefully they recover well.
I hate those fucken bar heaters!
I witnessed a bad experience with them when I was a young kid and you wouldn't believe it, a couple of months ago my brother in law had to be rescued from his unit on the GC after setting it on fire from a bar heater after a few too many flavoured milks!! Luckily the fire was put out before the whole complex burnt down but I understand his upstairs neighbours were less than impressed as they found themselves trapped when the stairwell filled with smoke!
I hate those fucken bar heaters!
I witnessed a bad experience with them when I was a young kid and you wouldn't believe it, a couple of months ago my brother in law had to be rescued from his unit on the GC after setting it on fire from a bar heater after a few too many flavoured milks!! Luckily the fire was put out before the whole complex burnt down but I understand his upstairs neighbours were less than impressed as they found themselves trapped when the stairwell filled with smoke!
Jo
Hero member
- Location
- Cologne, NRW Germany
Hello Cam,
what a pity for your sister and tenant. Nobody wants to be thrust into the unknown in old age. At least it's good that they have you, even if you find the stress associated with the damage annoying.
I hope you get through all this well!
Jo
what a pity for your sister and tenant. Nobody wants to be thrust into the unknown in old age. At least it's good that they have you, even if you find the stress associated with the damage annoying.
I hope you get through all this well!
Jo
chrisk
Hero member
- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
My brother was in the army and had a few too many flavoured milks and fell asleep in front of one of those electric radiators.
Burnt himself really bad.
He came back home with bandages and shit on his legs. My mother was a gasp
“Radiation burns from the army” he told her.
Burnt himself really bad.
He came back home with bandages and shit on his legs. My mother was a gasp
“Radiation burns from the army” he told her.
Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
Howdy folks. It's been a few months since I posted anything on this forum. I guess life kinda got in the way of playing around here. Let's face it, that's pretty much all I was doing. I don't really know a whole lot about Laverdas, so I'd fill in my knowledge gaps by cracking dumb gags.
I sort of lost my sense of humour for a while when my sister's home was destroyed by fire. That's still not resolved yet BTW, although it's progressed a bit in the last few months so that there's a glimmer of light at the end of the insurance tunnel. The scope of rebuild work has been established and quotes sought from builders, but the rebuild contract hasn't been awarded by the insurer yet. That should happen pretty soon though. Perhaps before Christmas but I'm not holding my breath. I'm a lot less stressed about it all now anyway, and my sister is OK for now in a rented house.
I thought it was about time I resurfaced here to see how all you reprobates were getting on, and to wish you lot a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Thanks to those who have stayed in touch from time to time. I'll try to participate here a bit more than I have been recently. I'll go off now and have a poke around in some of the threads to see if there's some in which I can make a fool of myself.
I sort of lost my sense of humour for a while when my sister's home was destroyed by fire. That's still not resolved yet BTW, although it's progressed a bit in the last few months so that there's a glimmer of light at the end of the insurance tunnel. The scope of rebuild work has been established and quotes sought from builders, but the rebuild contract hasn't been awarded by the insurer yet. That should happen pretty soon though. Perhaps before Christmas but I'm not holding my breath. I'm a lot less stressed about it all now anyway, and my sister is OK for now in a rented house.
I thought it was about time I resurfaced here to see how all you reprobates were getting on, and to wish you lot a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Thanks to those who have stayed in touch from time to time. I'll try to participate here a bit more than I have been recently. I'll go off now and have a poke around in some of the threads to see if there's some in which I can make a fool of myself.
Jo
Hero member
- Location
- Cologne, NRW Germany
Nice to read from you Cam. Light at the end of the tunnel sounds good.
We probably can't estimate in the slightest how stressful the last few months have been for you!
Cheers,
Jo
We probably can't estimate in the slightest how stressful the last few months have been for you!
Cheers,
Jo
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Good to hear from you Cam. Don't worry, I've probably made up for your absence with enough inanity 
Glad you sister's place is on the path to arisen. our extension is ,much progressed but I still had to extend the building permit (again!). Not stressing about it these days either.
Glad you sister's place is on the path to arisen. our extension is ,much progressed but I still had to extend the building permit (again!). Not stressing about it these days either.