March 5th, nap time, blizzard raging outside, I had just popped a load of laundry into the dryer and got it started. I came upstairs to sip some coffee and hang laundry to dry on racks. A loud BANG sounded from the laundry room like a brick had just turned over in the dryer. I ran down to check things out. I pulled everything out of the dryer to see what made the noise when I noticed a flame coming out from below the lint trap. I pulled the lint trap to see better. Bigger flames. I knew we’d just had the dryer exhaust vent cleaned, it’s not from the lint. 30 seconds had passed and I had to make a choice: Do I try toput this out myself or do I get my babiesand call the fire department? That voice in your head that screams at you to PROTECT YOUR BABIES kicked in. My inner MAMA BEAR roared to life. I ran up, grabbed both children out of their beds and ran out to the garage, all while on the phone with the 911 operator. The laundry room was certainly on fire, the rest of my house was fine, we were insured, it’s just stuff. Black smoke billowed from the open garage (probably saving the rest of my house from the worst damage). The fire department showed up moments later as did my husband (he was my second phone call) and a wonderful neighbor saw me
outside with the boys and brought us into her home.
The fire department put the fire out right away and after a short time the fire chief reaffirmed my thought that it was indeed not the lint that caused the fire. The motor of the dryer burned itself out, going up in a blaze of glory on the way. The most surprising thing to me, was that our gas line didn’t ignite when the motor started on fire. Most people in Minnesota have gas dryers. They’re energy efficient and run better for longer. Never in my whole life have I been more thankful to be alive! To think that the fire could have been much worse if the gas line had gone, my children and I would not be here today. Praise God for His protection!
Things we’ve learned through the insurance process:
- After calling the fire department and spouse/roommate/mom call your insurance company with pen and paper in hand.
- Be prepared to be on the phone for a time.
- You’ll have to give a statement to the fire chief to account for what happened.
- You’ll be saying, “Thank you!” more times than you did at your wedding to everyone who helps you that day.
- You may or may not be recommended a restoration service for fire damage clean up, if not Google will be your BFF for the next few hours.
- Everything after this will take time, be patient, remember that your insurance will pay to restore your home.
- Ask all the questions! There will be questions on how things get paid, who gets paid, when things get paid, timeline for completion of projects…etc. The list goes on. Don’t be afraid to call your case handler to ask all the questions that come up. That’s what they’re there for.
The next 8 weeks we stayed with family. Insurance gave us the option to stay in a hotel, but with two little ones, that amount of time in a hotel with no toys is a nightmare. We were blessed to be able to stay where there was an over abundance of toys (I still think we didn’t even play with half the toys that were available after 8 weeks).
God was definitely watching over us! We had posted to family and friends on social media that we were safe and no one was hurt in the house fire that first night. Within hours a friend of John’s called him to see if he could be of service. He owned a restoration company! The weight of trying to find someone to help us was lifted off our shoulders immediately! John met him over at our house the following morning with our insurance case manager. That same morning the damage was assessed, and some of our belongings were taken to be cleaned at an emergency dry cleaning service and were then delivered to us where we were staying (so we would have clean clothes to wear for the duration).
Over the next few weeks all of our belongings were packed up and removed to be cleaned. Our house was cleaned top to bottom (my spring cleaning done for me for the first time ever!). All the wood work was cleaned and varnished, walls and ceilings were repainted, colors that I was able to choose myself and our house had all new wall-to-wall carpeting (I was able to choose that too). There were things that we were unable to keep as they cannot be cleaned: mattresses, some baby items, our sleeper sofa and all the food in our kitchen. Insurance pays to replace those, they also paid to replace the washer and dryer.
Moving Home: When we were able to move home (it felt like we were away for an eternity), the same company comes back to clean and dust one more time before they delivered all our belongings. Everything was boxed up. Everything. They put our furniture back where it came from and all the boxeswere labeled and placed in the rooms where the items were originally. It felt like a combination of Christmas
and moving into a new home. Our house smelled new, it felt new, it looked new and I was inspired to decorate all over again.
Little Surprises: 10 years ago or so, when we got married and bought our house, we purchased a dining set so we would have somewhere to eat. On a night of hosting friends, we discovered one of our dining chairs was broken. Not knowing how it happened, we just placed it in the garage thinking we’d get around to fixing it, where it collected dust. The restoration company FIXED the chair. Yes, they fixed it, better than new! The clothes cleaning company owner, Curt, paid attention to detail. All our items were pressed perfectly and on hangers when we received them. He noticed I used a baby detergent on the boys’ clothes. He had all their items rinsed with that detergent before drying and delivering them. He personally delivered items to us when they were cleaned. We felt so cared for by everyone. We’re usually the ones taking care of everyone else, it felt good and different to be on this side of the situation.
New Dryer: We found out we were covered for both a new washer and dryer. The fire was so hot in the
dryer that it melted the side of our washer. For the first time in my life I actually enjoy doing laundry! I do so many loads of laundry a week, with a teething baby and potty training a toddler (post on potty training soon to come), and a husband who needs his workout clothes washed weekly, a new washer/dryer set was something this Mama needed. I didn’t even know I needed it! In the past I never would have left the door open to the laundry room for anyone to see. We called it “The Cave of Despair” it was just THAT icky in there. The whole room is brand new! We can’t even tell that there was a horrible fire in that room!
Since we were unable to keep our mattresses and sofa, insurance covered to replace them. We found that shopping at Ikea was the best solution. We were able to get more bang for our buck. What we were able to get was nicer than what we had before the fire!
My last task is to start baking bread and put a bunch of pans of lasagna together to bring to our sweet neighbor who took us in that day and bring 3 or 4 pans to the fire station just down the street. As an Italian, we love on people with food. We thank them with food, we celebrate with food…we just kind of do life with food.
My life lesson brings me back to Job; we went through a hard time. We had to persevere and trust that God had us in His hands and that He would take care of everything. When we did that, we were able to see His work and give Him the glory. We lost everything for a time, only to have it all returned better than new! Better than before. Rejoicing in the blessing, resting in His grace and appreciating everything we have been given all the more.
-Lauren
Companies mentioned:
Restoration Professional – http://www.restpro.com/
Emergency Restoration Clean’n’Press –http://www.cleannpress.com/services/emergency-restoration
Electronic Restoration Services – https://ers-us.com/