Catastrophic Fire Destroyed Everything.

I am sorry for your loss,the family treasures like pictures can never be replaced but you and your family are safe,I admire your fortitude.

Mikey

We are very saddened to hear of the house fire that has caused you great loss. The fact that your family was not hurt is the good news. With time the unfortunate loss of a valuable train collection can be replaced, a home can be rebuilt, and as you stated positively, life goes on. 

Unimaginable from my perspective, as I have been blessed to have avoided such a calamity.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Electroliner. I am so very glad you and yours were able to get out. Hopefully your other cats will be found.

 

Material things are what we spend time thinking about but are really unimportant in the whole of life. Regardless, I do hope you are able to get through your loss and build a new home and train collection.

 

Bruce

SO sorry, glad everyone is OK.

Larry

Anything is replaceable but life. I glad everybody is safe. That's the important thing.  

Sorry for your loss.

 

Being a career and volunteer firefighter, I can understand first hand what you and your family experienced.

 

Glad your safe!

 

So horrible to hear this.  I'm glad you and your family made it out safely.

Terrible,, All I can say is good luck down the road.. 

So sorry to hear about your loss but glad to know that you all got out in time.  Stay strong

Electroliner,

 

So very sorry to hear this.  However, so VERY HAPPY to know you and your family are okay.

 

In the days coming, please don't fall into the trap of second guessing yourself and beating yourself up.    You and your family are OKAY.   (I am speaking from experience on this having suffered a major loss like yours, not train related, years ago).

 

My positive and healing thoughts are with you and your family!

 

 

So sorry to hear about your misfortune and glad to hear you and your family are safe.  Material possessions can be replaced.  Look forward, when the time is right, to read about your new layout progress!

-Pete

Happy to hear everyone is ok, sorry for your loss.

For off site backups I use Google Drive and Microsoft One Drive.  There is also Drop Box and Apple iCloud. Backup your inventory and key pictures on one of them, easy to do just like saving a file to your hard drive.

Also, hard drives a cheap.  Get a USB SATA adapter for ~$20 and a 500GB hard drive for ~$50 or just buy a USB hard drive <$90 on sale, back everything up and put it in a safety deposit box or relatives house, update at least once a year.  A little more work but well worth it.

Dan

Wow,God bless you and your family as you rebuild.  Good luck to all of you.

Norm

So sorry to hear about your loss.

Oh my god that's awful. I am so sorry.

House fires are scary and electrical house fires are just beyond description.  My great grandmother died in a house fire a long time ago.  That memory has stayed with me even as everyone else from that time have passed on.

Our home was built in 1988.  We had some new additions also.  Recently I got a top quality electrician to upgrade everything:boxes,wiring,breakers,circuits,GIF's,etc, and add a gas generator.  At the same time we switched from heat pumps to gas furnaces. 

I feel safe.  

Good luck with your rebuild,Electroliner.

Norm

This is terrible news. So sorry for your losses. You do have it right, as long as everyone got out safely, the rest is not as important.

Aww Bruce - What a sad report.  

May the Lord give you strength and wisdom as you deal with this. Many thanks to Him that everyone is safe!

Man, that is rough. Hang in there, and thanks for the tips.

Very happy to hear your family was unhurt.

Very sorry to hear about the losses in the fire.

Good to hear that you and the family are safe and well. Wishing you good fortune for the future.

Dan

Bruce,

 

Very sorry hear of your loss. I truly hope everything goes smoothly and you and your family are able to get your lives back on track quickly.

Electroliner, we were so sorry to hear of your fire losses. Yes, still having yourself and your family still there at the end of the day is a great comfort. 

Thank you for the presence of mind in passing on all the good advice. We wish you well for the immediate future and further down the road.

Sorry for your loss ELECTROLINER.  Hope you rebuild soon.  Prayers for you and your family.

Very sorry to hear of your loss, but glad everyone got out OK. 

 

Also wishing good luck in finding the other 2 cats.

 

-Dave

Sorry for your loss.  Glad you and your family are safe.

I'm so sorry to hear of this.  I also am very glad to hear you and your family are safe.

I was saddened to hear about your loss but I am very happy to hear that everyone is safe. It says a lot about your character that at a time like this your thoughts turn to warning others of the dangers. Best of luck buddy.

I am so sorry to hear this news.  Best of luck to you and yours going forward.

I could not say it better so the exact same wishes from me - a complete stranger to you and your family but happy to know you are safe.

I am sorry for your loss. Glad that you and yours are O K .   Good Luck with your insurance settlement!

Very sorry for your loss, but glad to hear everyone is OK.

 

Our best wishes as you move on.

 

Jim

Sorry for your loss.  Hope the Ins. Company is fair with you.  i have been keeping a pretty detailed inventory.  I don't think we realize how many of the little things we have bought add up including our specialized tools, fasteners, track, wire, wood, figures, manuals, books, accessories, etc..  Pictures can obviously be very helpful and quick, to start if we don't have the time right now.

Buzz

This is one of those tragic events in life that it's hard to find anything positive out of.

 

My wife and I have had some of those-a destroyed house and lost a little one.  Tough year.

 

However, one thing I took to heart from this forum when I first joined-keep a detailed record of your trains in case the worst happens. 

 

And, it's not kept at our house!

Wow...  I simply want to add my concern about this awful event.  Do your best to move forward...

Really rotten, stinkin' luck!  I hope you had collection insurance as well as homeowners'.  Here in the midwest, from western Pa. to the Rockies, it is now

tornado season and another really good reason to inventory and insure.

That is truly horrible and am very sorry that has happened to you. I hope that you can get everything straightened out soon and back on the road to a normal situation. I give you a lot of credit for your strength in putting what happened in proper prospective.

 

Jon

So sorry to read your news, Electroliner.  That's really tough luck. Not sure that I could be as accepting as you seem to be.  I grew up on a farm in NE, miles from any water source.  Dad drummed fire safety into us.  Then our chimney caught fire (wood burning).  Only the chimney was damaged, but we had a practical lesson in fire safety.  He never mentioned an inventory tho.  Thanks for the reminder.  A photo inventory stored on line is a great solution. I keep a typed list of my trains with description and valuation on CD, but I never knew what to do with it.  Photos of the list stored on line might be a good idea also.  (The list not the CD)  Same goes for our household, too.

I am terribly sorry to read of your loss but as you and others have posted providence was with you and your family.  The coming months will be difficult but you are certainly taking the right approach with a balanced view of the situation.  Good luck with the rebuild of your home and your collection.

Having just come through the same experience, there are a few things I would have done different.  First was do not trust the insurance company, get a laywer up front.  Second was it took 2 1/2 years to get back into our home.  Consider walking away from your old home and find a new one.  The lot is worth something and some builder will buy it and build, but it all takes so much time.  We did not have a montage to complicate things.  Best of luck to you.