Not Alice

My world feels like Wonderland right now.  Things are topsy-turvy.

We had a small electrical fire at the house this week.  There is still old knob-and-tube wiring in the house, which I've wanted to get rid of for years.  But I've never felt like I had the means to do so.  It's not an inexpensive proposition.    

And it's been hot this summer.  Greg got an A/C unit, which we plugged in to what was apparently one of the remaining knob and tube outlets.  Unfortunately, half of the outlets and lights in the house (including this one) were on one, singular circuit breaker.  Really? But the house was built in 1897, probably had electrical added in the 1920's, back when there weren't building codes or concerns about overloading a circuit.

On Tuesday, the circuit blew.  I was at class, Greg was at home, so he reset the breaker and nothing came on.  He left the circuit off and then went to his class.  Apparently some of the knob and tube wiring arced and started a smoldering fire in the old insulation in the attic.  

Fortunately both of us got back to the house about an hour and a half later.  The smoldering hadn't turned into flame yet, but we could smell smoke.  I looked in the closet where there is access to the attic and there was smoke there.  Greg asked for a fire extinguisher and said "call 911".  We pulled things out of the closet to get access to the attic and I made the call.  

Four fire trucks showed up.  Neighbors showed up to ask what was going on.  A fire inspector showed up to make sure it wasn't arson.  I got on the phone to my insurance company.  Greg, fortunately, talked to the firemen and convinced them not to turn the hoses on the house unnecessarily.  Instead, they took down the ceiling fan in the front room (they had been in the attic and identified that as the hot spot and the source of the smoke), and cut away the ceiling right there.  They were able to use minimal water to extinguish the fire.  That saved SO MUCH.  If they had turned the hoses on the house, it quite possibly would have been declared a complete loss.

Let that sink in for a moment.  

Instead we have a big hole in the front room, smoke damage, some structural damage, and a ruined electrical system.

But I have homeowners insurance.  And I have "code upgrade" insurance which will cover bringing my house up to code.  Which means new electrical in the house, a cleaned out attic (bye-bye old, useless insulation), and new insulation.

Holy hell.

The house is livable, so we're still there.  We're working around having only 50% of our usual electricity.  Extension cords and dimly lit rooms.

At first I thought, "well, we dodged a bullet there.  And this doesn't look like too much to fix up.  An electrician, a framer, someone to fix the lath and plaster ceiling, paint it and off we go."  

Then the "vendors" started showing up.  

The first guy was assigned by my insurance company, he says.  Oh, ok.  He works for a one-stop shop that will take care of everything for us.  The adjusters are so overworked that they will often ask him to manage the whole project and just report back to them when the work is done.  Oh, that sounds promising, they obviously trust you.  We will come in and take the contents of your house to get them cleaned from the smoke and store them until the construction work is done.  We will send your artwork to a specialized company that deals with art because we want to make sure it is treated properly.  Well, that is certainly nice because I love my art and have a lot of it.  We also have another department that will come take care of your textiles (curtains, clothing, rugs, etc) to get them cleaned or replaced.  Wow, I didn't know that was a thing.  Lastly we will coordinate electricians, carpenters, painters and post-construction cleaners to get your house back up to pre-loss condition.  Really?  All this for me?  Plus I'm contacting my assistant right now to have her get an air scrubber over here this evening to deal with the residual smoke in the air.  That's very considerate.  I am in charge of the Contents Department and we only have one-page that we need you to sign to get things started.

Ok, hold up.  I know enough about insurance to know that I don't have to go with you just because you are "assigned" by my insurance, right?  That's true.  Ok, I have a call into another company and I'd like to talk to them first.  That's fine.  They are a good company too.  But I've worked with your adjuster before and I have a really good relationship with him......


Thanks for your time and for the air scrubber.  Just to let you know, every vendor is in Audition Mode with me at this point.  I've never had to deal with a house fire before and I don't know all the facts or what the scope of the project is.  I want to talk to a few more vendors before I make any decisions, but I will let you know which way I'm going to go once I make that decision.

And then I started calling the vendors, and electricians on my own.  Another insurance adjuster called me - apparently I'll have 2 or 3 adjusters over this process - and was *much more* forthcoming with information than my first adjuster.  In quick succession I had a phone conversation with Adjuster #2, a meeting with a Textile vendor, a meeting with another All-in-One company, and an independent Electrician.  Then I had a meeting with my local insurance guy.

And then I started to fall apart a bit.  I hadn't understood the full scope of the work that needed to be done.  It was such a small fire, really.  Is all of this necessary?  And what if I make the wrong choice of vendor?  How am I going to navigate all this without fucking up?

Again, Greg was there to calm me down and assure me that I'm not going through this alone.  That everything is going to work out just fine.  He has been a life saver so far.  Had he not talked to the firemen and asked them to do minimal damage, my house might be damaged beyond reasonable repair.  And he has been there to support me every step of the way.  At one point we had three different conversations overlapping each other - Adjuster #2, Electrician and All-in-One company #2.  We seamlessly played tag team between them all.  He talked to the electrician while I wrapped up the conversation with the adjuster.  When All-in-One #2 showed up, he started talking to them, leaving me to finish up the conversation with the electrician.  Once I got to the All-in-One company, Greg had to take off to go to class himself.  It was pretty impressive how we rolled through all three so seamlessly.

Now today is Friday and we don't have anything scheduled regarding the fire.  Nor do I have any massage clients this weekend, which is fortunate.  But I'm going to have to figure out what exactly I'm going to be able to do about it by next weekend when I have two clients.

My stomach is achey.  I've had three headaches these past two weeks due to smoke in the air from wildfires on the West Coast.  The wildfire smoke has made going outdoors unpleasant, and made the city seem overcast.  Today the smoke has minimized, but the clouds have rolled in, which brings my depression with it.  Our back yard looks like a lumber yard because we had started to clean out the shed and Greg was in the midst of doing some repairs on the house before the fire happened.  And since I'm not working right now, I'm home *a lot*. 

I feel overwhelmed at times, in a holding pattern at other times.  We will be displaced out of the house at some point so that construction can happen.  And our belongings will be taken away to be cleaned (or it will be determined that we should just replace them).  Choba will have to deal with being taken to a new abode for a while, as will we.  And we'll have to keep an eye on things at the house during construction.  All this while I'm going to be in truck driving school and Greg alone will be supporting us financially.

Topsy-turvy here we come.