Well, the unexpected happened today.

I returned home to find the Chicago fire department in front of my two-flat apartment with 2 engines departing as I got there.

I noticed that the first floor was literally "toast" as I pulled up and I stopped in the alley and got out of my Teg and asked one of the many onlookers (or "ambulance" chasers) how the second floor (my floor) was . They indicated the whole building was destroyed. I was shocked, needless to say.

So, I walk around and find my landlord and ask him what is happening. It turns out he got there 10 minutes prior to my arrival and he says "Your downstairs neighbor burnt the place down". I then ask a couple more people and find out that one of her cats knocked over her candles for Hanakuh (SP?) and that is what started the fire.

The fire department left and I saw that the stairs to my place were in one piece, so I grabbed a flashlight and headed in. The first floor looked like a bomb went off in it - nothing was recognizable. I went up the stairs to my place and the smoke got lighter and the walls were less and less black. As I got to the top of the stairs, I realized my bikes were unharmed and then I opened the door to my place and the dining room was fine. I turned to the living room and all the windows had been broken in and water was everywhere - but the place was in tact. This went for the rest of the place as well.

As it turns out, the first floor was literally gutted ( I will get pics tomorrow) like a bomb went off - nothing left, but somehow, my place was spared distruction. Now, what I am dealing with is that everything is smoke damaged. I mean, real bad. Everything smells like the worst campfire gone wrong that you can imagine.

Best thing is no one was hurt, although all three of the neighbors cats perished in the smoke infested first floor. The neighbor lost everything, i mean everything, in her place. I have lost all my furniture due to smoke damage, but have saved many things.

I have become instantly homeless. I am staying at my GF's house for now. We moved ALL of my clothes out and all of my valuables tonight, we will move more stuff out of my place tomorrow.

Please be aware of your candles and your pets. As I have seen tonight, it only takes a moment and your whole life can dissappear.

Be safe....

 

did the cat survive?

 

That's terrible

 

I'm sorry you went thru this. Do you have renter's insurance? A friend lost everything but her photo albums that were under her bed. She received $25,000 for the loss and was very ecstatic to buy everything new and money left over to buy a new car. Good luck!
MAY

 

 

Sorry to hear about that, I can't imagine that awfull feeling of pulling up outside your home and seeing the fire department there....

As long as your personal stuff survives you can replace your furniture and appliances etc. with the insurance money.

 

Thanks for the kind words. It is still like a dream for the most part. The thoughts racing through my mind when I arrived at the house were unbelievable. In the end, it could have been a lot worse. No one was hurt (other than the three cats who died from the smoke).

Everything I have is effectively "gone" for the time being because it stinks of smoke and has to be cleaned.

I'll get some pics today and post them here. It's really unbelievable when you look at the damage to the first floor to then see my place relatively untouched.

 

Fire is a truly terrible thing. Bad news for you right on Christmas but a good excuse to 'shack 'up with your g/f!

 

WHOA!!!

Man, that sucks!! I was wondering what happened to you yesterday...!!

What a bummer...!!! I may try to come by and survey the damage later today...

 

Oh man that sucks, but you already know that. Glad every human involved is okay and lets hope HER insurance will cover your losses.