Fire

Linda's Thoughts from Duluth
The other day there was an almost new home in our Woodland residential area that caught on fire and had a lot of damage. Fortunately, no one was home. The fire chief said that it was harder fighting a new home than an older one. This house was insured. A co/worker and I were talking about the fire, and I mentioned that I can’t understand how I often notice that some homes that burn down are not insured with fire insurance. How can anyone have a home and not have it insured? I’ve heard that one reason some don’t have it, is because can’t afford fire insurance. I would think that there has to be a way for them to get help, so that they can be covered and that a homeowner needs to make fire insurance as much a priority as food and sleep.

Funny that we were talking about fires, today, we found out that a man who works in the same building we work in, had a house fire yesterday. The whole home was a total loss. He lost everything. He also lost his beloved dog in the fire. He is especially upset about his pet. As he said, material things can be replaced, but your loved dog? It’s so sad. Contractors were working on the house, it was being remodeled. They think it was electrical. His home was insured, he received a check right away this morning for $2,000 toward the settlement, to get him started to buy clothing, food, etc. What if he had no insurance? Of course, our society would not let him go homeless, and his friends would take up a collection, and probably do a benefit fundraiser. We have seen friends and community come together to support those that lose their uninsured home, and I am thankful that we do that. But, I think it’s important that when it comes to something as substantial and important as fire insurance, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure the home is insured. Our office is taking a collection for him, because we feel badly, and want to help. He is staying with friends. But, we are thankful that he will be able to replace his home because he had it insured, and that he will not have to scrape around for funds to replace it. (I'll bet he is thankful too!)