Black Tuesday

[hasselbrad]

I know Ranman thinks I've been hiding out since the Democrats took control of the Federal Government, but the reason I've been scarce is much more important than politics.
Last Tuesday evening, my parents' business, and thus, my main source of income, burned down. Pretty much gutted the interior. All but the very front offices are charred. The fire inspectors think it started in some conduit running along the back wall. Thankfully, no one was injured and none of the other buildings nearby were affected.
We are in the process of moving to a new location and getting it running again. As y'all can probably imagine, I've been a tad on the busy side. Perhaps when we've settled and things are humming again, I'll post some pics.

[hasselbrad]

Originally Posted by Flightfreak

Sorry to hear that Hasselbrad, i hope your parents had a very good (fire) insurance.

Thanks. They did. Now the trick is getting them to pay.

[DanMan]

WOW! Sorry to hear about the loss Hasslebrad.
Glad no one was hurt.
Hope everything is back to normal soon for you
and your family.

[Digital_Ice]

black-what-now?

ooh crap dude. erm. thats a bummer. and a massive finance drain. is it a public/private business

[Ranman]

I'll bet you blame Nancy Pelosi.

sorry to hear that brad, I hope everything works out

[Liam]

Christ, bad luck mate.

Hope things return to something resembling normality for you soon.

[hasselbrad]

Originally Posted by Ranman

I'll bet you blame Nancy Pelosi.

sorry to hear that brad, I hope everything works out

Actually...they think it was John Murtha's hearing aid.
Thanks all.

[hasselbrad]

Well, it's been over a month, so I guess I can't be whacked for a double post.

A while back, a vagrant was hit by a car near the office. When the fire-rescue unit got there, he started bragging that he knew who started the fire on Grady (where the office was). He says it was one of his fellow "urban outdoorsmen" who was trying to pull copper wire out of the air conditioner on the back of the building. Apparently, a few feet of copper wire is more valuable to a scrap dealer than a shopping cart full of cans. And, from what the fire investigator said, when they jerk on the wires, it can cause arcing throughout the electrical system which causes fires to break out everywhere, all at once.
I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.

[hasselbrad]

Originally Posted by Flightfreak

Does this make the process of getting the insurance company pay harder? Because it has been set to fire?

Not really. They're still trying to wriggle out of paying as much as possible, but it's pretty much shot their "cause and origin" guy's theory full of holes. He was insisting that it started in a Dell computer in a back office, mostly because when he heard the name Dell, he figured he might be able to shovel some of the responsibility off on them...thereby justifying his salary and putting his card in the front of the "friendly" Rolodex.

[mongoose]

Well man it's easy to blame a Dell computer, but it's hard to belive it.
And a computer doesn't just start to burn out of nothing .
Sorry for your loss.

[hasselbrad]

Well, over two months later we seem to be getting a bit of closure. The insurance company brought in a consultant who used to work for them. He specializes in large losses, and he told my father that he is going to recommend that they simply pay him what the building was insured for.
That's good news. Then, we can use the front walls that weren't too badly damaged as a facade and build a metal (fast and cheap) building on the existing foundation and sell the property.