# Help a longtime Doper whose home was destroyed by fire on Christmas **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 27, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246 "2024-12-27T23:54:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/61 "2024-12-29T22:49:49Z")
Done. Best wishes to you and yours! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/62 "2024-12-30T00:08:08Z")
Done. Brave worked for me. Good luck with everything @Czarcasm, all the best from Downunder. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/63 "2024-12-30T02:41:48Z")
I’ll take all the help I can get…even if it is upside-down. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/64 "2024-12-30T03:12:38Z")
Also done. Best wishes to you and your family in this difficult time, @Czarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/65 "2024-12-30T05:38:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’ll take all the help I can get…even if it is upside-down. Just be careful when you buy a new toilet that it flushes the right way for the northern hemisphere. ---
**Author:** ![What\_s\_That\_Smell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3bc359/32.png) [@What\_s\_That\_Smell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_s_That_Smell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/66 "2024-12-30T05:57:11Z")
Another upside-down donation from me. Wishing you all the best. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/67 "2024-12-30T11:49:48Z")
It’s o.k., I spin both ways. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/68 "2024-12-30T16:47:55Z")
Done. Have the kittycats turned up yet? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/69 "2024-12-30T19:39:52Z")
I added my bit. Good thoughts to you and yours. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha834](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Alpha834](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha834)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/70 "2024-12-30T19:50:05Z")
Donation made. Good luck going forward!! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/71 "2024-12-30T21:07:42Z")
I’m in. Good luck @Czarcasm! Trip ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/72 "2024-12-30T22:28:52Z")
I’ve made my donation, and I hope this doesn’t appear indelicate, but I’m curious as to how the amount of the goal ($30,000) was established. Is it intended to cover expenses that insurance won’t? I’m fortunate in never having experienced a disaster like this, so I have no idea what’s involved with dealing with such a situation. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/73 "2024-12-30T22:50:37Z")
It was started by a good friend without my knowledge. We will be keeping it safe and either use it to repair (if possible) or find a new place (if necessary), and hopefully replace some items. As of right now, unfortunately, we have to tell people we have no place to put furniture and other large items they try to give us. I know My Beloved misses the joy and comfort she got from her mother’s antique bed, I miss my barely trained computer, we miss all our books and collectibles…and we both miss our cats. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/74 "2024-12-30T23:06:49Z")
Holy shit! And we just found out that our New Year’s Eve plans are in the toilet because the hostess just caught COVID for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/75 "2024-12-31T02:30:15Z")
# Bad things happen in threes! So with the car stolen, the house burned and your New Year’s Eve plans on hold: you won’t have any more bad luck for a while. PS. I have contributed; best wishes! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/76 "2024-12-31T03:58:33Z")
If It was me starting it I’d ask for even more than I thought I’d get. Kind of like Girl Scout cookies, they shouldn’t be $6 a box but if you asked for half that in cash you wouldn’t get as much. Czarcasm, when you can have :“stuff” I imagine people will still have it for you. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/77 "2024-12-31T04:52:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It was started by a good friend without my knowledge. We will be keeping it safe and either use it to repair (if possible) or find a new place (if necessary), and hopefully replace some items. As of right now, unfortunately, we have to tell people we have no place to put furniture and other large items they try to give us. I know My Beloved misses the joy and comfort she got from her mother’s antique bed, I miss my barely trained computer, we miss all our books and collectibles…and we both miss our cats. Maybe you can use some of the money to rent a storage unit to keep donated items safe until you can use them. And possibly recover some items in the house that are still usable, or are sentimental. I will note that items that have been in a fire have an odor that can transfer to other things, so be judicious about what you save. StG ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/78 "2024-12-31T12:38:26Z")
Odor: My bro once bought a house that had been struck by lightning, had had a small attic fire which the FD contained pretty quickly / effectively, then the house been fully repaired and smoke/water remediated. All this was WAG 5 years before he bought the house. The smell of burning / burnt wood permeated the place. 24/7/365 everywhere indoors smelled like there was a wood fire burning merrily in a fireplace a couple feet from wherever you were. If one lived there, soon enough they’d probably not notice it. But it was kinda off-putting to visitors. He lived there a few years then sold. The house had been hard / slow for the previous owners to sell, and he got it cheap. It was also hard / slow for him to sell and he sold it cheap. Repair versus rebuild: My other brother was/is in house construction. In the hills of SoCal. When a wildfire comes through, some houses are unscathed. Some are comprehensively destroyed. And a few are lightly damaged then the damaged part, and only the damaged part, are rebuilt. Assuming adequate insurance, those folks in the third category have the worst of the deal financially. They still live in a 1970s house with avocado appliances, but a new roof or garage or … The folks next door whose house was reduced to a foundation now have a shiny new house designed and equipped 2024 style. As the homeowner it can be tempting to try to do anything to save the existing structure. That emotional reaction can be a real financial trap. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/79 "2024-12-31T12:42:32Z")
I live in a 1950s house and there are lots of things i like about it more than 2020s houses. 🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246/80 "2024-12-31T12:57:29Z")
Done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-longtime-doper-whose-home-was-destroyed-by-fire-on-christmas/1012246.md?page=5)