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It's Simple - Fire Belongs in the Fireplace
I just feel I have to post this, especially after the horrific fire in Stamford, CT, only minutes from our office, on Christmas day this past week.
This terrible tragedy, in which five family members perished, is now being blamed on embers from the fireplace. When I first heard this, I tried to imagine how embers in a fireplace could cause such an inferno to erupt. I could only think of two possibilities: either the firebox have failed in the fireplace itself, or someone had mishandled the embers. Sadly, my second guess seems to be the right one.
According to reports from fire investigators, preliminarily, ashes and embers were removed from the fireplace, placed in a bag, and set in or near a mud room in the house. It is heartbreaking. Anyone who is familiar with the workings of a fireplace knows that THAT is where the fire belongs. And embers are still fire, albeit hidden, smoldering within a charred piece of wood, just waiting for the opportunity to light up again.
Photos from Northern Suburb News
This story has saddened our entire community here in Pound Ridge, New York. Personally, I simply can’t believe this has happened again. I say that because my family has personal experience with just such a situation.
A number of years ago my father owned a ski condo in Windham, NY. It was in the middle of a row of units, a wood frame structure in the snowy woods that we loved to escape to when we could for relaxing weekends or holidays. As time went on, and we all became busy with our lives, he started to rent it out, now and then, to folks who enjoyed the skiing on the nearby mountain. One such family from Brooklyn rented it and ended up proving that they had little or no experience with a fireplace. Evidently, after having a lovely fire in the hearth one night, someone decided that they needed to shovel out the red hot embers from the fireplace. They were placed in a bag, then into a plastic garbage can outside, which was then set back into its normal place, right next to the outer wall of the building. Some time in the night the renters were running out for their lives as fire consumed the downstairs bathroom, the upstairs bathroom above it and out the roof. We lost a third of the unit. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. To this day I cannot fathom what would seem logical about the actions that lead up to this fire.
And if you think this is an isolated incident, it’s not. The next year my husband and I arrived late one night to stay in the now-repaired unit. We were tired, but did notice before we went to bed that the place seemed to be a mess, with dirt all over the counter. Blaming the last family members who had stayed, we resolved to sleep and clean in the morning. When we awoke the next day, we realized that the entire inside of the unit was covered with a film of soot. After what had happened the year before, I was frantic, but realized there was no sign of fire in our unit.
We cleaned up and, confused, exited to head out for the day, at which time my husband told me to come look at the unit on the end of the line of townhouses. It was almost completely gone, burned by fire. Astonishingly, we came to find out that the very same scenario had occurred, with renters removing embers and setting the place on fire. In this instance, though, a pregnant woman almost did not make it out. After that, all of the owners invested in metal garbage cans, and we posted a notice on the hearth with detailed instructions for all future renters.
Ok, I am a city girl at heart. I was born in NYC, but I’ve lived in a house with a fireplace since I was 9 years old. Still, I cannot understand why someone would work to remove hot, burning ash or pieces of wood from a place that is specifically built for it. It can be cleaned down the road, when all the contents are cooled and the heat completely dissipated. Nobody will fault you for having a dirty fireplace. Just leave it to burn down where it belongs and where it is safe.
My heart goes out to this couple for all they have lost. I’m not sure I could survive it myself and there are no words befitting the situation. If it is even possible, may they find peace one day.
Be safe.
No NY Insurance? No NY License Plates. It's that simple.
We’ve had a couple of our customers in the last week get caught up because of this rule. Both recently moved out of state and we did our best to explain to them that you cannot have New York State license plates unless you have at least the minimum New York State liability insurance coverage for the registration attached to those plates.
I was asked by one customer how the average New Yorker would know this information if they are not told by their insurance representative (something we do regularly, and did do in both of these situations). Unfortunately, it’s hard to answer that question without seeming unfeeling or rude. But the answer is simply that, having registered the vehicle in the state, you are required to be aware of the rules, someone else telling you not withstanding. I am subject to them myself.
I would say we explain this to someone at least 10 times in any given week. The response is always the same. It’s black and white. No insurance, no plates. Keep the plates and cancel the insurance and you get fined and a suspension letter from DMV for your license and that registration.
In the two instances I refer to, both customers moved out of state. We told them AND emailed them what needed to be done. We can’t come to their homes and take the plates from them forcibly. They chose, instead to keep the NY plates, but wrote insurance coverage in their new states of residence. The first asked us to cancel her policy which we did, at her earnest request, only now to find out she held onto her plates and now she has the nasty DMV Suspension letter. The fact that she HAS now turned in her plates should render the situation moot and clear it up, but it’s no fun to receive that letter. The second wrote coverage in the new state, but the current NYS coverage is still in force. So having not turned in their plates, they is still paying for two policies. Nobody wants to do that either. Now those plates need to be mailed back to New York and, once that is done, the coverage can be canceled.
Here’s a link to the New York State DMV page explaining what you need to do about your license plates.
We at our agency are going to look for a way to make sure our insureds are even more informed on this subject in the future. Even though we feel we do a good job of explaining the issue, we still end up being the ones blamed in the end. I think it’s the result of an unpleasant societal shift of blame by a majority of the populace. Perhaps we will add a new notice to be given to all of our customers, regardless of the status of their auto coverage. We will come up with something, I’m sure of that. In the meantime, remember: No insurance, No plates. Plates & No Insurance? Nasty notice or overpaying.
Hurricane Irene
Windham, New York, our old ski haunt, was hit pretty hard as well.
It’s difficult to sit here and say how surprised we all are by the ferocity of the hurricane, what with all the advanced warning we had for days on end. But I can say that none of us expected the extent of the damage that we are seeing. Two days gone, and we are still without power at home, and without communications at our office. Thankfully, my brother lives outside the damage area and I am sitting in his living room now, able to run my office remotely because of the beauty of modern technology.
The claims are, of course, coming in. Clients with trees on their homes, water in their houses, and various other losses not unexpected. We in this town have to count ourselves lucky though. Much worse has occurred both north and south of us. A relative living in a cottage in Rye lost almost everything he owns to over 4 feet of water, including his car which is now totaled. The water was up over the front hood. And a friend’s daughter lost her entire house in Catskill to the raging waters.
More to follow…unfortunately. Stay safe. Watch for downed trees and wires on the roads.
