Newlyweds: Victims of Methlab Fire
Donation protected
I don't think this is how anyone plans to spend their honeymoon. I know it's certainly is not how we imagined ours. How does anyone really prepare for a catastrophe? Insurance, check! Now just go on about your life until you need it, and pray you never do.
In early June 2015 we were making final arrangements for our wedding (July 4, 2015), school had just let out for the summer, and my daughter & I were headed to my parents until after the wedding. I had everything packed and staged in our garage, ready to be loaded into the car and make our 600 mile trip. At the time, my fiancé (Joel) had come home for the evening; to eat dinner with us and see us off until we'd see each other again at the end of the month. He is an owner-op (long haul truck driver), so we go weeks without seeing each other and cherish the short spurts we are together. That evening, Joel heard water dripping and went to investigate. He found our entire garage flooded, and the water still pouring from our adjacent neighbor's apartment building. I had never seen walls actually fill up with water and burst before my eyes until that night. Our emergency maintenance service for our apartment complex wasn't able to respond for hours, so the fire department was called to turn off the water to the building. Everything in garage was destroyed. Once the water was shut off, it was determined that the tenant in that apartment had tampered with his plumbing and had compromised the main waterline for the entire building. Why this man wasn't and hasn't been evicted is completely beyond any sane reasoning.
Because of the water damage; I had to replace my wedding dress on short notice, and we are still working (Aug 2, 2015) with our insurance company to compensate the more than $23k in personal property that was completely destroyed in our garage.
While as frustrating as this situation was, we handed all our evidence over the insurance Gods and proceeded on with our everyday life. Joel & I were married before our closest friends and family at Sunrise on July 4, 2015 with sand between our toes in our hometown on The Emerald Coast.
Joel returned to work on July 7, 2015 as I tied up loose ends and prepared to return to Dallas, TX on July 15, 2015. We quickly settled back into our routine. We unpacked the new items that we had to replace because of the water damage (clothes, luggage, etc.) and put to use all our wedding gifts. I returned to work, started preparing for back to school, and dreaming of a new home to that we had plans of moving into late this fall. ::fingers crossed:: (Or at least moving out of the apartment that we had happily called home until a "tweaker" moved in next to us about 6 months ago. *This is the guy that "played plumber" and caused the flood in our apartment. This is the same guy that sounds like he's rearranging furniture at 3am every night. The same guy that wonders between his apartment and the dumpsters with no shirt on, in oversized basketball shorts, nasty tighty-whities in plain view because his shorts fall down, and always looks like he's sweating to death with wild/crazy eyes. I do not use the word "tweaker" lightly, this guy's picture should be next to the word "junkie" in the dictionary.)
I completely believe that our lives are filled with trials and tribulations; and what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. With ever hurdle we overcome is a lesson that we learn. We can either let our oppressions consume us and we can become bitter; or we can become better. I choose better. I choose to remain positive and accept the things that I cannot change or control. I choose to adapt to whatever obstacles are put in front of us and I choose to keep making progress.
I have prayed for strength and patience every second since our neighbors latest disaster on Friday July 31, 2015. I am struggling through all the stages of "grief". The biggest ones seem to be 'denial' and 'anger'.
On Friday afternoon, my daughter and I were at home when I heard a loud "POP!!" As if someone had popped a bag of potato chips right by my head. I immediately went to my daughters room to see what she was doing and investigate the source of the noise. She was sound asleep. Unable to determine what had caused the sound and not seeing, hearing, or smelling anything out of place, I went on about myself. A short time later I smelt something burning. I quickly went to investigate the stove, oven, outlets, breaker box, and went around my home actively looking for the source of the smell. I saw no smoke at this time. Again, unable to determine the source I reluctantly went on about my business. Approximately 20-30 minutes after the initial "POP!!" sound the 'burning smell' intensified. I rushed through the house again, and quickly found smoke had filled my master bedroom and bathroom. I quickly phoned the front office where Megan answered...
"Hey, we have a problem! I have smoke in my apartment! Something is burning! I don't see any fire, but something is burning! What do I do!?"
**BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!!** Someone was frantically pounding on my door. I rushed down my stairwell to answer the door where Justin (maintenance) and another man yelled, "FIRE! GET OUT!!!"
I was still on the phone with Megan from the front office who was listening intently on the other end of the line when I said, "Fire! Call 911! Hang up and call 911 now! Building 5!!"
I rushed back up my stairs into my unit, scooped up my daughter and rushed out of the apartment as fast as possible.
All the tentants in our building were gathered in the parking lot, watching helplessly as The Fire Dept roared onto the scene and quickly extinguished the fire.
Once the firemen gave the "all clear", I asked about smoke and air quality in my apartment. Two firemen followed me to my unit and walked in with me and began opening windows and setting up fans to air out my unit. I asked the firemen why my smoke detectors did not go off and was told they are out dated and need replaced. I also inquired about what had caused the fire and was told, "We can't confirm or deny if him cooking meth started the fire, but we do suspect drug use based on finding numerous needles throughout his bedroom, where the fire originated."
Since that evening, my daughter and I have bounced from friends houses and hotel rooms once our insurance company provided assistance. I met with the fire restoration company on Tuesday August 4, 2015 and was told that everything in our home would have to be destroyed. Based on the level of chemical exposure and residue that has permeanted everything in our home, a hazardous waste company will need to be assigned to remove, destroy, and dispose of everything.
Everything that my daughter needed to start school in just a few short weeks. Everything that my husband and I have aquired in our lives, our wedding gifts, my wedding dress.... my daughter's toys and lovies. They're all visable but untouchable. My daughter's baby book, our family photographs. My heart aches just to briefly imagine everything that we have lost.
I think I'm beginning to reach the "bargaining" phase of grief.
Despite all we have lost, I am most grateful to The Red Cross who gave us a change of clothes, toothbrushes, and a care package. I'll never take clean underwear for granted again...
We are in desperate need of help. While our insurance company is working quickly to resolve our tragedy, we were sadly underinsured. Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the value of the contents in our home. Whatever anyone can assist us with, we will be forever grateful.
Thank you for your time and God Bless.
In early June 2015 we were making final arrangements for our wedding (July 4, 2015), school had just let out for the summer, and my daughter & I were headed to my parents until after the wedding. I had everything packed and staged in our garage, ready to be loaded into the car and make our 600 mile trip. At the time, my fiancé (Joel) had come home for the evening; to eat dinner with us and see us off until we'd see each other again at the end of the month. He is an owner-op (long haul truck driver), so we go weeks without seeing each other and cherish the short spurts we are together. That evening, Joel heard water dripping and went to investigate. He found our entire garage flooded, and the water still pouring from our adjacent neighbor's apartment building. I had never seen walls actually fill up with water and burst before my eyes until that night. Our emergency maintenance service for our apartment complex wasn't able to respond for hours, so the fire department was called to turn off the water to the building. Everything in garage was destroyed. Once the water was shut off, it was determined that the tenant in that apartment had tampered with his plumbing and had compromised the main waterline for the entire building. Why this man wasn't and hasn't been evicted is completely beyond any sane reasoning.
Because of the water damage; I had to replace my wedding dress on short notice, and we are still working (Aug 2, 2015) with our insurance company to compensate the more than $23k in personal property that was completely destroyed in our garage.
While as frustrating as this situation was, we handed all our evidence over the insurance Gods and proceeded on with our everyday life. Joel & I were married before our closest friends and family at Sunrise on July 4, 2015 with sand between our toes in our hometown on The Emerald Coast.
Joel returned to work on July 7, 2015 as I tied up loose ends and prepared to return to Dallas, TX on July 15, 2015. We quickly settled back into our routine. We unpacked the new items that we had to replace because of the water damage (clothes, luggage, etc.) and put to use all our wedding gifts. I returned to work, started preparing for back to school, and dreaming of a new home to that we had plans of moving into late this fall. ::fingers crossed:: (Or at least moving out of the apartment that we had happily called home until a "tweaker" moved in next to us about 6 months ago. *This is the guy that "played plumber" and caused the flood in our apartment. This is the same guy that sounds like he's rearranging furniture at 3am every night. The same guy that wonders between his apartment and the dumpsters with no shirt on, in oversized basketball shorts, nasty tighty-whities in plain view because his shorts fall down, and always looks like he's sweating to death with wild/crazy eyes. I do not use the word "tweaker" lightly, this guy's picture should be next to the word "junkie" in the dictionary.)
I completely believe that our lives are filled with trials and tribulations; and what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. With ever hurdle we overcome is a lesson that we learn. We can either let our oppressions consume us and we can become bitter; or we can become better. I choose better. I choose to remain positive and accept the things that I cannot change or control. I choose to adapt to whatever obstacles are put in front of us and I choose to keep making progress.
I have prayed for strength and patience every second since our neighbors latest disaster on Friday July 31, 2015. I am struggling through all the stages of "grief". The biggest ones seem to be 'denial' and 'anger'.
On Friday afternoon, my daughter and I were at home when I heard a loud "POP!!" As if someone had popped a bag of potato chips right by my head. I immediately went to my daughters room to see what she was doing and investigate the source of the noise. She was sound asleep. Unable to determine what had caused the sound and not seeing, hearing, or smelling anything out of place, I went on about myself. A short time later I smelt something burning. I quickly went to investigate the stove, oven, outlets, breaker box, and went around my home actively looking for the source of the smell. I saw no smoke at this time. Again, unable to determine the source I reluctantly went on about my business. Approximately 20-30 minutes after the initial "POP!!" sound the 'burning smell' intensified. I rushed through the house again, and quickly found smoke had filled my master bedroom and bathroom. I quickly phoned the front office where Megan answered...
"Hey, we have a problem! I have smoke in my apartment! Something is burning! I don't see any fire, but something is burning! What do I do!?"
**BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!!** Someone was frantically pounding on my door. I rushed down my stairwell to answer the door where Justin (maintenance) and another man yelled, "FIRE! GET OUT!!!"
I was still on the phone with Megan from the front office who was listening intently on the other end of the line when I said, "Fire! Call 911! Hang up and call 911 now! Building 5!!"
I rushed back up my stairs into my unit, scooped up my daughter and rushed out of the apartment as fast as possible.
All the tentants in our building were gathered in the parking lot, watching helplessly as The Fire Dept roared onto the scene and quickly extinguished the fire.
Once the firemen gave the "all clear", I asked about smoke and air quality in my apartment. Two firemen followed me to my unit and walked in with me and began opening windows and setting up fans to air out my unit. I asked the firemen why my smoke detectors did not go off and was told they are out dated and need replaced. I also inquired about what had caused the fire and was told, "We can't confirm or deny if him cooking meth started the fire, but we do suspect drug use based on finding numerous needles throughout his bedroom, where the fire originated."
Since that evening, my daughter and I have bounced from friends houses and hotel rooms once our insurance company provided assistance. I met with the fire restoration company on Tuesday August 4, 2015 and was told that everything in our home would have to be destroyed. Based on the level of chemical exposure and residue that has permeanted everything in our home, a hazardous waste company will need to be assigned to remove, destroy, and dispose of everything.
Everything that my daughter needed to start school in just a few short weeks. Everything that my husband and I have aquired in our lives, our wedding gifts, my wedding dress.... my daughter's toys and lovies. They're all visable but untouchable. My daughter's baby book, our family photographs. My heart aches just to briefly imagine everything that we have lost.
I think I'm beginning to reach the "bargaining" phase of grief.
Despite all we have lost, I am most grateful to The Red Cross who gave us a change of clothes, toothbrushes, and a care package. I'll never take clean underwear for granted again...
We are in desperate need of help. While our insurance company is working quickly to resolve our tragedy, we were sadly underinsured. Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the value of the contents in our home. Whatever anyone can assist us with, we will be forever grateful.
Thank you for your time and God Bless.
Organizer
Jenna Miller
Organizer
Dallas, TX