House fire - how can I help my sister?

[y4m]

My sister is on a business trip and got a call from the police that her house caught on fire this morning.  Her wife and baby weren't home, but her cat didn't make it and her dog is at a vet being treated for burns and smoke inhalation - she was critical when she came in, but appears to be somewhat stable now.  My SIL and Nephew were not there and are safe, and my parents are headed there too.  

All her paperwork is presumably destroyed, but I was able to call her mortgage lender and get the insurer's info, and a claim started.

What else can I do, aside from texting with her and keeping her calm?  My heart just aches for her.  

[Kore]

Oh god I am so sorry.

[phunluvin82]

Oh that is so awful.

[ssmjlm]

My SIL's brother had a horrible house fire. The biggest things for them were gc's to restaurants and target. They initially were in a hotel and eating out a lot.

[Deleted]

y4m, that is so sad! I am so, so, sorry for her (and the family) and of course for her kitty cat.

Anything you can do to help salvage things would be appreciated. A neighbor suffered a fire, and was also grateful for the lending of things / supplying of things that were lost. Small things...like face creams / wash, personal books, clothes, food basics, etc in the short term. Stuff to help them get through during the claims process.

[takeonyou]

I just lost my house. The best things we got were giftcards to restaurants and Wal-Mart and Target. We will be reimbursed eventually, but in the meantime we are spending thousands out of pocket.

Also, offer to watch the kids if youvare local. And if you are local, have the kids over to run around outside. My kids were super cooped up in the hotel. And visit them wherever they end up. Its helped us keep our normal routine having family and friends visit.

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[takeonyou]

Also, I am so so sorry. I hope that her pup is ok.

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[Deleted]

takeonyou do you need anything? I'm local to you. when did this happen?!

y4m I don't have any advice besides what PP mentioned, but I am sorry this happened to your sister and her family.

[thatgirl2478]

That's awful! I'm glad that no one was hurt. I'm sorry to hear that her kitty didn't make it and her dog is burned.

I would definitely suggest gift cards to places like Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. Mostly clothing/household items.

Aside from watching the kids, if you can help with the dog, that might be nice too. If the insurance adjusters come over while she's still gone, you could meet them at the house. Of course, I'm sure her wife will help with that too .

[arch01]

check in with the red cross to see if they can help with emergency temporary housing until they can talk with insurance and figure out a longer term plan.

[y4m]

I should mention I'm like 3000 miles away. I've got the amazon cart filled with some stuff for nephew, and I'm handling paperwork stuff, but I can't do the in person stuff, at least immediately.

[takeonyou]

Sept 18, 2013 14:33:10 GMT -5 @mrsspunky said:

takeonyou do you need anything? I'm local to you. when did this happen?!

y4m I don't have any advice besides what PP mentioned, but I am sorry this happened to your sister and her family.

I will PM you. If I mentioned what happened, it gives my address on the first google. Everything is settled for now. Thanks though!

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[cjeanette]

I presume items like birth certificates and social security cards were in there? Maybe find the paperwork online to request new copies?

[mbcdefg]

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that. The poor kitty I'm so glad her family wasn't home and I hope the dog will be OK.

takeonyou, sorry to you as well

[takeonyou]

Also, she doesn't need the red cross. She can go to a hotel nearby and tell her ins company. They will cover it. No need for them to stay in a shelter.

Also, contact a local realtor and ask about short term rentals. That was the hardest part for us. Finding a place to stay until the house is rebuilt.

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[liveintheville]

Contacts, glasses, and rx meds were first on my list. Any cc or insurance cards she might not have had on her and were in the house. Photos of the interior for insurance purposes.

[ESF]

I am so sorry.

This is along term thing, but I would think about what kinds of personal mementos do you have copies of that would have been destroyed, like wedding photos, baby photos, etc? Once they get the basics under control, they might appreciate knowing that they'll have some help replacing some of the more irreplaceable things.

[Kore]

I'm so sorry, takeonyou

[cosmos]

omg! my thoughts are with them

[Deleted]

I'm so sorry Poor kitty.

[jennistarr1]

There's a million things people can do
Get together toiletries/clothes for each of them--missing school supplies for daughter
Straight up give her money
Help with the vet bill for the dog
Temporary place to live?

[imojoebunny]

After she talks to the adjuster, shop for her. I had a tree fall on my house and destroy about 1/2 of it. Shopping for all the furniture, towels, clothes, electronics when it is all destroyed at once, is exhausting, plus in her case picking out things to rebuild. You can do a lot of that online now, but it still takes hundreds of hours. I am glad that her wife and baby were ok, and I hope the dog will be too.

My insurance company was great, they put me up in another place, and gave me enough money to fix and replace everything. Once I knew that part would be ok, I could deal with the rest. You might also offer her a short term loan, if she is tight on cash. My neighbors paid my deductible which was $1000. They didn't have to do that, but it made the cash flow much easier for me. When it was all said and done, I gave it back to them for their 10 anniversary, but having that float for the time it took to rebuild was awesome.

[jerseyjaybird]

I'm so sorry----lots of good thoughts to your family and fingers crossed for the dog.

takeonyou, if @mrsspunky is local, I am, too, so add me to your list of resources should you need anything

[orangeblossom]

takeonyou I'm sorry to hear about your house.


My house burned down when I was 12, and one thing that helped was my grandparents and family helping to sift through stuff to see what could be salvaged. It helped that they knew a lot of what would be important to my parents.

Also, neighbors helped a lot by driving me to and from school. Though the kids are younger it could still apply to daycare and such.

Look into short-term housing. Staying in a hotel those first couple of days was rough. Life got better once we were in an apt.

Gift cards to restaurants, Walmart, Etc

Get started calling credit cards, bills, etc for new cards

Much like grieving a loss of a loved one, let your sister vent, cry, etc, just be there to listen. Of course my family was grateful no one was home, sometimes crying was about all that my mother could do to feel better

Keep the kids in a routine. I went to school the next day after the fire

I might not mention it now, but rebuilding the house and picking out new things was a big source of comfort/relief for my mother and gave her something to look forward to.

I'm very sorry for your sister and family. You're a good sister to her. Hugs to you too.

[litasail]

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that!

[Deleted]

That's horrible. Do they have temporary accommodation? Can you book them a hotel for the week? Restaurant gift cards?

[dexteroni]

I'm so sorry. And their poor kitty. I'm glad everyone else is ok though. Thank goodness.

takeonyou, I'm so sorry about your house! You sound so calm. How are you doing?

[y4m]

The dog didn't make it My sister is on a plane and doesn't know yet. I am devastated.

[Deleted]

I know if I lost my house, the biggest loss ( aside from the kitty ) would be pictures. Maybe you could go through all your pictures and make them a disk of some for them.

We back up just for this reason, but I know most people don't.

ETA- oh no! Poor animals. I must say, this is my fear with an inside kitty.

[takeonyou]

Sept 18, 2013 16:22:12 GMT -5 y4m said:

The dog didn't make it My sister is on a plane and doesn't know yet. I am devastated.

Oh God. I'm so sorry.

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