Insurance has an interesting history. You can look back as far as King Hammurabi, and for property insurance the 1666 great fire of London sparked (no pun intended) the idea to offer this coverage for buildings and homes. Fire was the primary peril covered, and American insurance companies followed the British model, albeit not for another hundred or so years. Seems the lives of those brave enough to venture to the new world were far too dangerous a risk for the companies at that time.
Because we have been involved in the volunteer emergency services since 1998 (fire and ems), fire stands out in our minds as a prevalent threat to homeowner’s and business owners alike. I think the average person not involved in firefighting may consider theft or weather damage as perils more likely to cause them a loss. It may just be a matter of perspective, but having both the insurance and the fire service experience under our belts, we can’t help but put fire at the top of the list.
I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of Homeowner’s Insurance. I will show you where we spent a good many hours last evening, however.
The call came in around 3:30. Structure fire. I am ems, my husband is fire. So he left and I waited for the VAC to be called. We were, eventually, and I rode the ambulance to the scene. We stood watch over the firemen, as there was nobody in the house, no victims. But firemen can get very tired, dehydrated, etc, and we are there for what we call “rehab”. We’re there just in case a man goes down on the job.
Before I left for the VAC, I googled the house involved. It was a beautiful, contemporary A frame.
When I heard it come over the radio that the fire was through the roof, I knew the house was lost.
What the FD rolled up on
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Credit to www.lohud.com and The Pound Ridge Fire Department for the photos of the fire.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation, of course. But it’s always so sad to see a beautiful home reduced to charcoal like this. It just punctuates the importance of keeping your home insurance current. Make sure you have the right amount of coverage. Get your agent to come out and measure and do the math. You just never know.
