InBerkeley

(NOTE: this was a comment added to this post: What did we learn from the fire of 1991? and was cleaned up and corrected a bit after being written in that tiny little comment box at the bottom of posts, which is a little hard to see in that context.. so this version is slightly different from the original comment back at that post.)

I was in Berkeley at the time of the ‘91 fire.. watching from the roof of my warehouse at the time, on 3rd street.

After the fire I was hired by an architecture firm, and I spent a year doing 100 fire booklets for 100 homeowners, coordinating with the architects in the office who drew the “as was” plans of the old homes.

These were homes that typically had been purchased in the prior 10 years for approximately $200 – 250k. They were typically 1500-1800 square feet. The “to be” drawings had to replicate the house, except bring it to 1991 code, and then there was what the client really wanted (typically if they were rebuilding: a 10,000 sq ft house in order to feel cocooned and protected). So the insurance company would typically pay for my work documenting the old house and cost to build the “as was house” and the “to code but as was house,” plus three sets of plans by architects, plus construction management (at that time, about $100k in architecture fees). Then the insurance would pay the client 3 yrs of rent on a comparable house (usually at that time about $300k) plus permit fees, plus landscaping, plus the cost to rebuild the house, plus 90% for contents no matter what they had inside (warhols or posters, gucci suits or gap tshirts). Plus the values of their cars, boats, etc. Most clients did really well. We were typically able to get a cash settlement of around $3m tax free or more depending. Many clients sold their lots for $100k and went to Italy or somewhere to decompress after the trauma and just hang with the cash.

At first, most of us working with these people felt really badly for them. They had lost all of their worldly possessions, maybe pets, one woman ran all the way down the hill with flames leaping after her with her pet in her arms and the clothes on her back. But after about a year, and gobs of compensation later, the fire loss people had become a bunch of overly entitled whiners who still wanted more more more: money, sympathy, possessions, protection. It was ridiculous.

Honestly most of the people working for them couldn’t even afford to buys houses in the flats in bad neighborhoods, much less the nice ones the victims had with those gorgeous views, and we had to listen to the traumatic whining over and over daily of these very rich self-centered people and just be sympathetic. Not all but a lot of them were unable to get perspective or to see how incredibly privileged they were, despite their losses. They became pathetic and the newspapers began to report on backlash reactions because of how incredibly demanding some of these people were behaving.

I would say do these things in addition to the things mentioned in What did we learn from the fire of 1991? (like clearing brush throughout the neighborhood or managing fire roads):

• Make sure you have a insurance policy that pays for “replacement” of the house, plus contents, plus vehicles, plus services like architectural drawings and rental while the house is being redone. Less than that will result in an actual cash loss when trying to rebuild.

• If you have expensive art have all of it scheduled separately. We had clients with houses full of Warhols and Picassos etc and none of it was listed… so they were simply reimbursed for “90% of whatever the house was determined to be worth”. Ditto for other collectibles or jewelry, rare cars or furniture.
• Make sure you have photos of your house, everywhere, inside and out somewhere else (online, with family members at their homes… whatever). We often would contact family to get old birthday party or other event photos… to show, say, wood paneling behind the cake in the background… whatever we could to document things.
• Make a safety plan for post disaster that includes a phone number that everyone in the house and relatives can call, and have everyone memorize it (no cell phone reliance, just in case). This phone should be able to relay messages to all about everyone’s whereabouts, etc. Don’t plan to use email because if the laptop burns, it may be a while before someone can get to email or figure out how to check in (think grandma).  You need to be able to call immediately, confirm you are alive, and communicate where you are and can be reached. Cell services often get overloaded during crises so think that one through as well.
• Make an exit plan for during a disaster with a place to go if any household members are at home when the disaster occurs. Know routes and locations, know where to go and what to do for multiple scenarios.
• Make a pet plan if you have those… including what to do if there is no car to get the pet out if someone is at home and the rest are gone with the cars.
• Lastly, think about the situation in advance, get valuables into safety deposit boxes, and remember that it’s just stuff and only the people, the pets and maybe data or family photos (in other words non-replaceable items) matter most. The rest doesn’t really matter and isn’t more important than other people. It can be replaced, given proper insurance or funding.

If a disaster does happen, get therapy. It is a loss and it’s scary, but life happens and it’s not the end of the world. Things will go on. I have a friend in Chicago whose family house burnt down twice (yeah… crazy.. once by lightening and once 20 years later due to an electrical fire). They are still healthy and happy and have perspective and know their friends and family, plus others in the community matter more than things. They have insurance and they just roll with it.

Mary Hodder General