- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 5,874
[video=youtube_share;iOH-Lo3i70E]http://youtu.be/iOH-Lo3i70E[/video]
Except what I had on me and in my cars that day (My wife and I were babysitting the grandchildren when the fire happened) I lost my entire knife collection of over 1,000 knives, most new with boxes and paperwork. I had been collecting Buck knives, along with other Marques from all over the world, for over 20 years. My idea with the rare and older pieces (heck, with all of the collection eventually) was to preserve and pass them over to other collectors as I aged up past a certain point.
My most expensive knife was appraised @ $4000. A Boguszewski custom with a letter from Phil explaining how that rare knife fit into his work and into the history of stilettos. I recovered it and what you see in the video with some help.
Inside my fire resistant safe, which lost its top at some point, were fused together multiple proof sets of birth year coins for my two sons.
Oregon law puts my live-in handicapped beloved son on my homeowners insurance policy (his name does not appear on the policy). He was profiled as being disabled at the scene of a fire where he had lived and was arrested. His trial is scheduled for August first. The official fire report bore false witness IMHO as to what happened at the scene after I arrived regarding what was said and done that I and my wife had direct personal knowledge of. I have been told that our written statement of disagreement has been attached to the fire report. The sheriff's report is not available to me. I am not allowed by the court to speak to my son about the incident. I can only visit him if chaperoned. He has been in a hotel since 5-4 (date of the fire) and we remain in my older son's basement.
They say you only need to get rich once. Uh, uh. I lost a million dollars in the fire. I was insured for about $650k. I have replacement coverage. My dollar limits trump the word "replacement." I had not kept up with the hot market. I was under-insured. I expect to have the insurance carrier deny the claim due to my son. If that turns out to be the case then I will have to sue and maybe appeal. I have a legal strategy per extensive consultation with folks that do that. I've never sued anyone.
The day of the fire my wife and I left the house at 8:15 AM. A man I have never met took cell phone photos of our burning home between that time and before 10:00 AM (when the first fireman responder arrived) when the fire was determined to be non-survivable and a defensive action only was taken. A giant track hoe tossed the remains during and after the fire.
I am unable to post the cell phone photos (PDF format) from this Apple iPad Pro if anyone can be of aid I can email you a ton. I can't even separate them, over 70, from the fire report. The report showed four photos taken by this fellow from four sides of the home while it burned. This photographer is apparently the love interest of the combative female pot barn property owner my access easement crosses. I figured out how to give you access to those pics at the bottom of this post.
Wishes: 1. Don't own rare 1 of 1 pieces unless you can safeguard them without question (safe deposit box outside tornado alley or flood or tidal wave or fire or...). 2. Never accept a gift, ever. I miss those the most. You know who you are that gave me stuff and it hurts the most to lose those gifts, the idea of the gift, it makes me have to earn it every single day and not give up. 3. If you are gonna own expensive cutlery cultivate your insurance agent as a yearly visitor, have a separate rider for it, photograph/video/inventory all of it and keep those records off premises (in the cloud and in the lock box at the bank). Make the agent review the adequacy of your replacement insurance coverage every year. I'm still trying to recall what was in my collection! I'll be lucky to remember 1/2 of it. I will need a contents list whether the insurance comes to a fight or not.
Don't read this part: I did not just collect knives. I loved them. I really loved everything about them. The history, the makers, the knives themselves, the fellow owners, the get togethers and what was coming. What happened to me was like coming home and finding your girlfriend and your stuff gone. No note. Never to be seen again, ever. I was surrounded by the objects of my desire. They were everywhere in my home. All over. Multiple display cases, all over my desk, cubby hole in the kitchen, you name it.
I couldn't have written this even a few weeks ago. I might live thru this. My hope is that none of you have to.
Thank you for your kind words and thoughts everyone. Don't think about my wheels in the ditch. Instead maybe spend a moment or two thinking about managing your own risk, your investment in knives and how to protect it when it is not right in front of you.
_________________________________________
Below gives access to 5 photos of the fire: 1-4 of the stranger's cell photos in time sequence as the home burns and he goes to all four sides (pic 3 is sideways, sorry) and photo 5 was taken by first fireman at 10 AM. All photos are labeled. The home was cedar so it burned hot and fast. At least 10,000 rounds, various Calibers, cooked off (I only found a small handful of mangled shell casings). I miss my PCs and apologize for poor access to the pics here:
http://s19.photobucket.com/user/oregun/library/oregun062
Except what I had on me and in my cars that day (My wife and I were babysitting the grandchildren when the fire happened) I lost my entire knife collection of over 1,000 knives, most new with boxes and paperwork. I had been collecting Buck knives, along with other Marques from all over the world, for over 20 years. My idea with the rare and older pieces (heck, with all of the collection eventually) was to preserve and pass them over to other collectors as I aged up past a certain point.
My most expensive knife was appraised @ $4000. A Boguszewski custom with a letter from Phil explaining how that rare knife fit into his work and into the history of stilettos. I recovered it and what you see in the video with some help.
Inside my fire resistant safe, which lost its top at some point, were fused together multiple proof sets of birth year coins for my two sons.
Oregon law puts my live-in handicapped beloved son on my homeowners insurance policy (his name does not appear on the policy). He was profiled as being disabled at the scene of a fire where he had lived and was arrested. His trial is scheduled for August first. The official fire report bore false witness IMHO as to what happened at the scene after I arrived regarding what was said and done that I and my wife had direct personal knowledge of. I have been told that our written statement of disagreement has been attached to the fire report. The sheriff's report is not available to me. I am not allowed by the court to speak to my son about the incident. I can only visit him if chaperoned. He has been in a hotel since 5-4 (date of the fire) and we remain in my older son's basement.
They say you only need to get rich once. Uh, uh. I lost a million dollars in the fire. I was insured for about $650k. I have replacement coverage. My dollar limits trump the word "replacement." I had not kept up with the hot market. I was under-insured. I expect to have the insurance carrier deny the claim due to my son. If that turns out to be the case then I will have to sue and maybe appeal. I have a legal strategy per extensive consultation with folks that do that. I've never sued anyone.
The day of the fire my wife and I left the house at 8:15 AM. A man I have never met took cell phone photos of our burning home between that time and before 10:00 AM (when the first fireman responder arrived) when the fire was determined to be non-survivable and a defensive action only was taken. A giant track hoe tossed the remains during and after the fire.
I am unable to post the cell phone photos (PDF format) from this Apple iPad Pro if anyone can be of aid I can email you a ton. I can't even separate them, over 70, from the fire report. The report showed four photos taken by this fellow from four sides of the home while it burned. This photographer is apparently the love interest of the combative female pot barn property owner my access easement crosses. I figured out how to give you access to those pics at the bottom of this post.
Wishes: 1. Don't own rare 1 of 1 pieces unless you can safeguard them without question (safe deposit box outside tornado alley or flood or tidal wave or fire or...). 2. Never accept a gift, ever. I miss those the most. You know who you are that gave me stuff and it hurts the most to lose those gifts, the idea of the gift, it makes me have to earn it every single day and not give up. 3. If you are gonna own expensive cutlery cultivate your insurance agent as a yearly visitor, have a separate rider for it, photograph/video/inventory all of it and keep those records off premises (in the cloud and in the lock box at the bank). Make the agent review the adequacy of your replacement insurance coverage every year. I'm still trying to recall what was in my collection! I'll be lucky to remember 1/2 of it. I will need a contents list whether the insurance comes to a fight or not.
Don't read this part: I did not just collect knives. I loved them. I really loved everything about them. The history, the makers, the knives themselves, the fellow owners, the get togethers and what was coming. What happened to me was like coming home and finding your girlfriend and your stuff gone. No note. Never to be seen again, ever. I was surrounded by the objects of my desire. They were everywhere in my home. All over. Multiple display cases, all over my desk, cubby hole in the kitchen, you name it.
I couldn't have written this even a few weeks ago. I might live thru this. My hope is that none of you have to.
Thank you for your kind words and thoughts everyone. Don't think about my wheels in the ditch. Instead maybe spend a moment or two thinking about managing your own risk, your investment in knives and how to protect it when it is not right in front of you.
_________________________________________
Below gives access to 5 photos of the fire: 1-4 of the stranger's cell photos in time sequence as the home burns and he goes to all four sides (pic 3 is sideways, sorry) and photo 5 was taken by first fireman at 10 AM. All photos are labeled. The home was cedar so it burned hot and fast. At least 10,000 rounds, various Calibers, cooked off (I only found a small handful of mangled shell casings). I miss my PCs and apologize for poor access to the pics here:
http://s19.photobucket.com/user/oregun/library/oregun062
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