The concrete in the basement is probably damaged from the intense heat of the fire. Since the building was fairly new, the concrete would still be in a partially green state that would exacerbate the damage from the heat. Has anyone had any experience with this type of damage from a fire?

"The other eight fire departments are supplied courtesy of the taxpayers' funds and the commitment and courage of the firefighters themselves." I am sorry but the assisting firefighters didnt do it over commitment and courage...they did it because thats why we pay them. I sure hope they saved the basement.

If you have a question about what your insurance company can or can not do, you should contact the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for the state of Wisconsin. They will let you know whether or not the insurance company can drop you for filing a claim. My guess would be that the insurance company can not drop you for simply filing a claim. It's always interesting to see how fast an insurance company will resolve an issue once the OCI is involved.

We had a fire in our home about 5 years ago. Insurance was great to work with but then dropped us when premium was up for renewal because we had filed a claim (their words). I wonder if this is common practice?

Nine fire departments responded under mutual aid agreements. Only the first responder will get paid by the insurance company or the homeowner. The other eight fire departments are supplied courtesy of the taxpayers' funds and the commitment and courage of the firefighters themselves. It also appears that no one was injured or killed, only damage to property. I think that such an occurrence is newsworthy.

can we think of something ELSE to complain about????? Some people are just never happy in life. Wahh Wahh house insurance has to cover this, so in the end everyone that pays insurance will get screwed.....Give me a break. Get over it, don't pay insurance if you don't like the rates, then see what happens when your house burns down.

Well, if they had a $800,000 house they have insurance, so I don't feel as bad for them as someone who is living in poverty.

If your insurance company is using proper actuarial practices, your premiums should not go up. That's what insurance is all about. Protecting yourself against unpredictable events that can be fairly predictable for large groups (i.e. the insurance company can reasonably estimate how many houses will experience fires based on the entire group it insures and premiums for each individual is figured out based on the number of people in the insurable group, the chances that various perils will occur, and the cost to the insurance comany for each of the occurances).

The amount turns into more of an insurance issue for everyone. Let's say the homeowner pays $1,000.00 per year in homeowners insurance. Some insurance company (hopefully not mine!) will now have to fork over the other $799,000 minus any deductables. Now at some point our rates will be affected to cover the loss. (more news worthy)

Hats off to the Firefighters. No matter how big the fire, fighting one in this weather must be difficult. Big or small they still must respond 100%. It dosent matter if its a large home fire or a small home fire, I'm sure it devistating. Best wishes to the family.

a fire is not funny whether it is 20,000 or 800,000, you just have more attention if its worth more, its all who you are.

I think they will be allright.
They can stay in the guest house (sarcasm)

It was probably a bigger fire and involved more fire departments because an $800,000 house is probably bigger than a $20,000 house. The larger the event, the more fire departments involved, the more newsworthy. Besides, for a house to be worth $20,000, it would probably have to already be on fire.

I hear ya str8shtr. Poor, rich or in between loosing your home to a fire is awful. Good luck to the homeowners in the coming months.

my house had a attic fire 2 weeks ago. about $35,000 in damage and not one word in the news about it. i am happy about that because then maybe people will not steal from me while my home is being repaired !

I don't understand does the value make it more news worthy.or am I looking at this wrong. I feel that it would be just as bad if someone lost a $20,000 house trailer or even had a rental burn. the value of the house is not really important. Its the people involved who ever they may be.