Man It's a Hot One
Thought I'd post a little bit about our fire event. It was a garage fire. It was limited to the garage only, although some smoke found its way indoors. Not really enough to cause damage, just a smell. The garage itself is intact, albeit slightly charred. Will probably need a little structural work. The contents of the garage didn't fare as well. We had a lot of items in their, tools, decorations, and stuff, that we use for the houses. Most of that is in one big, melted pile. There is also a very nicely melted treadmill that has seen its last step. We haven't put a value to all of the "stuff" yet, but I'm guessing it's in the $2,500 range. Of course, the most valuable item in the garage was my new toy. I'll post some pictures, but it's not a pretty sight at the moment. It's really a good news-bad news situation. The top melted, the automatic garage door open cover melted, dropped through the top, and fused to the leather seats. So at least I'll get a new top and new upholstery out of it. I should also get a new paint job, as there is rather large charred area on the driver door and beyond.
As for the cause, I believe it's electrical. My brother thinks he is the cause - he smokes in there, and uses an old paint can for a cigarette butt receptacle, which is in the approximate spot of the source of the fire. I just have a hard time believing that old cigarette butts would flair up into a flame big enough to ignite surrounding items. I'm no expert, but I see evidence that electrical wiring is the more likely culprit.
Either way, I'll just be happy to get everything repaired so we can move back home again.