Relief
Things have improved greatly for Rebekah and I. We had originally been told that we'd never see the inside of our apartment again after the fire because of asbestos. But this week, somebody finally convinced the property managers that instead of declaring the whole building a loss because asbestos was found, that perhaps they should pay to have samples taken in each unit. Well, as it turns out, the first through third floors were found to be clear of asbestos contamination (We lived on the third floor).
So, my parents made an emergency trip down from South Dakota and we spent the entire day today trying to salvage things from the old apartment. As it turns out, we were able to salvage a lot. Some clothes and linens were ruined by water and mildew and our bed and couch were too big to get out and are probably ruined anyway. Other than that, almost everything else was able to be salvaged.
Despite the fact that there was supposed to be 24 security on the building, some obvious looting had taken place. My ipod was stolen (it was sitting in plain sight on our kitchen counter) and someone had taken it upon themselves to stash their pot pipe on our coffee table.
The building itself is a pretty big wreck. Floors were so warped that two and three inch tall bumps in the flooring were everywhere in the building. Walls had obvious water damage, all doors were kicked in and the entire building reeked of mildew, smoke and rotting food.
I want to again thank everyone who offered kind words and support over the past two weeks. At this point, any further offers of donations are not necessary. If you feel like helping out, I'd encourage you to instead donate either money or volunteer hours at the local Red Cross, an organization that was also very helpful in getting us on our feet after the fire.
Many of you donated or loaned us items to replace those that we thought we were lost in the fire. Since we were able to salvage so much more than we had anticipated, we now have duplicates and triplicates of some items. There were a few items that we were specifically told were meant to be loans, and we will return those to their proper owners as soon as possible. For many of the rest of the items, we will probably donate the extras to the salvation army or to some other charitable organization. For those of you who gave us stuff, if you would like any items returned or would like something else to be done with them, let me or Rebekah know and we will get that taken care of.
Again, I don't think I can say thank you enough to everyone of my friends who showed us support over the past two weeks. I can't help but get a little emotional when I think about how fortunate I am to have friends who are willing to help me out so much when I am in need. I assure you, if you are ever in a bind, I'll be there to do whatever I can.
So, my parents made an emergency trip down from South Dakota and we spent the entire day today trying to salvage things from the old apartment. As it turns out, we were able to salvage a lot. Some clothes and linens were ruined by water and mildew and our bed and couch were too big to get out and are probably ruined anyway. Other than that, almost everything else was able to be salvaged.
Despite the fact that there was supposed to be 24 security on the building, some obvious looting had taken place. My ipod was stolen (it was sitting in plain sight on our kitchen counter) and someone had taken it upon themselves to stash their pot pipe on our coffee table.
The building itself is a pretty big wreck. Floors were so warped that two and three inch tall bumps in the flooring were everywhere in the building. Walls had obvious water damage, all doors were kicked in and the entire building reeked of mildew, smoke and rotting food.
I want to again thank everyone who offered kind words and support over the past two weeks. At this point, any further offers of donations are not necessary. If you feel like helping out, I'd encourage you to instead donate either money or volunteer hours at the local Red Cross, an organization that was also very helpful in getting us on our feet after the fire.
Many of you donated or loaned us items to replace those that we thought we were lost in the fire. Since we were able to salvage so much more than we had anticipated, we now have duplicates and triplicates of some items. There were a few items that we were specifically told were meant to be loans, and we will return those to their proper owners as soon as possible. For many of the rest of the items, we will probably donate the extras to the salvation army or to some other charitable organization. For those of you who gave us stuff, if you would like any items returned or would like something else to be done with them, let me or Rebekah know and we will get that taken care of.
Again, I don't think I can say thank you enough to everyone of my friends who showed us support over the past two weeks. I can't help but get a little emotional when I think about how fortunate I am to have friends who are willing to help me out so much when I am in need. I assure you, if you are ever in a bind, I'll be there to do whatever I can.