I haven't been around for a few days for straightening out a big mess.  Last Saturday night the new tenant set the house on fire.  He was a college freshman, mucn younger than the other tenants we've had, but he seemed OK when he came in with his parents.  He turned out to be oafish and noisy.  Saturday night he left a candle burning in his room and went out to get a pizza. 
>:(
The rest of us were out.  He returned to find his room on fire.  He called 911 and the fire dept. put out the fire before it spread.  However, there is extensive heat and smoke damage upstairs, plus the house reeked of that fire smell--burnt polymers, fibers, creosote, paint, wood and god knows what else.

Everything's going to be OK, it's all covered by homeowners insurance.  The only one who lost anything was that stupid kid.

Anyway, I've been staying in a hotel while the restoration/cleaning crews are working on the house.  My landlady wanted to do extensive remodeling anyway, so here's the opportunity.

It's been a hectic few days.

Glad you are ok, Max.



Cat

I' very sorry to hear that, Max! I'm glad nobody was hurt...I hope things work out for you :-\\

Sounds  like somebody needs to teach that college kid how a candle can be used as a suppository.

;)

Hope you feel better Max. :)


Howard

  That sucks, Max, but it's good to hear no one was hurt and the damage minimal.

  As far as your living situation, sounds very familiar...

I haven't been around for a few days for straightening out a big mess.  Last Saturday night the new tenant set the house on fire.  He was a college freshman, mucn younger than the other tenants we've had, but he seemed OK when he came in with his parents.  He turned out to be oafish and noisy.  Saturday night he left a candle burning in his room and went out to get a pizza. 
>:(
The rest of us were out.  He returned to find his room on fire.  He called 911 and the fire dept. put out the fire before it spread.  However, there is extensive heat and smoke damage upstairs, plus the house reeked of that fire smell--burnt polymers, fibers, creosote, paint, wood and god knows what else.

Everything's going to be OK, it's all covered by homeowners insurance.  The only one who lost anything was that stupid kid.

Anyway, I've been staying in a hotel while the restoration/cleaning crews are working on the house.  My landlady wanted to do extensive remodeling anyway, so here's the opportunity.

It's been a hectic few days.

:oThat's got to be a hard situation to deal with.I mean,you can't sue his parents because he's of legal age,but he probably doesn't have money for you to sue him,either.I hope your premium doesn't go up too much.Glad you're all right.Cheers!

I remember when 2 years ago,My friend Robert was in the same situation and his bed turned to a black charcoal.His room caught on fire. :(


Howard

Oh Max thats awful - glad no one was injured - perhaps that could be remedied by giving the oaf a swifk kicking.

That's so rude, what is with grown ups and candles?  It seems there have been a rash of
fires by candles used by otherwise responsible adults.  I love the look of them, but they aren't
worth my house. ???

Sorry to hear about that Max. Glad nobody got hurt... (yet... now where did that stupid kid go?)  ;)
What about your belongings? Does everything you own now reek of smoke?

Sounds like somebody needs to teach that college kid how a candle can be used as a suppository.

;)


LMAO!!

Another stupid fire story. It happened in my old apartment (after I moved out-of course). These kids were partying-had a keg and all. On the porch (was a big porch-like I said, I know because that used to be my porch) they had a couch. Well, someone dumped an ashtray into the garbage (also on the porch) but it was still smoldering so naturally the garbage caught on fire. They thought it would put itself out but instead, it caught the couch on fire and then jumped to the wall of the building. They were afraid to call the fire department because they were afraid of getting in trouble for underage drinking-so the let the building burn down. I think those kids should have been arrested for just plain STUPIDITY!!!!  Luckily, no one was hurt but the building was inhabitable because the fire caused damage to the roof and my old apartment was nothing but charred. I don't know how many people lived in the building at the time but there were 10 apartments and all residents had to find a new home-all because of stupidity!



Cat

Another stupid fire story. It happened in my old apartment (after I moved out-of course). These kids were partying-had a keg and all. On the porch (was a big porch-like I said, I know because that used to be my porch) they had a couch. Well, someone dumped an ashtray into the garbage (also on the porch) but it was still smoldering so naturally the garbage caught on fire. They thought it would put itself out but instead, it caught the couch on fire and then jumped to the wall of the building. They were afraid to call the fire department because they were afraid of getting in trouble for underage drinking-so the let the building burn down. I think those kids should have been arrested for just plain STUPIDITY!!!!  Luckily, no one was hurt but the building was inhabitable because the fire caused damage to the roof and my old apartment was nothing but charred. I don't know how many people lived in the building at the time but there were 10 apartments and all residents had to find a new home-all because of stupidity!
That is so asinine!They could have just called anonymously and said "someone's place' was on fire!Just inconsiderate.THe problem is there's no good punishment for fires.A good one would be to be locked behind barbed wire with no shelter,with a bunch of smoky,smelly stuff surrounding them.That would give them the message of what they put peoople through!Cheers!
Cat
>:( >:(

Hey, thanks for you support everybody!
:)

The fire recovery people are working as I type this.  I'm using the computer down in the basement rec room.

The insurance is taking care of everything.  The only irreplacable objects lost were a couple of Tibetan rugs in that room.  I didn't lose anything.  They cleaned my electronic equipment just in case any soot got into it, and a lot my clothes and fabrics are being dry cleaned.

As far as showing the kid how to use the candle as a suppository...the thought crossed my mind!
::)

It was kind of funny to hear my housemate, who is also my landlady, tell the story.  She thought the kid got burned in the fire because he was so covered in soot.  He ran into his room with the fire going full tilt, so he was all blackened with soot and apologising over and over again.  My housemate said, "Well, I can't KILL you, Joe, so we are just going to have to deal with it from here."  He salvaged what he could of his belongings.  It wasn't out of temerity, but out of cluelessness that he asked when the room would be ready for him to move back in!
:D
Like the tell-tale heart, we found another candle which was virtually undamaged and still in its celophane wrapper.  "Smoker's Candle," the label said.  That little son of a....
There's no smoking allowed.  She doesn't rent to smokers.  So he lied and used special candles to conceal the smell.  We also noted two fans pointed toward both windows and a space heater to compensate for the lost heat.  Thus, he was jacking up our bills, too.  Like his TV, his playstation, his laptop, his printer, his ski jacket and everything else, the fans and heater were in states of meltdown.  The fire fighters had to smash out the windows and the frames to get through because the smoke was so thick.

The pizza he'd gone out for was also undamaged.
;D

Awful coincidences---
I would have been there to snuff out the fire while it was still smoldering in his laundry basket, but I decided to go out for a burger with a friend of mine.  We were talking, coincidentally, about a spate of arsons in the region this fall, and I mentioned several homes had been destroyed by careless use of candles in recent years.  I noticed the fire trucks leaving the fire station across the street and headed south.  I had no idea!

Later I was at a bar with my girlfriend, as the hour got late, I asked her if she wanted to come back to my house.  She said she really had to get home because she had to work early the next morning.  No matter, there wouldn't have been a romantic end to that evening!

Back home, I did switch from the Seabreezes I was drinking at the bar, to a few belts of Johnny Walker Red from the liquor cabinet.  Boy, I needed it, I'll tell ya!
:o

Pretty big coincidences there man.

Hey maybe you should write in to the locas newspaper with it, sometimes if you have a real good story they give you a prize or something.. could be a tibetan rug???

Max how much rent do you pay?  Maybe you can buy your own house for a like amount.

The pizza he'd gone out for was also undamaged.
;D



ROFL... did he share. :D

What a stupid a$$. Glad to know that you're okay, Max. :)

I'd say it sucks about him losing his playstation and laptop and stuff, but he deserves it for being such a d*ckweed. :P

Dude please tell me you took his pizza? :)

Never mind share, the jerkoff should go hungry...

glad you're feeling better Max. :)


Howard

Dude please tell me you took his pizza? :)

Never mind share, the jerkoff should go hungry...


:D ;D ROFL again

So sorrry to hear what happened. That's awful, what an idiot.  Glad there wasn't too too much damage, it could've been worse. 

Their are tenants/neighbors in my apt. building who do the same thing.... leave a pizza box in the oven, next thing the whole building is smoking.  Fire Dept. comes at 3 am. Were all standing on the street in our pj's. Not much fun.   Thankfully the place hasn't burned down yet.

Glad to hear you are allright, Max.  :)

We sometimes don't agree politically, but I'm glad you are OK. My friend has had a similar problem with a lazy tenant in his old house, only the house didn't burn. Just that the roommate didn't do his fair share of the chores. My friend has had several expensive music equipment and CD collections stolen from the house because of the roomie's negligence. I hope insurance will pay for everything. :(

Glad you're back, Max.
I'm also glad to hear you didn't lose anything in the fire. ;)

And the pizza comments by everyone are pretty damn funny.  ;D

-------------------------------------------------
I think everyone who rents should seriously look into getting renter's insurance if they don't already have it. You never know what the people living above, below or beside you may do and how it may cost you.
-------------------------------------------------

This is an ideal case for either The People's Court or Judge Judy.   8)

http://www.judgejudy.com/assets/global/jj_logo.gif

http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/judgehatchett/images/h_judge.jpg

Later I was at a bar with my girlfriend, as the hour got late, I asked her if she wanted to come back to my house.  She said she really had to get home because she had to work early the next morning.  No matter, there wouldn't have been a romantic end to that evening!



I dunno Max, there's nothing like curling up in front of a fire  :)

I wonder if his roommate tried to warn him of the danger by saying, "The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!" and he kept saying, "We dont give a f***, let the motherf***er burn! Burn, motherf***er, burn!"

But.. is his name Jimmy Pop and is he a dumb white guy..(we'll i guess we established he's dumb)

This is an ideal case for either The People's Court or Judge Judy.   8)

http://www.judgejudy.com/assets/global/jj_logo.gif

http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/judgehatchett/images/h_judge.jpg
That's a picture of Judge Hatchett....THIS is the People's Court Judge....http://www.wb16.com/data/shows/126_people-court-med.jpg :)

That's a picture of Judge Hatchett....THIS is the People's Court Judge....http://www.wb16.com/data/shows/126_people-court-med.jpg :)


Yeah... I could not find an online pic of Marilyn Milian so I settled for Hatchett.  ;D

Yeah... I could not find an online pic of Marilyn Milian so I settled for Hatchett.   ;D
I just googled her and there she came! Oops, I could get arrested for that!  :D

From the pizza box, you could tell what happened.  He came back with his pizza, opened the door to his bedroom and got a big blast of heat and soot, dropped the box in the corner entry way, and started to panic.

It took 15 minutes for the kid set the place ablaze.  The renovations, the insurance assessments, and the awkward living arrangements is a process that may drag for months!  Right now the contractor is haggling with the insurance company.  Once they start, I'll be shuffling my sleeping quarters to various rooms in the house, as they do their work.  In the end, the place will be even nicer than it was before, however, my landlady's insurance premiums will be the gift that keeps on giving!

Somebody asked me about owning instead of renting, well, there's a couple of issues there, and I'm not interested in any free real estate advice.  First there's a question of credit.  I ain't got none.  One would to be able to control his own destiny and thus his own credit, sometimes life doesn't work out that way, and that's the way the cookie crumbles.  Another issue is the OUTRAGEOUS price of housing in Massachusetts.  Check it out for yourselves sometime if your curious.  Unless you're way out in the sticks or something, $300 grand will get you a fixer-upper hellhole.  Even if I had the credit and the liquidity for a downpayment, I wouldn't buy in this market.  If you buy a half million dollar house in Mass today, and the bubble bursts, you may be mortgaged for 500 large on a house worth half that!
My girlfriend moved back from L.A. and decided to finish her degree.  She's 31 and living with her parents!  It's the only way to make it work without sinking into unfathomable debt and living in a dump.  America ain't what it used to be.
I like where I am now.  My housemates seem more like family than housemates.  We generally rent the second upstairs bedroom to a grad student we've carefully vetted.  This time...we made a big mistake!

Max,try not to let it happen again! :)


Howard

From the pizza box, you could tell what happened.  He came back with his pizza, opened the door to his bedroom and got a big blast of heat and soot, dropped the box in the corner entry way, and started to panic.

It took 15 minutes for the kid set the place ablaze.  The renovations, the insurance assessments, and the awkward living arrangements is a process that may drag for months!  Right now the contractor is haggling with the insurance company.  Once they start, I'll be shuffling my sleeping quarters to various rooms in the house, as they do their work.  In the end, the place will be even nicer than it was before, however, my landlady's insurance premiums will be the gift that keeps on giving!

Somebody asked me about owning instead of renting, well, there's a couple of issues there, and I'm not interested in any free real estate advice.  First there's a question of credit.  I ain't got none.  One would to be able to control his own destiny and thus his own credit, sometimes life doesn't work out that way, and that's the way the cookie crumbles.  Another issue is the OUTRAGEOUS price of housing in Massachusetts.  Check it out for yourselves sometime if your curious.  Unless you're way out in the sticks or something, $300 grand will get you a fixer-upper hellhole.  Even if I had the credit and the liquidity for a downpayment, I wouldn't buy in this market.  If you buy a half million dollar house in Mass today, and the bubble bursts, you may be mortgaged for 500 large on a house worth half that!
My girlfriend moved back from L.A. and decided to finish her degree.  She's 31 and living with her parents!  It's the only way to make it work without sinking into unfathomable debt and living in a dump.  America ain't what it used to be.
I like where I am now.  My housemates seem more like family than housemates.  We generally rent the second upstairs bedroom to a grad student we've carefully vetted.  This time...we made a big mistake!


They say a conservative is just a liberal that's been mugged.

I think this little fire is the first step in a short process of you (Max) becoming a conservative/Republican. Face it, sooner or later life's gonna make you a conservative.  ;D

"My housemates seem more like family than housemates." -- Hmmm...they wouldn't be "DanootaAndMe", "Don Carlos" and "ElDuderino", would they??
  ???

:)

They say a conservative is just a liberal that's been mugged.

I think this little fire is the first step in a short process of you (Max) becoming a conservative/Republican. Face it, sooner or later life's gonna make you a conservative.  ;D

"My housemates seem more like family than housemates." -- Hmmm...they wouldn't be "DanootaAndMe", "Don Carlos" and "ElDuderino", would they??
  ???

:)




Don Carlos is MY housemate.  ;D



Cat

Don Carlos is MY housemate.  ;D

Cat


Okay. 2 out of 3. Or maybe..."DanootaAndMe", "Don Carlos","ElDuderino" and "CatwomanofV" ??
;)

They say a conservative is just a liberal that's been mugged.

I think this little fire is the first step in a short process of you (Max) becoming a conservative/Republican. Face it, sooner or later life's gonna make you a conservative.  ;D

"My housemates seem more like family than housemates." -- Hmmm...they wouldn't be "DanootaAndMe", "Don Carlos" and "ElDuderino", would they??
  ???

:)


Not to wax too political on this thread, but I've seen too much to be a conservative.  As John Stuart Mill observed, "Not all conservatives are stupid, but most stupid people are conservative."
What is passing for "conservative" these days is also characterized by avarice, mendacity, vindictiveness, delusional thought processes, and antinomian fanatacism.  No thanks.

What is passing for "conservative" these days is also characterized by avarice, mendacity, vindictiveness, delusional thought processes, and antinomian fanatacism.  No thanks.


Just wanted to say... Excellent word usage. (now... where did I put that dictionary?)  :D ;D