Rough day

[Bill D 2,976]

So sorry to hear about this.  Glad no one was seriously hurt.  My in-laws went thru something like this in 2013 when some kids torched their house.  I'll be keeping you in my prayers.  

 

[19richie66 17,922]

Hey Kevin, keep the faith brother. I have nothing to add that hasn’t been already said. Wish I was closer and could lend a hand. 

[kpinnc 18,720]

On 6/26/2026 at 4:10 PM, WHX?? said:

I don't even wish this on guys I don't like.

 

 Thank you sir!

 

16 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

Please share the site. 

 

I will see her tomorrow afternoon. I'll get the link, and thank you so much regardless!

 

14 hours ago, Sparky said:

Just reading this now after a late night drive home from PA…sorry Kevin.

  Everyone including the animals are OK and that’s huge! 
  The house will be rebuilt 

 

You're absolutely right Mike. We are very fortunate and this will all be a distant memory one day! 

[WHX?? 57,273]

Any idea what started the fire? 

[kpinnc 18,720]

4 hours ago, 19richie66 said:

Wish I was closer and could lend a hand. 

 

Thank you very much. Right now there isn't much to do until we know what comes next, so we'd just have to stand around and talk tractors! 

[kpinnc 18,720]

1 minute ago, WHX?? said:

Any idea what started the fire? 

 

Yeah but I disagreed with the Fire Inspectors theory. The insurance company's report is all that matters, and they think as I do at this point. I told the fire marshals they had been in too much smoke over the years based on what they came up with. But I know they have no choice but to work from "process of elimination", and they have to make a report. I'm not knocking anyone in the fire department. Those guys were incredible. That being said, I know what burning electric smells like, which was the first thing I noticed. I walked 20 feet inside looking for the source of the smell, and within seconds the smoke alarms all went off together. 5 minutes later the fire department was spraying the flames. 

 

That was the most frightening 5 minutes I've ever known. I was a military pilot and have been afraid before, but this was so fast and overwhelming that I'll probably be the guy holding the 20lb fire extinguisher at my son's 12th birthday cake! 

 

Again the firefighters were incredible. 4 of them came back today to help me tarp off the section of roof that wasn't burned, but where they had to cut a vent during the fire over my garage (which is the only place that still has a ceiling). They didn't have to, but helped when I asked if it was safe to even support the weight of a person standing up there. My garage is all that is undamaged, and where I've been moving anything that could be salvaged as well as where my Wheel Horses are kept. Until the adjuster comes on Monday, I don't know what I have to do so far as storage, so the garage is the short term safe spot.  

 

 

 

 

[Brockport Bill 2,407]

OMG -- this is horrible - - I am hopefull all works out well over coming days - Bill

[Tonytoro416 1,372]

Grandparents home burnt and the lost everything.  I’ll never forget the weight this type of tragedy can bear.  Best of luck to you and yours 

[oliver2-44 11,609]

10 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

I don't know what I have to do so far as storage, so the garage is the short term safe spot.  

Just an FYI, during a remodel I rented a 20 ft Connex and set it in my driveway. 

It was a true Connex that a local company was renting out for much less $$ that the fancy box ones painted up with company  names on them.

City & Subdivision restrictions didn't allow one for residential storage.

But since I had a building permit, even thought I was doing the work myself, I could call it "Contractor Storage"   

[kpinnc 18,720]

Well just an update: today marks two weeks since the fire. I have trouble recognizing that because we've been so busy that it feels like lost time or no longer than 2-3 days since it happened. 

 

We have learned alot about camper life. There was definitely a learning curve but we are getting there. One giant hurdle was waste disposal, but my wife bought me a new "toy" to traverse the distance to the septic that has been affectionately named Cuzzin Eddie. It holds the same volume as the black water tank on the camper and is touch free. While not my favorite thing to tow around, my Wheel Horse doesn't complain. 

 

Of other notes: Temporary power to the barn (fence chargers, battery chargers, and barn lights) is nearly complete once inspected and the the power company will connect to it and at least we don't have to stay here all the time. This will allow us to focus on all the other things that come next. 

 

Contractor is coming tomorrow to help us decide on a plan for the house itself. He actually built my home in 2007, so no one should know his work better than himself. 

 

The insurance company total lossed my Tacoma. I still have no idea why. But I'm keeping it anyway and will just fix it and have a salvaged title. It is unaffected mechanically, and just had some plastic parts with heat (no flames touched it) damage so fixing it should be relatively easy. 

 

So anyway, we are making progress daily and there is a faint flicker of light visible in the tunnel. 

 

I thank each and every one of you who have kept us in your prayers and a few who are close by that have helped us out in person. It won't ever be forgotten by me or my family! 

 

 

Edited 16 hours ago by kpinnc

[953 nut 67,208]

8 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

The insurance company total lossed my Tacoma. I still have no idea why.

Glad to hear some progress is being made.        My guess is the insurance company feared the air bag system was exposed to heat and could not be reliable.   

[nylyon-(Admin) 9,034]

Kevin, I don’t know how far the septic inlet is to where the camper is parked, I have one of these built in to my 5th wheel and it will pump pretty far through a garden hose, something to consider if you will be living there a while.

https://camcooutdoors.com/products/rhino-macerator-pump-kit-e-f

[kpinnc 18,720]

1 hour ago, nylyon said:

Kevin, I don’t know how far the septic inlet is to where the camper is parked, I have one of these built in to my 5th wheel and it will pump pretty far through a garden hose, something to consider if you will be living there a while.

 

Thanks Karl!

 

I have a spot for a direct line 40 feet to my cleanout port but a longer walk to the main dump point so this might be very helpful! 

Edited 5 hours ago by kpinnc