AI Content Authenticity: All of the following written content has been completed by myself and has not been edited or created by AI. Occasionally we do use AI for images and will note so when used.
Hopefully the headline was not too dramatic, at least not as dramatic as receiving the call at 4 AM!
What follows is Part Two of our financially feathered personal story that happened exactly 7 days after our prior mentioned, Part One emergency fund note, where our automobile was smacked while parallel parked in front of the Mexican food restaurant at an unassuming fun family gathering just after the turn in the calendar.
“There’s a fire in our house!”
At approximately 4:30 AM, 12 hours after landing for a weeklong business trip 1000 miles away from home, the phone rang. The first call was from a neighbor and after multiple rings was missed. Within a few minutes the second call occurred with frantic screaming “The House is on fire!” It gets a little fuzzy after this, but there was some sort of conversation and then a hang up.
After things settled, an explanation of the 911 call included a note that there is Natural gas in the house, smoke coming from the chimney and rafters throughout the home… and a mention of explosion…. It was game on as two different municipalities were emptied to find their way in front of the house and an early morning warning to neighbors! Back to the event…
What seem like an eternity but probably only 10 minutes … a new connection was made, this time with the visual of FaceTime and the phone flipped around to see four firetrucks, two EMS ambulance vehicles, what look like a football team of firemen, multiple police officers, and lights that would’ve made a laser show look lame …. this all from down the street looking towards the front of the house.
With a new Ring, doorbell and camera installed, it was somewhat frightening to watch multiple firemen run into the house with exactly 4 hoses and disappear behind the view.
Fortunately, a direct flight was available, landing back home less than 20 hours after departure.
The following picture, note how blurry it is, and includes the red lights from the Emergency vehicles…is all available for the three hour flight back. This was likely a good thing, as the cycle of emotional experience with full rotation from fear all the way down to rationality occurred before landing. Certainly not recommending three hours of no connectivity while wondering how bad your house is on fire, but there was a calming effect.
The Emergency Fund
Prior to my departure, and after the fire had been completely extinguished, about 6 AM the city inspector called, and after finding out being one of the norm in the neighborhood of a high deductible, let me know the good news and the bad news. The good news is it’s it was not catastrophic and she had seen much worse many times, the bad news as she said, “This will be out of your pocket, sir I would not notify your insurance!”
Thank goodness, The Emergency fund… the damages were not near as bad as worried, and upon talking to my auto and homeowner insurance agent, he totally agreed that I had done the exact 100% correct thing by not calling the carrier. Post discussion we both spoke of the merits of higher deductibles And agreed that these emergency fund out-of-pocket expenses are likely better than amortizing them multiple times over lower, deductibles and higher premiums.
The biggest mistake… No Fire Extinguisher! A Problem currently fixed and with neighbors included…. They were all in the mix as the smoke bloomed from the Chimney, out the open front door, and strangely the rafters… Whew…. no one hurt and quick repairs, thanks to a semi-retired builder neighbor!
Have a Great “Emergency Fund Reminder” Day!
John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
