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Federal Government / House Fire Dilema

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GulfCoastKid

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mississippi

This is not about a car accident, but could not find an appropriate forum.

After dinner at a local restaurant, my wife and I took separate cars home. She left ten minutes before me to run some errands. When I got in the car I noticed a huge smoke plum coming from the direction of our house. My wife called my cell to see if I saw the smoke. At that moment, my neighbor beeped and hysterical. He was telling me to get home and that our backyard and fence was on fire.

I asked if he called 911. He said that he did, but they have not arrived yet. I hung up and immediately dialed 911. The dispatcher said that I had the wrong department and transferred me to the county dispatcher. He asked where my emergency was. I gave him my address and told him that the neighbors were outside trying to put out a fire at my house. He asked me to hold and then came back to tell me that the fire department was already there and it was just somebody burning leaves.

I then tried to call my neighbor back, but kept getting voice mail. He called me a few minutes later. I told him what 911 reported. He said that was not true and that they were still trying to put the fire out. He said it had engulfed my whole yard and the house was going to burn down.

I called 911 back and told the dispatcher that his information was wrong and he needed to get a crew out now. Instead of acting, I received a lecture on why I should not be raising my voice at him. I was stunned. I said get somebody out to my house now!

I was stuck behind a train at a crossing, but still managed to get home before the fire department got there. All of the grass was burned to a crisp in my yard. The fence between my house and the neighbors was still on fire, as was a tree in my yard. My neighbor was hosing what he could. I got another hose and started hosing the fence.

We managed to get it under control before the house went up in flames. Then the volunteer fire department arrived. They walked around with clip boards while I continued t hose out the fires.
They said that this was not mother nature's fault and that somebody had a role in this.

Remember the plume of smoke that my wife and I saw after dinner? That was a huge controlled burn that the federal government had started for the sole reason of protecting some endangered birds. A short time before my neighbor noticed the fire in my yard, he said that the local government made a reverse 911 call to the neighborhood letting them know about the fire for the birds.
I asked the fire department if this was likely caused by the controlled burn. They said, "Anything is possible."

The police showed up an hour later. My neighbor asked, "What do you think caused this fire?" He pulled a map out of his car and pointed to my house on it. He then pointed to where the controlled fire was started. I asked how far that was. He said it was a quarter to a half mile. He then said that he would bet anything that caused the fire in my yard.

It seems that a greater power saved my home and dogs. The federal government and the 911 dispatcher certainly did not.

I am at a loss for what I should do now? My yard is ruined. My fence burned down. My kid won't sleep. My wife won't let me leave the house for fear that it could happen again. My dogs can't go outside.

Should I be thinking about calling a lawyer?
 
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divona2000

Senior Member
...managed to get home before the fire department got there. All of the grass was burned to a crisp in my yard. The fence between my house and the neighbors was still on fire, as was a tree in my yard...volunteer fire department...said that this was not mother nature's fault and that somebody had a role in this.

...a huge controlled burn that the federal government had started...
I asked the fire department if this was likely caused by the controlled burn. They said, "Anything is possible."

The police showed up an hour later. My neighbor asked, "What do you think caused this fire?" He pulled a map out of his car and pointed to my house on it. He then pointed to where the controlled fire was started. I asked how far that was. He said it was a quarter to a half mile. He then said that he would bet anything that caused the fire in my yard...
Did the Fire Marshall conclude that a controlled burn a quarter to a half mile away started the fire in your yard?
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Seems pretty unlikely to me. But if you can find an actual expert who will testify that they are certain that the controlled burn caused your fire, you might have a lawsuit. Expect to spend a lot on a lawyer.

Or you can let your insurance company handle it, and if there is a decent case for them getting money back from the government, they will pursue it themselves.
 

teflon_jones

Senior Member
This is what you have insurance for. File a claim with them and let them sort out the cause. They have lawyers on staff that won't cost you anything. That's what you pay insurance premiums for.

A controlled burn at that distance could certainly have started this. I come from a family of firefighters including two current New York state fire inspectors/instructors and the former chief of the busiest fire company in the world who has now moved to be a fire inspector in NYC after losing 1/2 his company on 9/11.
 

GulfCoastKid

Junior Member
Thanks for all of the replies. I was afraid at first to file with the insurance company. I live in a post Katrina flood zone and they use every excuse in the book to drop homes in this area, but it looks like I will bite the bullet and call.

Thanks again for all of the responses. You can close this thread.
 

tammy8

Senior Member
What is your deductible? You don't want a hit on your claim history if this doesn't come close to meeting that deductible.
 

GulfCoastKid

Junior Member
My main concern right now is the fact that the 911 dispatcher refused to send a fire crew to the house. When I called back, all I got was a lecture about how I should not be raising my voice at people. I called the sheriff's department to inquire about getting copies of the tapes and they told me that I would need a subpoena. I mentioned the Freedom of Information Act, but they said that Act does not apply in Mississippi. Really?
 

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