So I walked into a burning building today...

[Jay-]

So I walked into a burning building today...
My mechanics shop was on fire.

First thing I did was pound on his door.
Second thing was to grab the hot metal of the bumper burning my finger prints of with a scorching sound. I pulled the car out of his bay doors.

Fire was rolling into the rafters at this point and gas and paint cans were exploding (OK that part did not happen) But it could have!!!!

I then entered the FJ40 cabin and the headliner was melted off and the steering wheel was hot and choking smoke was every where and OMFG he really did a nice job on the tune up! Started right the hell up! (think hell and black dark room with red flames) She backed out of the shop. (My god he really did get that webber carb to idle after all!)

We put the fire out with a hose as it was a metal building.

My smog manual was ruined as well as my front left side of my FJ40 VARIOUS PARTS I cant tell right now because I had to go to a court case and showed up with black face and hands.

I know the window was melted, the front turn signal, the front tire, head liner, most of the front drivers side gaskets, head lamp,

But I can say that today I ran into a burning building and pulled a hot metal bumper of a FJ40 and pulled it to safety with NO REGARD TO MY OWN PERSONAL SAFETY!@ (open fuel tank inside the 40)

All paint was damaged also but that was going to go sooner then later.
Its my birthday and I'm out at least $2000 so if I'm creeping around this web site begging have some heart and please stop busting my balls about smog because Iv inhaled enough smog to last a life time.

GEICO has already rejected my claim and I don't blame them its his fault and he has no insurance.


I'm thinking of "Smokey black" for the new color.

 

[FARMAN33]

Sorry to hear. Glad you're OK.

Pics or it didn't happen.

On a side note. My station made a warehouse fire about 15 years ago. When the smoke cleared there were 5 XKEs 4 XK120s and a 300sl of late 50s vintage ALL TORCHED!

 

[cruiserkreutz]

Wow! I'm glad you are alright... Sounds like this post was very close to never happening. Do you have any pictures? Sounds to me like the mechanic should step up to the plate and help out in some way.

 

[JungleBiker]

Pics or it never happened!

 

[White Stripe]

Its his fault and he has no insurance? What kind of shop has no insurance? No insurance usually means law suit and you lose your business because you were too cheap to cover yourself in the first place.

 

[45Kevin]

So I walked into a burning building today...

GEICO has already rejected my claim and I don't blame them its his fault and he has no insurance.

Rejected your claim? What if some yahoo (other than your mechanic) had set fire to your truck?

You truck got fire damage, and you have fire insurance (I assume), I don't see how they can deny you.

 

[70Cruza]

StronG Manuever!!!

I ask you, what other vehicle could inspire such an act???

Good luck brother

 

[micruz60]

Well, um Happy Birthday?
Where did this happen?
Get well soon.

 

[honk]

Jay,

As several have said - show pictures or this didn't happen.

You've shown a propensity to exaggeration right here with "Fire was rolling into the rafters at this point and gas and paint cans were exploding (OK that part did not happen)" so it should be understandable if some people are a little sceptical. Photos of the scene, your truck, and even your singed fingertips could help establish your credibility.

If this IS true then I think that you should sell that truck for whatever you get and don't look back. Call it a Karmic mismatch.

 

[cruiserkev]

Nice save Jay! I'd do the same thing. My Cruiser is like one of my kids and well worth a little injury to save it.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Rejected your claim? What if some yahoo (other than your mechanic) had set fire to your truck?

You truck got fire damage, and you have fire insurance (I assume), I don't see how they can deny you.

Kevin is right. Fire should be covered under your Comprehensive coverage, no matter where it was parked...

 

[oldschool4wheeling]

He did post a picture.

I see flames and skulls and chains and whips and lost souls and some dude on a throne. Oh wait a minute, thats Lucifer!! Hell!! That's a picture of HELL!!!

I did not know that a 40 could go there too? As we all know 40s have dominated every continent and terrain their tires have ever had the pleasure to rolled across. But hell too? WOW!! And it survived!! It was saved!! YAY !!!

I just love a good ending!

 

[cjgoode]

I can't imagine anyone going into a fire and driving out a vehicle under the conditions described, especially if it was so hot to melt all that stuff it would have 4 flat tires, and starting the car in such an oxygen deprived environment might even be a problem.

 

[Jay-]

Hi I pulled it out then started it up.
Sadly because the car was only driven one time I did not have Comprehensive coverage just basic liability. I asked him to file it under his home owners and he kind of balked so Im thinking get a lawyer and have him do one of those insurance letters asking to talk directly to his home owners and just skip him that or lawyer up a bit. Just because he does not want a code violation for operating a shop on the low down, not my fault I brought him a pretty nice rig with no real 911 paint emergencies like I have now.

But It really did happen, the ball on the rear hitch was hot enough to scorch the prints off my hands a little bit.

I do not know the extent of the damages until later today.

He is a "shade tree" mechanic, fully certified just retired and doing small jobs like head gaskets and oil changes, yet the shop was on his property in a metal building.

And yes my friend said it was like a movie and I was the movie star on a film set.
I woke up and my room mate said I was both brave and stupid.

I did run into a pitch black building, ran into the opposite side of the fire and pulled the emergency brake and rolled it out.

Photos later,

I had to self medicate to go to bed last night all the darn thing needed was smog rails and a carpet kit and a few bits of smog parts and it was a done deal.

 

[White Stripe]

Hi I pulled it out then started it up.
Sadly because the car was only driven one time I did not have Comprehensive coverage just basic liability. I asked him to file it under his home owners and he kind of balked so Im thinking get a lawyer and have him do one of those insurance letters asking to talk directly to his home owners and just skip him that or lawyer up a bit. Just because he does not want a code violation for operating a shop on the low down, not my fault I brought him a pretty nice rig with no real 911 paint emergencies like I have now.

But It really did happen, the ball on the rear hitch was hot enough to scorch the prints off my hands a little bit.

I do not know the extent of the damages until later today.

He is a "shade tree" mechanic, fully certified just retired and doing small jobs like head gaskets and oil changes, yet the shop was on his property in a metal building.

And yes my friend said it was like a movie and I was the movie star on a film set.
I woke up and my room mate said I was both brave and stupid.

I did run into a pitch black building, ran into the opposite side of the fire and pulled the emergency brake and rolled it out.

Photos later,

I had to self medicate to go to bed last night all the darn thing needed was smog rails and a carpet kit and a few bits of smog parts and it was a done deal.

Even if he is a shade tree, if you were paying him money to repair your vehicle, and he set it on fire-wether or not it was intentional, if its under his care and that happens, he should pay for damages to restore the vehicle to the condition it was in. If he follows through with that, happily give him the carb adjust money. It may be a expensive life lesson for him, but when you take on work, you take on liability. If a person doesn't want to take on liability, then maybe they should get a job being a greeter at Walmart or something.

 

[Delancy]

A tale deserving of gracing the pages of Toyota Trails.....albeit a bit more embellished, sensationalized, with more words and commas.

Sucks today, I'm sure, but the story alone may be priceless in the future.

 

[OverLand Cruisers]

Ughh...makes me want to build a fire proof shop with a complete fire suppression set up in every rig...

 

[CreeperSleeper]

*snip*
Sadly because the car was only driven one time I did not have Comprehensive coverage just basic liability. I asked him to file it under his home owners and he kind of balked so Im thinking get a lawyer and have him do one of those insurance letters asking to talk directly to his home owners and just skip him that or lawyer up a bit. *snip*

Okay, I need to get on my insurance soap-box for a bit. Hopefully this will help someone in the future.

Comprehensive coverage is extremely important, especially when you aren't driving your vehicle. Comprehensive covers the vehicle for anything that is out of your control: Theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, hitting an animal, etc. Please note that only one of those things involve driving! Comp coverage only costs a couple bucks a month, so there is no excuse not to have it. Liability and Collision coverage are for when you are driving the car. For example, my 40 is sitting in the garage in pieces. I don't have liability or collision coverage because it is not moving anytime soon. However, I do keep comprehensive coverage on it.

To peal the next layer of the onion, all homeowners policies exclude motor vehicles. Even if this guy was to try and claim it under his homeowners policy, it will be denied. Don't waste your time trying to get his homeowners insurance to cover it, it is specifically excluded in the contract. (There is probably an exclusion for business operations too, but that is beside the point.)

This is why you need a good insurance agent! They are like your CPA, Doctor, or Lawyer. Find someone you can trust and stick with them because not all insurance is equal and I'm sure that the 3% of people that actually read the policy rarely understand all of it.

*** Disclaimer: I have been a licensed insurance agent in Oregon for 15 years. Our agency also holds licenses in Washington and California as well. Each state is unique in there policies, so if you are not in OR, WA, or CA, make a call to your agent and double check your coverage. ***

 

[MoCoNative]

No offense on the comprehensive, and sorry to the original poster for his calamity, but I have been screwed twice on comprehensive insurance, I've dropped it all now. Maybe I'm misunderstanding my policies, but I carried full coverage which included comprehensive coverage on all my vehicles for years. Now I started driving my 40 at 16, and my dad and I restored it in the garage. We had it appraised and covered for 10,000 dollars, in 1997. I drove it for many years, cost me thousands of dollars, as full coverage on any vehicle for a young driver adds up. Now about 9 years ago, I had a wreck, lost control with a small trailer behind me. Rolled on one side, ruined hard top, fender, a few other scratches. It had some returned rust spots, typical wear and tear of 10 years daily driving. The 10K value meant nothing at the point, insurance totaled it and gave my $4200 bucks. Not nearly enough money to even remotely properly replace all the damage. Not even close to the true market value of the rig, even then.

A few years ago I hit a doe deer with my T100, it took the grill, bumper and dented the hood and fender. No mechanical damage, truck is in beautiful shape for a DD and age. Insurance totals it also, after a severe downgrading in cost, which was far below the cost of any others I saw for sale, and then taking out 1800 bucks in salvage value, I got about $2400 dollars. I paid $8000 for it 6 years earlier. I had no way to protest it or anything. My local agent was no help, they just sent the check and that is all I got. To top it off, they requested a bogus car inspection be done before they would re-insure the truck, and I couldn't get it done because I was waiting on a backordered bumper, and the turn signals for a T100 are in the bumper. But in reality, they had no legal standing to request the salvage title inspection Colorado, as the truck was too old for the salvage title rules to apply.

In both cases, obviously I kept the vehicles, fixed them myself and cut my losses. I left Farmers and the agent I thought was looking out for my interest and was a family acquaintance for over 40 years. I had been ahead to save the amount I spent on the increased cost of the full coverage in a mutual fund or something for a rainy day, then throw it away with the insurance folks. I honestly barely broke even. So unless I get a "new" nice car, I just keep a few grand in the bank, and only buy older rigs for 10K or less and keep them running, but that's just me.

For the original poster, unless you had a classic car, guaranteed endorsement on this truck, and it was in really good shape, which I don't think your average Geico policy does. They would have just laughed at you anyway, you may have gotten 1-2K in money, as they would have totaled it out from the fire damage I suspect.

Creeper, say a big rock falls off a cliff and punches a hole in the roof of your average DD 40. Even when the roof panel was available it was over $1000. Now they are harder to find. Insurance insists that a shop does the work, they figure labor, etc... The truck would be totaled, then you can no longer get comprehensive on it again. I can't see where you benefit unless the rig is really really nice. Otherwise you may pay a ton of extra premiums for years on an old, worthless in the eyes of the insurance company, truck, and never get any good return.

 

[Jay-]

The shop owner said he will sand and paint it, I hope he was suggesting the entire truck I need to clear that up.

You can see where all the shop lights melted and fell onto my roof and hood.

Shop owner said he was grateful that I put out the fire before taking my truck out.

1. Roof is melted.
2. Both signal lights are melted.
3. Windshield is cracked.
4. most of the front of the car bubbled off the clear coat.
5. LC emblems are melted.
6. Roof gutters are metal?? They look ok.
7. Some gaskets are now oozing out the hard top area.
8. Window gasket looks ok.
Last photo was my fuel tank area he did a great job! I just hope he does not expect any money from me for a very long time.

I could have just shined this off but the Hard top is much more then I can afford.