Tiny House Fire
Dee Williams just shared some sad news with the tiny house blogger community. Kim Langston, a friend of Dee’s, was almost finished building her own tiny house when it was caught up in a barn fire on July 22, 2012. Unfortunately the house wasn’t covered by insurance. Here’s part of what Dee told us:
“The house was in the construction phase, and while it wasn’t quite complete, it was close enough that she felt certain she’d be living in it by September or October. It was completely destroyed in the fire and Kim didn’t have insurance to cover the loss. I’ve attached before and after photos which, if you’re like me, will drop you to your knees. I’ve been so racked by this incident… so sad.”
Dee also told us that Kim and her friends are pulling together a Kickstarter or Indigogo fund that will help her pay down the debt she incurred through the fire and maybe even help support the dream of re-building.
If you’d like to help Kim get a jump on those fund raising efforts you can donate money through PayPal. I’ll also report back on the official fund raising story when that kicks off.
Below is a photo of the home before the fire.
Hopefully. no one was hurt and that your next tiny house will be luckier. If I were to build a tiny mobile house, I’d clad it with metal siding to resist such fires. Not as pretty but definitely safer.
I work with Kim…she has been talking and planning this for years…and working on the house for over a year. Besides being an amazing human…Kim works for a not for profit…helps low/no income have access to local organic food, teaches people how to do all sorts of things…and strives to help those around her think in greener ways…not because its cool..but because its the right thing to do. I hope that folks chip in and help someone out who more than deserves it!
Is it ever possible to insure a tiny house? That was something I hadn’t ever considered…
So tragic! I am heartbroken for your loss, and I will happily throw in on the Kickstarter or whatever fund you get started for her. It’s something that could happen to any of us in this early vulnerable phase before tiny houses are recognized and accepted by the insurance world. This reinforces my sense that we tiny housers should get organized and vocal so we can somewhere with legalizing and insuring these projects, not to mention living in them without legal problems.
We had a devil of a time getting ours insured. Even then I’m not confident that should I ever have a claim that my loses would be covered. It ain’t cheap either.
Very sad and heartbreaking news about Kim’s place. Some “things” are more difficult to replace than others. This one will be a real challenge.
Can it be covered in with the barn loss?
Everyone is using bare “Wood” on the exterior and sadly often on the inerior. If one followed the Building Codes, these problems would be less severe.