The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 6THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JANUARY 1,2003 www.durhamregion.com Families struggle to overcome devastation of fire in the home BY LESLEY BOVIE Staff Writer DURHAM - Fran Archibald has a few more Christmas decorations up at home this year, including including a lit wreath that hangs in her window she can't stop looking at. "I watch it constantly," she says. And who could blame her? A year ago at this time, her family was still struggling to get back into their Scugog Island home after suffering through a devastating fire Labour Day weekend. It's the reason she won't let anyone smoke in her house today and a subject she and husband Glenn are still uneasy about. They want to move on with their lives, but every so often, someone wants to talk about "the fire". Investigators said it was old electrical wiring in a bedroom which sparked the blaze that eventually gutted the winterized cottage. No one was home at the time, but everything was lost, save for a few family family pictures stored in tin cans. Fire officials stress material items are replaceable, replaceable, human lives are not. Recent statistics show the vast majority of fires in Durham involve property property loss rather than death or injury. There were 280 fires in Durham in 2001 (excluding (excluding Brock Township), totalling more than $6.3 million in damages. Twenty-six people were injured but there were no fatalities. And while Ms. Archibald is thankful she and her husband and 17-year-old daughter, Krystal, are safe and today, she counts their recovery from the fire as her family's most difficult challenge to date. "It was awful, just strenuous," she says. "I don't know how our marriage survived it." Insurance companies try their best to get victims victims of fire back into their homes as soon as possible possible for very practical reasons, says Eve Patterson, Patterson, a regional manager of services with the Insurance Insurance Bureau of Canada's Ontario Division. "They don't want families displaced from their homes but they also want to get you back as quick as they can because they are paying your living expenses while you're out of the home," she says. In fact, insurance companies are required by law to respond within 60 days of a proof of loss, Ms. Patterson adds. Homeowner's insurance ranges on average from $400 to $500 for a single-family home and depends on several factors such as city location, the amount of fire protection available and the amount insured on contents. j' !r Homes within 1,000 feet ,of a Tire hydrant or five miles of a fire hall are considered protected for'fire, says Ms. Patterson. While homes outside of those guidelines are considered unprotected and face higher premiums, she adds. "Almost everyone has homeowner's.insurance because mortgages require, it," she says. "Tenants are a different matter." Only 50 per cent of tenants across the Province feel the need to insure their belongings, she says. In cities with a high population of young people, the number is even lower. "It's usually someone who has recently graduated graduated and is out on their own and they don't feel they own very much," Ms. Patterson says. "But they all have clothes, records, a VCR, They do have a lot to lose." Tenant insurance also allows for'living ex penses, up to 20 per cent of contents coverage, while you recover from a fire, and liability coverage coverage protects you should you leave a tap on and damage an apartment below, says Ms. Patterson. At a little more than $1 a day, Ms. Archibald holds her homeowner insurance policy dear to her heart. "Our fire insurance acted very quickly. They were here the next Monday or Tuesday morning with a cash advance," she says. But while crews were demolishing the charred remains of her home, Ms. Archibald was trying to list everything it had once contained for replacement. replacement. That was difficult. Some things just couldn't couldn't be replaced. "That nice cosy coat you find once in a blue moon, how do find it again?" Ms. Archibald asks. "You end up doing a lot of substituting." On the other hand, household contents don't depreciate over time under most insurance policies. policies. That means you won't have to go searching for another 20-year-old chesterfield to replace one destroyed in a fire, Ms. Patterson says. Victims of fire have up to a year to submit receipts receipts for replacement items. While necessity items like appliances will need to be replaced right away, the insurance industry realizes families families may need to take some time to restore other areas of their home. Upon submitting a receipt, reimbursements usually follow within a week or two, she says. When it came to rebuilding the Archibald home, most of it was handled through the family's family's insurance. They were told how much their insurance insurance would allow them to spend on things like kitchen cupboards, floor tiles and carpet and then left to shop for them, submitting the receipt afterwards. afterwards. : While it sounds like a shopper's dream, Ms. Archibald says it was a whirlwind of decisionmaking. decisionmaking. But the family wanted to be back home by Christmas. They moved in Dec. 22. "It was amazing. It was like, 'Are we really here?"' she says. "We didn't have all our furniture furniture yet and the Christmas decorations were slim, but it was overwhelming." Today, the Archibalds are taking pictures of everything they own, just in case. They plan to print it off on a CD and give it to a trusted friend for safekeeping. "You really find out who your friends are when something like this happens," says Ms. Archibald. Literally the same weekend of the fire, friends in a neighbouring trailer park held a fund-raiser for the family.. A neighbour, two doors down, opened her door to them for three months and clothes,'dishes and other donations started turning turning up on their doorstep soon after., .'.Friends also held a shower and a dance to raise money?'Ms. Patterson also suggests videotaping , the. inside of your home for insurance purposes. If listing them sounds onerous, use an audiotape to record jt verbally. You can even speed up the process by taking pictures of open drawers, but be sure to store all your documentation away from home in a safe place. "An inventory isn't going to do anyone good if it burns up in the fire," she adds. In the case of such an emergency, the Ontario fire marshal's (OFM) office urges homeowners not to stop to rescue their belongings. Fire and smoke spreads so fast, a family may have only minutes to get out of their home. "Sixty-four per cent of all fatal fires occur where the fire response is less than five minutes," says Bev Gilbert, the OFM's manager of public education. Residential fire losses for Durham Region in 2001 Municipality fires Injuries fatalities loss Uxbridge 9 0 0 $191,600 Scugog 18 0 0 $753,500 Pickering 40 6 0 $1,325,280 Oshawa 105 7 0 $2,035,722 Ajax 31 6 0 $764,375 Clarington 28 2 0 $671,315 Whitby 49 5 0 $612,780 Total 280 26 0 $6,354,572 * The information provided above Is based on the most recent data supplied by fire departments departments to the Ontario fire marshal's office using standard incident reports and information gathered gathered through Ontario fire marshal investigations. (Officials caution against drawing comparisons between municipalities. Brock Township statistics were not available) RIDE charges down, fewer stopped DURHAM - More than halfway into the Festive RIDE program, Durham Regional Police have charged fewer people with drinking and driving driving compared to last year's holiday season. In the first four weeks of the campaign campaign targeting impaired drivers, the eight-officer RIDE team has slopped 21,352 vehicles, charging 45 motorists motorists with alcohol-related offences, police report. Last year, 82 motorists were charged during the same period, although although 2,600 more vehicles were stopped, Another 100 people were issued issued 12-hour licence suspensions after registering a "warn" on roadside breath screening tests, compared to 95 last year at this point. Ask Your Physiotherapist Telma Grant Registered Physiotherapist "Acupuncture and Shoulder Pain" Q. Telmu, I have shoulder pain. It is so had I cannot sleep at night and 1 cannot reach behind me. Can acupuncture help? A. As always, the proper diagnosis is important. See your medical doctor first, Then Your Physiotherapist will do a detailed evaluation on your shoulder including your range of motion, strength, what movements produce your pain and what is behind your pain. Acupuncture can help decrease pain and increase movement in your shoulder. Of course, exercises directed to stretching and strengthening your shoulder are also essential. Acupuncture is not my first recommendation for shoulder pain, simply because most people arc leery of needles, But acupuncture cun lie effective where other treatments have failed. Your Physiotherapist has a big selection of pain relief strategies. If you have shoulder pain; discuss with her If acupuncture would help you, Ë ni Grant Physiotherapy Mr 214 King St„ li. Ilowmuuville "(.'mint on us!" (005) 623-2783 ■CARL FERENCZ/Statesman photo '. ■ 'M/ Fran Archibald, with the family dog which was saved from a home fire last year on Flatten ) Boulevard, Scugog Island. The family lost many personal items and were without their . » own home for months. The house is now rebuilt, and can be seen in background. c | Size Sale, each P185/7 5R14 57.99 PI95/75R14 61.49 * f R205/75R14 64.99 PI 85/70 R14 61.49 P195/70R14 64.49 P205/70RI4 66.99 . P205/70RI5 70.99 PI85/65RI4 66.49 P195/65R15 71.49 , P205/65RI5 72.49 \k Ollier sizes al o on sale 'Complete warranty details at Sears sears(^) auto care u SALE PRICES END SATURDAY, JANUARY 4,2003, WHILE QUANTITIES LAST ACCREDITEDTEST AND REPAIR CENTRES for more information call 1-888-758-2999 www.driveclean.com OSHAWA CENTRE DIRECT LINE 576-1716 HOURS ION,-Fill 7:30'8I'.M. SATUHOAY 7:30 6P.M. SUNDAY 11-5P.M, n?(XH So,«Can,ill,line,