I've probably mentioned it before, but my family is in the process of moving down south for a change in job, scenery, and weather. Little by little, we've been taking boxes and furniture down and storing them so we won't have as much stuff to take once we make the big jump down there. Well, it looks like we will have a little less stuff to worry about now. My father left the Sunday after Thanksgiving with a van full of boxes to take down and store when, in the middle of nowhere, he saw a flickering in the back of the van then the lights all went out, including the headlights. He had left at 4am so it was completely dark outside. He stopped the van and that's when he noticed the small fire in the back. He went out to open up the back and try to put out the fire but because the van had an electrical short he could not override the lock on the door. The van also began to roll away down the embankment (where he had stopped was literally right next to a river) but he was able to get into the cab and pull the emergency break. He called 911 and because of the remoteness of the area, they not only sent out Highway Patrol and the closest firefighters, but the volunteer firefighters as well who lived nearby.This is where it gets really stupid, the volunteer firefighters arrived and could not put out the fire because they are not allowed to carry fire extinguishers. Does that make any sense? Apparently, fire extinguishers are considered to be "bombs" and they are not authorized to have them in their vehicles. So they, along with my father, just had to sit and watch the van burn. About 30 minutes later, the actual firefighters and Highway Patrol showed up. By then, the van had been completely gutted.
Luckily, my father was able to get out unscathed and was also to rescue his work laptop and all of his office files from the fire. Unfortunately, everything in the back of the van was completely gone, and I mean gone. The whole back of the van was completely filled with boxes and plastic tubs had been reduced to ash. Even my father's kayak (pictured below) was completely melted into an unrecognizable heap of plastic. My father had a bunch of stuff in the van including awards from his career in the Navy, clothes (including a really expensive tuxedo), all of the kayak gear, and his collection of military challenge coins to name a few. My mother's belongings consisted of some antique pictures, antique porcelain dolls, and a handmade blanket that has been in the family for four generations. We also lost some furniture including my two media bookshelves and a large box of DVDs and Blu-Ray movies.
As for the stuff I lost, my complete collection of anime and video game memorabilia was in that van. Figures, artwork, every single collector's and limited edition boxes were in there as well. While most of the stuff didn't matter I can't help but be disappointed about some of the things I lost. Some notable ones are the collector's edition of Fallout: New Vegas which I had just got and didn't get the chance to fully enjoy its contents before packing it. The CLAMP 15th Anniversary chess set was also lost, something that took me 3 years to complete. I also had some collector Gundam action figures straight from Japan which cost me a pretty penny. And did I mention that my whole collection was in there? I'm trying not to be too bitter about it since the most important thing is that my father got out safely. But when I look at the only collector's boxes I have left (GT5 and AC: Brotherhood because they came after he left and Batman because it didn't fit), it's a little hard to take in, after all I literally buy every collector's and limited editions of all the games I get. I also lost all 16 boxes of the special editions of Naruto, the leather book that holds my Read or Die series, and my limited edition Rurouni Kenshin anime.To make matters worse, the van (which was a work car) has, or I should say had only limited insurance coverage so not only will we not get reimbursed for the loss but the towing fee and the fee to junk the van will not be covered as well. On the bright side is that my entire collection went up in flames. It may sound odd, but I'd rather lose all of it than only some of it and then have to be bothered with trying to replace what has been lost. With all of my collection gone, there is literally no way for me to replace it so I'm actually not as bothered about it. After all, I'm a completist, I can't stand leaving a collection unfinished, this way there is no unfinished collection since there is no collection at all. At least that's what I'll keep telling myself.
Again though, my father was able to get out safely which is the most important thing and most of the stuff that was lost, while irreplaceable, weren't items that were a necessity. We still don't know what exactly caused the fire in the first place either, an electrical short most have sparked something in the back to start the whole sequence of events but other than that, we don't have much information. The only question that's really left for me to answer is what am I going to do about my anime and video game inventories now. After all, I have the collector's and limited versions of the discs but not the complete package - sometimes I wish I wasn't so organized.
Update: I decided to do an estimate of how much I lost and how much I roughly paid for it - bad idea! I lost over 120 items worth an estimated $5,000! I'm going to go cry in a corner now.
