By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff
The cause of a Sept. 17 fire at a Wytheville apartment complex that left four families homeless remains under investigation. The case has been turned over to a State Farm Insurance special investigation unit.
“It’s standard practice,” noted Tommy Hundley, local State Farm agent, whose company insures the apartments owned by the Wytheville Redevelopment & Housing Authority. “Our investigators have already been on the scene but we still don’t really know the cause of the fire or how long it will take to determine the cause.”
The amount of damage to the four-apartment complex at 540 26th St. in Wytheville has not been determined either. Three of the apartments and their contents were destroyed by the fire while a fourth one was heavily damaged by smoke and water.
“The damage was substantial,” Hundley stated.
According to Randy Martin, chief executive officer of the Wytheville Redevelopment & Housing Authority, all four families have been relocated to permanent housing. Two families are in other apartments, one is in a house while another is in a mobile home.
“We were able to keep all four families in the area,” Martin remarked Monday. “That was important in keeping the children in the same schools.”
He also reported the Wytheville Redevelopment & Housing Authority purchased many of the household furnishings for the families including beds, mattresses and other furniture. End tables, lamps, pots, pans and dishes are needed, Martin said.
Donations of furniture or other household items may be left at Martin’s office at 170 Hedgefield Lane in Wytheville.
The fire was reported around 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Firefighters from the Wytheville Fire Department responded within 10 minutes to find flames and smoke shooting from the center apartment.
The Rural Retreat Volunteer Fire Department provided mutual aide. The Wythe County Rescue Squad also responded to the scene.
Two of the apartment residents were treated at Wythe County Community Hospital for smoke inhalation. One was kept overnight.
The housing authority provided temporary lodging at a local hotel for the four families which included children. It also bought clothing for them.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or
.
Good luck with State Farm Insurance. You might get a little money to fix some of the damage. If there is a wall that is not damaged, you will not get paid for that wall. Hope you can find materials that are an exact match or you will have different color walls in each room. Best of luck.
I’d take the word of a fire marshal or a state sanctioned fire investigator over an insurance company with a fiscal interest in minimizing its exposure. Odd, much?
I agree Will. State Farm’s investigator’s work for State Farm. We had an incident where the wind blew off half of our singles and State Farm only paid for half of our roof. Although the wind had loosened some of the singles on the other side and they could not find a shingle to match, State Farm wanted us to put a different color shingle on one side of our roof. I guess you figured it right, we don’t have State Farm any more. We talked with several people who said they had the similar problems with Tommy Hunley at State Farm so they don’t have State Farm any more. Have a great day Will.
Very odd Will. This could potentially be a criminal investigation (rumors), WHY would an insurance company be investigating this? I really hope the paper has this wrong.
I completely agree. I too had a bad experience with State Farm. I was in a car accident and the other driver was at fault. The other driver had State Farm insurance. Their adjuster came out and looked at my car and told me it was totaled and that I would receive a check in the mail. When the check arrived it was for $500!!! I missed three days of work, had an ER visit to pay for as well as the car. They tried to convince me to cash the check and they would send me more later. Everyone knows the fine print on an insurance check says once signed closes the case!!! BEWARE and never sign anything without reading the fine print.
RfromA, was this accident in Virginia? Virginia law only requires a driver (and thus their insurer) to take sole financial liability for an accident if they were 100% responsible. If you have even 1% fault in the accident (ie, if there was _anything_ you could have done to prevent it) then, by Virginia law, neither insurance company has to pay for both vehicles.
It looks like State Farm felt that you had at least a 1% contributory factor in the accident, so they weren’t assuming liability. The $500 check was probably State Farm’s way of “being kind” and paying your deductible, so you personally wouldn’t have any out-of-pocket expenses to repair your vehicle. The real question is who was your insurer, and why didn’t they make a better case against State Farm. They are the ones that are supposed to look out for you and settle the terms with the other driver’s insurer.
I’m not making excuses for State Farm, but just telling you how the system works here because of Virginia law.
As for the case of these apartments, State Farm is going to look for any slightest hint of foul play, building irregularities (substandard or improper electrical wiring, etc) or maintenance lapses that would constitute a breach of the insurance contract so they don’t have to pay.
DfromN
Amen to your last paragraph Mr. East. That is exactly what State Farm did to us, looked for any and every way not to pay and we had insurance with them for 37 years.
Dan East: Yes this accident was in Virginia and what you sugggested was not at all what happened. I was sitting in my car (the car was not even running) on a parking lot at work 50 yards away from hwy 11. The driver of the other car was traveling at a high rate of speed chasing her boyfriend (with whom she was fighting), lost control of her car and ran thru the parking lot until she broadsided my car. My insurance was Progressive and they did take excellent care of me. Their lawyer was prepared to file a warrent for court when they finally agreed to settle.
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