This fire was started by the stupid homeowner trying to start his briquettes for his grill with regular starting fluid. He told us that he didn't know it took about a half hour before the charcoal would get hot enough to put the meat on, so he threw some gas on the charcoal and it exploded. I just stared at him. I wanted to ask him if he was really that stupid?
The insurance company ended up forgiving his stupidity and built him a whole new home on the same lot after clearing and cleaning up the lot. The estimate of damages given to me for the report was $415,000.00, which included the lot. The lots were selling for $100,000 for a half acre lot. The lot was already paid for. So that meant he had the whole $415,000 to build a new house. He was lucky that the insurance company didn't sue him.
