Boat, car, RV owners wait anxiously to file insurance claims in Lackawanna fire
It likely took just minutes for the classic craft to burn, its fiberglass hull flaming like a fireball in the cavernous storage site at the former
It was a dark day for Marks, who recalled working on the boat with his father.
"The whole project was pretty special, but I lost him to lung cancer," said Marks who is 47 and lives in
Marks and 124 other property owners stored their boats, classic cars or recreational vehicles at
The massive fire remains under investigation, according to
"Property owners are requesting incident reports on the fire, but they are not yet available," Galanti said Friday.
Claims experts from BoatUS, which offers marine insurance, explained why a delay can occur in filing claims from a catastrophic fire.
"With a fire of this size there will be an investigation into the cause," said
Also, some property owners who stored recreational belongings during the off season opt out of insurance.
"There are some boaters who don't believe they need insurance in winter months when their boat is in storage," said
One boat left outside the facility was spared, according to Dr.
Hornberger's office at the facility -- with 16-inch thick concrete walls and a fire wall -- was not touched by the fire, but it did suffer water damage, he said. Last week, Hornberger met with the demolition team and investigators.
"I told them how important it was not to demolish the office area where I keep my contracts," Hornberger said Friday during a break between patients. "Everyone kept on calling and emailing me asking for information, asking for refunds."
"They told me the office space would have been incinerated, but when the demolition guy moved the pieces of metal to get close to the door, the water-damaged records were sitting on my desk where they belong. Investigators kept them until Tuesday because they wanted to copy them. I got them back Tuesday afternoon."
On Wednesday, Hornberger said he prepared a mailing to each of his customers with copies of the contract and a letter from fire marshals detailing what documents are needed to file an insurance claim.
"People shop around," said Dane. "They pick the facility based on the quality of service, the whole package. If you were at Bethlehem Steel, you'd have to have a trailer. A lot of guys like to have their boats inside.
Marinello recalled two other large boat fires:
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This was his first year at
"As much as I was attached to this piece of property, I'm glad no one was hurt or killed," said Clark, referring to the
Clark is in the process of buying a 2015 Tiffin motor home.
Marks, who lost an irreplaceable link to his father when their classic Century was destroyed by the fire, also is in the market for a new boat, though this time he is not looking for a restoration project.
The property owner who may have taken the biggest hit in the fire lost a
Hornberger, 55, also lost personal property in the fire at his warehouse: two vehicles including an "old Corvette," a jet ski, a snowmobile and a specially equipped van for his mother, who had since passed away.
"It's been terrible," he said. "I have a lot of work left to do."
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