Hello all.
He is OK, and so are his 6 cars, but unfortunately Gary Carter's house burned down this morning.
I recieved a phone call from our scrapper mate Dave this morning. By amazing fortune he was going past and noticed smoke coming from the roof, so he stopped and ran inside to raise the alarm. He met Gary and a friend coming out the back door. Gary had been sleeping, but the friend smelled smoke, and saw it coming from the ceiling. It had started in an unoccupied section of the house, used for storage. Gary only had time to grab the keys to his new Lancer, which he jumped into and moved away from the house.
The fire brigade was quickly on the scene, and prevented the fire spreading. They eventually got it out, but I would say the interior was completely consumed. Gary's main concern was for his cats, which hopefully fled, but were nowhere to be seen.
Thankfully he had home and contents insured, and the Bellett and 117 are in the back shed, well out of harm's way. But he has lost a lot of things, including a magazine collection with every copy of 'Wheels', wallet, mobile phone, etc. He has only the clothes he was wearing and his cars.
The main thing is though, they are both OK.

Matt.

Great to hear everyone is safe...........

Exactly right Matt the main thing is they are both ok!

That's not good news at all Farmer but glad to hear Gary is ok.
Good to hear that there were some attentive people around who were able to raise the alarm also. Sounds like he's a lucky boy indeed.
Stuff can be replaced.... people can't (especially champions the likes of Gary)

Give him my regards please and I hope all the cats got out and are accounted for too

At least everyone is ok and he is insured pass on our thoughts to Gary.

At least he is ok, Sorry to hear it happen, All the best to him.

Sorry to hear about the house, hope the insurance company looks after him good.

Thanks everyone for all the well wishes, I will pass them on. I'm away at the minute, and can't ring because his phone was in there, but soon.
He is booked in tomorrow for a Cataract removal, and had 3 nights sorted there. Afterwards, the insurance should pay for emergency accommodation, and he can start getting essentials together. There is value in having a bank account locally, so the locals can give access to funds without a card. So he can get cash, he can drive places, and he has somewhere to stay.
Good he had adequate insurance too, there are some who take the risk, but I am an insurer. Hopefully you never need it and the premiums just buy peace of mind.

I will update as I find out more.
Cheers, Matt.

Good to know that Gary and his friend escaped without injury.

Here's hoping that he will be back onto his feet with accomodation and clothing.
Sooner than later.
Dave.

Very sad news, I'm glad to hear that everyone is ok, We'll keep the Carter family in our thoughts and prayers.

Regards
Mark & Jeannine

Bloody hell!
As long as he's ok. The rest are just material items, even tho it's sad and a real pain to replace.
Matt...... Can u give me a call too? I've PM'd my number.
Cheers.

Never good to hear these stories,main thing is people are safe and well,best wishes,Gerry

Hello all, here is an update.
Firstly, thank you all for the well wishes and offers of help. I have passed those on, and Gary is very grateful too.
As the roof didn't collapse, he has been allowed back in to salvage parsonal effects. His house was originally constructed as a duplex, so there is a brick dividing wall along the centreline. This held the roof structure up and confined the worst of the damage to the south side, which he was using for storage. The ceiling has come down in much of the occupied north side and there is lots of smoke and water damage. He was able to salvage clothing, which he has been washing at the laundramat, so thats all good. He also found his mobile phone, which worked well enough to retrieve numbers, and he has a new one now. He found all his car keys, and they are useable except the spare Lancer remote, which melted.

He has had his cataract opperation, which went well. Insurance is paying for a motel room until he finds a rental house, which they will pay for until his house is replaced. They may rebuild it as the brick structure is sound, but thats all undecided. Insurance is good stuff!
So all in all things are much better than they may have been, thanks to quick fireies and a helpful community. He is in a positive frame of mind.

Thank you all, and cheers,
Matt.

Good to hear
Thanks for the update Matt

Sounds pretty good to me. Thanks for the update.

Excellent news - cheers.

Our best wishes and love to our old fossil mate, all will be fine from gazza and monn xx

Sorry to hear that Gary has gone through this terrible event.
I am glad he is OK. The clearer vision after his eye operation will lift his spirits
It's a matter of time now for normality to return.

Cheers,
Lewis.

Exactly right Lewis. Onward and upward. He is looking forward to the Nationals, no change to those plans!
Cheers, Matt.

Good news. Looking forward to see him in September.

Dave.