SAN MATEO -- Uatesoni and Anna Paasi spent the morning of Black Friday at Kmart buying a new oven. They needed it for a special occasion: a party following the ceremonial blessings of two infant grandchildren.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Mormon couple hosted more than 50 friends and relatives in their backyard, serving roast leg of pork and other Tongan specialties. They had held dozens of family gatherings since buying their York Avenue house in 2006. This may have been the last.

Three days later, Anna Paasi stood in the street in shock, watching flames consume their home in San Mateo's North Shoreview neighborhood. Despite the heat from the fire, she was shivering.

"It was not too cold," recalled Anna Paasi, 53, "but I was shaking."

No one was hurt in the fire, which began around 10 p.m. and burned into the early morning, but the Paasis lost most of their possessions, including a pickup truck that was parked in the driveway. The fire marshal has not determined the cause, but the Paasis say firefighters told them it may have been electrical wiring in the garage.

Their home is insured through their bank, they say, and they hope to rebuild. But they did not have insurance for their belongings. A friend of the family has begun an online fundraising drive to help them put their lives back together.

Blackened shell

On Thursday, Uatesoni and Anna Paasi drove to their charred two-bedroom house from a San Mateo homeless shelter where they are staying along with five family members, including two sons and a grandson, who lived with them.

The broken windows of the one-story building are boarded up. There is a pile of trash on the lawn. Inside the blackened, gutted house the carpet is still spongy from the water that put out the flames. The Paasis' prized oven is rust-colored, oxidized by the fire and heaped with insulation that fell down from the attic.

Anna Paasi picked through the ruins of her bedroom, looking for salvageable clothes. She and her husband were wearing outfits they bought with a $1,000 debit card from the Red Cross.

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Fundraiser supports San Mateo family who lost home in fire

Wiring Panel for Structured Wiring The Wiring Panel is the heart of any Structured Wiring job. You should have already chosen the location of your wiring panel when you created your Wiring Plan. This should probably be placed in the basement if you have one. Otherwise, a closet will work too. The benefit of proper structured wiring plan is that all wires terminate in one location - your wiring panel. This makes it much easier to change your setup and to diagnose and repair problems.

Purchasing a wiring panel can add a professional finish to your work, but they can also be expensive. The empty panel might start as low as $50, but you end up getting trapped into using their overpriced modules for phone, cable, and internet distribution. I was able to find a standalone 24 port internet switch for less than the cost of a Leviton 4 port hub. If your wiring panel will be visible (it is located in a closet or small room) then you might want to go with a real wiring panel like the one shown above. Since my wiring panel is hidden in an unfinished closet in the basement, I prefer to save the money and just mount everything to the wall. The wires are visible, but it also has more room makes it easier to move things around.

Any non-electrical wires from outside the home should be run to the wiring panel. As you can see below, most companies are trying to offer the big 3 services (phone, TV, & internet). Having all wires start from the same location makes it easier to switch between companies. Everyone is always offering a better deal for new customers to get them to switch. The panel will then distribute these to the rest of the home. This includes:

With a structured wiring plan, the cable modem is located at the wiring panel in the basement. The incoming cable is run to the cable modem. The Cat5 cable is then run to a internet switch which can then distribute the internet throughout the home. A typical wiring panel will contain a Cable or DSL modem, a internet switch, a WiFi router, phone splitter, TV / satellite splitters, and an alarm panel.

Before cutting any wires, do a rough layout of where each switch, splitter, switch, and panel will be. I like to start at the top with the wires coming in from the street, then the grounds, then splitters at the bottom.

The second method for phone distribution is to simply buy a multi-port phone splitter.

Each wire must be terminated with a 6 pin phone connector. A special crimping tool and phone connectors are required to do this. Each wire in the braid is inserted through its own hole in the connector, then the wires are crimped to hold them in the connector. Finally, the excess wire is trimmed from the end of the connector. Only untwist as little wire as necessary.

For coaxial wires, you must crimp on a coax connector before connecting it to the splitter. Do not use the twist on connectors. You can use a standard wire stripper to strip the coaxial cable, but a custom coax stripper will give you a perfect cut. After stripping the wire, push the braid back on the wire and then crimp on the connector. The white insulator should just be visible inside the connector. Be sure to get the correct RG6 (not RG59) connectors. Make sure that the braid and the inner core do not touch.

All coaxial wires (cable or satellite) coming in from the street should be grounded. Most splitters have built in ground connections, but if they don't you can use a separate grounding block. If the builder hasn't already provided a ground, you will need to run a copper wire from your copper water pipe to under the screw on the grounding block.

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Wiring Panel - Structured Home Wiring

16619 Rose Bay Tr, Cypress, TX 77429
WOW!!! Large Home, Lot and Large Lot of Garage Space! Owner occupied Hardwood floors on first floor except for master and laundry(tile). Window Shutters, Sun...

By: HoustonVirtualTours

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16619 Rose Bay Tr, Cypress, TX 77429 - Video

An early morning New Years Day fire at a city home displaced five people and caused at least $20,000 damage, a city fire official said.

City fire crews were called to 226 E. Lehman St. at 5:37 a.m. Wednesday for a fire in the walls of the home.

City Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman said the fire was caused by old wiring tied into new wiring. The fire started on the second floor and spread into the attic, he said.

He estimated damage between $20,000 and $25,000. The fire commissioner said the fire caused extensive damage to the floor joists and flooring in the attic and framing on the second floor.

"There's a lot of work to be done (to repair it)," he said.

Two adults and three children lived in the rental property, Trautman said.

The cause of the fire was ruled accidental, the fire commissioner said.

Trautman said the property owner is expected to face charges because there were no smoke detectors inside the home.

The names of the property owners and the occupants of the home were not available Wednesday.

"Someone happened to be awake (and noticed the fire). They're lucky to be alive," Trautman said.

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POLICE, FIRE LOG for Jan. 2: Lebanon fire displaces five

Shopping for homeowner insurance has become much more complicated over the past several years. There was a time when auto insurance was a much tougher market than homeowner insurance. That led to a rise in the marketplace of monoline auto insurance companies like Geico and Progressive. They found a market niche and are now two of the top five companies in premium volume in property and casualty insurance. Now companies will more readily write the auto exposure by itself but will not write homeowners coverage without supporting business such as autos. Most companies offer a discount from 10 percent to 20 percent on each policy to write them in a package. What has changed and what should you do to get the best coverage at the lowest cost?

Weather is the biggest culprit affecting higher costs of insuring your home. This could be due to fire damage with the use of space heaters in cold weather, wind blowing trees onto houses, lightning striking houses or hail damaging roofs. This does not take into account catastrophic losses from hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes. The primary coverage affected by these perils is coverage A on your policy, which is the value of the dwelling. That value is based on the replacement cost of your home not the market cost or what you can sell it for. In most cases today the replacement cost exceeds the market cost.

Most companies use a software program that takes into account location, quality of construction, age and square footage to determine the value the company will insure a home for.

Once the value of the dwelling is established, the amount of insurance for other structures such as detached garages or storage sheds, personal property and loss of use are a percentage of the dwelling amount. Medical payments coverage, personal liability and deductible amount are written for the amount the customer wants. Many carriers also include fungi and mold coverage at specific limits. Be careful not to over insure on any coverage. What you are insuring against is a major loss that you cannot cover out of pocket and would set you back financially.

So how do you get the best rate for the best coverage? First, know the coverage that adequately protects your risk. What amount of liability coverage is needed to protect your assets? What amount of medical payments coverage is adequate? Do you need replacement cost on contents instead of actual cash value (depreciated cost)? Other optional coverage may also be needed. Then contact an agent or company and market both your auto and homeowner policies. Make sure you get the rates for different deductibles on your homeowner quote. Most companies will start at $1,000 deductible, but price $2,000 or $2,500 deductibles.

Most companies use your credit score to determine the tier of premium they put you in. The higher the credit score, the lower the tier and lower the rate. Independent studies have shown a direct correlation between credit history and loss proclivity. Companies also base their rate on past claims experience. Insure your home for a major loss, and save money by paying any small claims if there are any. Install deadbolt locks and smoke detectors and test the smoke detectors every six months. If you can afford it, install a centrally monitored security system. The discount on your homeowner premium could offset over half of the annual monitoring cost.

Rather than be placid about the cost of homeowner insurance, be proactive. Reduce the hazards around your home such as updating wiring and reducing clutter. Understand how much coverage you need and shop for the product that meets your needs at the best price. Remember the package discount. It is offered in the marketplace so take advantage of it and save money.

Dave Pushman is the former regional vice president of Geico in Macon and is now an independent insurance agent with Tidwell and Hilburn Insurance. He can be reached at davep@th-ins.com.

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The Insurance Corner: Shopping for homeowner insurance more complex

An early morning New Years Day fire at a city home displaced five people and caused at least $20,000 damage, a city fire official said.

City fire crews were called out to 226 E. Lehman St. at 5:37 a.m. Wednesday for a fire in the walls.

City Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman said the fire was caused by old wiring tied into new wiring. The fire started on the second floor and spread into the attic, he said.

He estimated damage at between $20,000 and $25,000. The fire commissioner said the fire caused extensive damage to the floor joists and flooring in the attic and framing on the second floor.

"There's a lot of work to be done (to repair it)," he said.

Two adults and three children lived in the rental property, Trautman said.

The cause of the fire was ruled accidental, the fire commissioner said.

Trautman said the property owner is expected to face charges because there were no smoke detectors inside the home.

The names of the property owners and the occupants of the home were not available Wednesday.

"Someone body happened to be awake (and noticed the fire). They're lucky to be alive," Trautman said.

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Fire displaces five in Lebanon

Broadway and Fraser, Vancouver (Dec 31/13)

(Jesse Johnston, News1130 Photo)

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) Crews are still dealing with a stubborn fire that has gutted a Vancouver home and sent four people to the hospital.

The fire broke out early this morning at Broadway and Fraser Street.

One woman is unaccounted for, but its not yet clear if she was home at the time. Fire Chief John McKearney says she lives in the attic of the building and crews are looking into whether she could have been staying somewhere else overnight. Were absolutely hopeful nobody is there.

Paul lives in the basement suite at the home; he says he was woken up early this morning by screaming neighbours who were yelling at him to get out of his home. I went to open the door [and saw] a big fire. It was spread everywhere. So, we basically just went out the door. I felt kind of half-asleep and realized its everything weve got there.

He says the building is old and hes been concerned about the wiring for some time now, but theres still no word as to what caused the fire. But McKearney says appears the fire started in a carport area behind the home.

A couple of people who live in the house had to crawl onto the roof of a neighbouring house, until crews could come rescue them.

A firefighter has a dislocated shoulder, while the conditions of the other three people taken to hospital are unknown.

Broadway remains closed at Fraser Street.

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Four people taken to hospital after fire at Vancouver home

Fire brings pot grow in home to light

A fire blamed on faulty wiring led to the discovery of a home marijuana growing operation and an arrest. Modesto Regional Fire Authority firefighters responded to a home in the 1300 block of Markham Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, said Battalion Chief Cecil Ridge. Firefighters put out a small fire that damaged the ceiling of a downstairs bedroom, he said. The fire was blamed on makeshift electrical connections in the room and bedrooms above, which had extensive rigging to power lights and fans for growing marijuana, Ridge said. The Turlock Irrigation District was called in to cut off power to the smoking wires. Narcotics officers arrested Elda Valenzuela, 53, on a felony charge of cultivation of marijuana after finding about 100 plants growing, according to Modesto Police Department records.

NO INJURIES IN PLANE CRASH IN MERCED

No one was injured when the landing gear failed on an incoming plane to the Merced Regional Airport, according to authorities.

It was a minor accident, said Battalion Chief Shawn Henry of the city of Merced Fire Department. The plane sustained damage to its underside, he said. Fire crews were called to the airport about 6:20 p.m., and the airport closed, according to the departments Facebook page. Initial reports indicated the pilot had been injured. No other information was available.

St. Stanislaus marks 100th anniversary

St. Stanislaus Catholic Church marked a century of worship and community history with a service in the original church on J Street in Modesto. Page B2

CDC: Valley fever hit state hard this year

Californias Central Valley has been hit heavily by coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, in the past year, The Sacramento Bee reported. The disease is caused by Coccidioides fungus or cocci found in the soil of warm, dry regions with low annual rainfall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Digging, agricultural production and high winds pick up the fungal spores from the soil and carry them to where humans can inhale them and become ill. Valley fever cannot be transmitted person to person.

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News & Notes

Bose SoundLink Mini.

In terms of technology, hotel rooms are still firmly locked in the 20th century. An in-room DVD player is a big deal at most hotels. Wi-fi? Only if you're happy to be ripped off, and then it's mostly marginal. Music? Forget that - if it's not on the television, it doesn't exist.

So if music helps you survive travel, it's all up to you, and unless you like listening to the horrible speaker in your phone, or wear headphones, you'll need a portable speaker. There may be plenty available across a wide range of prices, but not all of them travel well and lots of them sound little better than your phone.

First, you need something small and light enough to throw into your bag. It also needs to be robust enough to take the knocks. It needs sufficient volume to avoid washing out the detail by the time the sound has crossed from the room's only available power point to the room's only couch when the battery is charging.

Samsung DAF61.

Most of all, it needs to sound good, and this is where the laws of physics are against you. The smaller and more compact a speaker, the more it favours high-range sounds. If you want heaps of bass - well, it comes out best with large speakers, and these make serious inroads into your suitcase. So, you have to compromise, but advances in technology mean you don't have to compromise as much as you once did.

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The Samsung here has a passive radiator, essentially a cone with no driver behind it, operated by changes of air pressure within the speaker cabinet as the smaller drivers do their work. It enhances bass performance but, again, the bigger the better.

Bose has a tricky way of getting long (and therefore low) soundwaves out of very small enclosures.

Beats Pill.

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Home away from home

Last Friday, Ethel Wright, 66, and her four grandchildren stepped into their new home in Kyle. It was a year in the making, but this Christmas, they will finally wake up in a home that doesnt leak every time it rains, that doesnt have holes in the floor, that has all its windows, and heating and air conditioning, and electrical wiring that works.

This is awesome, said 9-year-old Petey Crawford, as he and his siblings ran through the new three-bedroom mobile home picking out their rooms. We have a good home to live in.

Wright was part of last years Statesman Season for Caring program, which features 12 families each year and helps hundreds of others through local nonprofit agencies. Wright was nominated by Community Action Inc., which has spent the year trying to turn reader donations into a new mobile home.

Community Actions Jon Engel went to multiple mobile home dealers until finally Clayton Homes agreed to sell Wright a new home, worth $42,000, for the $30,000 Community Action Inc. had allocated from last years Season for Caring funds. Clayton Homes also removed the existing home. Matt Chambers, who is a home contractor and who teaches GED classes for Community Action, became the foreman to organize moving the new home onto the property and removing the old one. Pack-Rat gave storage units for Wright to store her things while the new home was being set up. Pullen Electric and Air Pro Heating and Air Conditioning donated their services. Students from Chambers GED class also helped.

Engel called it a Christmas miracle as he watched the family check out their new home. Without Season for Caring, this would not have been possible.

I appreciated what they did for me and my family, Wright said. Now we got a good place to stay, and we wont be cold anymore.

Without heat and with leaky windows, the family had placed tarps over the windows and put blankets in the doorways to keep in what little warmth they had from space heaters. Wright worried about the safety of the space heaters for Petey, 11-year-old JaRai, and 3-year-old twins Michael and Makhia, but she didnt have another solution.

It was really, really dangerous, Wright said.

Community Action still has work to do on the new home, including finding people to put on the skirting and build front and back porches and permanent steps into and out of the house. Scraps from the old house need to be cleaned up from the yard, and, sadly, Wright will have to replant her beautiful front garden.

I just want to thank all the nice people, Petey said.

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Season for Caring: After a year’s wait, a new home for Ethel Wright