The Halls Crossing Meeting

The meeting yesterday of houseboat owners and insurance representatives was conducted by Ken Harris of Arnold and Arnold, Aramark's insurance adjuster. It appeared that most everyone was in attendance that were affected by the fire. It was nice to meet and put a face with a lot of the houseboat owners, however, still sad for the losses that everyone incurred. I personally appreciated learning of some of the heartfelt stories from several of you concerning the loss of your boat.

There were several, who devoted most of their free time in their homes on the water, who for one reason or another, will move on and leave this terrible experience behind. I talked to some who had no insurance. One who didn't even authorize the marina to store his boat in a slip, and was caught as a victim of this unfortunate accident.

I've listed below some notes that I took from the meeting. If I have left anything out, please feel free to add to it:

• There was no one on the dock at the time of the fire or just before.
• Fire started at the end of F dock. Origin has been narrowed down to three boats. f17, f15, f13.
• They ruled out arson.
• Something electrical probably started the fire.
• One of the three houseboats that are suspect of the origin of the fire, sank and did not have insurance.
• All boats have been released by the fire marshal.
• The responsibility of fighting the fire for the marina is the park service.
• There were no maintenance people from the marina the night of the fire on F dock.
• Harry, the head mechanic of the marina, was not there and is the only mechanic right now for the marina.
• Aramark wants to do all they can to help the houseboat owners in getting back on their feet and back on the water.

Personal observation: Aramark seemed pretty general and vague with their comments. I got the impression that there was more that they were not disclosing. Ken Harris seemed sincere and very concerned, but still gave general answers to specific questions. It will be up to the insurance companies and their attorneys to fight it out. There were a lot of insurance representatives there, as well as one investigator that I knew of.

Here are some pictures of all the boats moved to the old airport: