ABC 4 Utah's coverage

Alicia's sister contacted all of the local TV stations to see if they would be willing to cover the story.  ABC 4 was the only one who responded that they would do it.  We really appreciate Brent Hunsaker and ABC 4 for the time and coverage they have provided!  Obviously, without insurance money, the Abbott's are in desperate need of money so that they can re-fix their home.





Insurance company will not pay for fire damaged home
Reported by: Brent Hunsaker
Last Update: 5/13 9:39 am


WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Monday's fire started in the kitchen and spread to the dining and living rooms. "All these couches are soaked in smoke, they'll have to be thrown away," explained Wade Abbott as he escorted his family through the damage Wednesday evening.


This was supposed to be their dream house. Alicia Abbott said, "It was perfect for us. We loved it. We spent 2 months here working and fixing it up." That had only been living in the house a couple weeks when the fire struck. 16-year old Katie Abbott's porcelain doll collection was still in boxes. As she looked at everything destroyed, Katie cried out, "How are we going to do this, dad?" His responded, "Hey, we started over when we bought the house. We'll just start over again."


But it will be decidedly more difficult this time. The Abbott's bought the house at auction and that meant they had to pay for it in cash within 24 hours. They scrapped together the money from their savings and from relatives. Now, there is precious little money left to rebuild.


Alicia Abbott said she had talked to their insurance agent. "I called the same day we bought the house," she said. "I told him, we need to have this right now because it needs to be protected. He said he'd get right on it. I just thought it was done. I really did."


Now they're told the policy for the new home was never processed. The insurance company will pay for the personal possessions lost in the fire, but not the structure.


Still, the Abbott family is grateful that everyone got out alive and determined to find a way to overcome the considerable obstacles they now face. "My overwhelming feeling is gratitude," said Alicia Abbott. "We made it out of here with our whole family." Wade Abbott said, "We're just going to have faith, do our best and see what happens."


A fund has been established at Chase Bank in the name of the Abbotts. Donations can be made at any branch under account number 2930377524. There is also a Paypal account available.


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