Second disaster hits family within a year, waiting on insurance
DENHAM SPRINGS - First flood then fire. Two disasters a Denham Springs man has lost nearly everything to.
During the night of Valentine's Day, John Cooper Fore says his paradise in the making burnt to a crisp. It was a design project years in the making his family had worked on, collecting antiques from neighboring states.
"Our doors, we had eleven antique doors," he said.
Fore says he had recently installed the clay tile shingles on the roof and had arranged the kitchen cabinets the day before fire lost them forever.
"Nothing, nothing survived," he said.
Months prior, Fore recalls being rescued by boat. His home along the Amite River is set on pilings, yet water reached nearly eight feet above the floor. His family took shelter in a tiny alcove near the bedroom ceiling.
"The flood was hard," he said."This has been hard, hard."
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While he can't catch a break, Fore is now waiting for State Farm to respond to his insurance claim. He's been waiting nine weeks for a response. In the meantime, he's posted a sign down the street from the charred remains of his house that says, "My insurance was State Farm. Nine weeks ago my house was 100 percent burned. I have not seen a cent."
"Don't hear from nobody," he said. "Don't see no money, never have seen a penny."
Until he does, he's in a holding pattern and can't begin to rebuild until some insurance money is released. The policy won't even cover half of what was spent on his dream home that's now a pile of ashes.
State Farm tells 2 On Your Side, "Due to our customer privacy policy, we are not able to discuss the specifics of any particular claim or customer’s policy information.