Fire destroys Townhouses in Vermont.

[mike c]

What usually happens when your timeshare is destroyed by fire?

 

[SueDonJ]

I'm not an owner but thought it might be helpful to add a few links here:

Massive fire destroys condos near Killington ski resort - WCVB5 article 3/8/15

All but one wing of the Killington Townhouses perished - The Mountain Times article 3/12/15

Fire ravages condo complex - Rutland Herald article 3/8/15

... Paul Kaufman, president of the Killington Townhouses, said he drove from Massachusetts when he heard about the fire.

“It’s a tragedy,” he said.

About 600 families rent time in the Killington Townhouse condos through the year, Kaufman said.

But after the fire, he said, the future of the complex is up in the air.

“Obviously, we lost our office,” Kaufman said. “We lost our ability to communicate with our owners — we’re struggling to get that accomplished.” ...

killingtontownhouses.com The resort's home page doesn't mention anything about the fire but because they say their office was destroyed, it might be helpful for owners to try to use the contact info on it to get in touch with the President or Patty Flanagan, Manager.

Good luck to you and all the owners through this sad situation.

 

[mike c]

Thank you.

 

[silentg]

Wow! I thought of exchanging there, they were 4 bedroom units! So scary, will they rebuild?

 

[WinniWoman]

Wow! Very upsetting! Glad there were no injuries. I would imagine you will be getting a formal notice going forward. I didn't realize these were timeshares.. So sorry....I know how I would feel if something like this happened to our "second homes".

 

[theo]

I owned and used a ski week at Killington Townhouses for some years, but sold it off 5+ years ago. We always enjoyed having a fireplace, with plenty of free firewood provided, but I often wondered whether the overused fireplaces were really and truly a good idea in a timeshare facility, knowing full well that the chimneys were probably never cleaned of creosote buildup. The place was initially built as individually owned condos, not for "interval" ownership or use by multiple occupants.

I hope they can and will successfully rebuild, but if they do I seriously doubt that there will ever be fireplaces and chimneys in the units again...

 

[tashamen]

Always enjoyed having a fireplace in the unit, with plenty of free firewood provided, but I often wondered whether overused fireplaces were really and truly a good idea in a timeshare facility, knowing full well that the chimneys were probably never cleaned of their creosote buildup.

As an owner at Trapp Lodge Guest Houses I wonder too about how good an idea it is for them to have woodstoves and free firewood for the units. It's a nice perk, but I sure hope they don't burn down also!

 

[WinniWoman]

In terms of usage for this year, if you have timeshare insurance on it- like Vacation Guard- they might at least reimburse your maintenance fee for this year.

 

[Space Coast Laurie]

Some thoughts

When Club Chalet had one of its units burn down some years back, I think they purchased another unit with insurance money (their units are all standalone). I believe they were able to accommodate a number of (maybe most, maybe all... not sure) the people who were supposed to use that unit with weeks that weren't going to be used in other units while this was being arranged. They may not have gotten their preferred week, but folks have got to be understanding when something like this comes along. Obviously, you don't have that flexibility with the loss of many or all units. We'll have to wait and see whether their homeowners group/management group was wise enough to insure sufficiently.

Pondering the comment about their office being destroyed and struggling to contact owners. One must hope that the contact information for owners existed somewhere else besides that office and that they're just talking about a slight delay in getting the information and getting ahold of people. This is a business... can't believe they wouldn't have some kind of offsite backup.

As to the fireplaces, if owners/exchangers/renters are given instructions for use and the fireplaces are cleaned as they should be, there's no reason not to have working fireplaces in a timeshare. You can't protect from all idiocy or we'll all be staying in padded rooms. People can start fires with toasters, dryer lint, overloading power strips, cooking or any number of ways. Are we going to take out the kitchens, too? They can forget they were filling a bathtub and flood the unit (and maybe electrocute some people in the process). I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

 

[vacationhopeful]

....As to the fireplaces, if owners/exchangers/renters are given instructions for use and the fireplaces are cleaned as they should be, there's no reason not to have working fireplaces in a timeshare. .......

Wyndham Shawnee a couple of months ago, changed the signage in the units with fireplaces. "Only WOOD fires. No starter logs. No artificial logs. Do NOT clean out fireplaces."

Used to have fire-container buckets by the trash bins to dispose of ash - they went away. As there are multiple HOAs at Shawnee and very different construction methods ... but almost all units have wood fireplaces. Some masonary (oldest units) while most are prefab metal .... which can warp from heat or rust out (both firebox and chimney).