An Albany County couple who lost most of their possessions in a fire that left their house unlivable say their insurance company’s mishandling of the situation has left them essentially homeless for nearly 18 months.
At about 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2025, Sandy Crawford was relaxing and watching television in one of the rooms of the spacious home she and her husband Jack own in a rural neighborhood near Laramie, when Jack entered the room frantically.
“He came running in and said, ‘The house is filling up with smoke, call 911,'” Sandy told Cowboy State Daily.
Apparently, a fire had started somewhere in the massive stone chimney in their home’s living room.
Firefighters arrived quickly and battled the blaze for hours.
At about 2:30 a.m. on Feb 28, a huge stone chimney chase in the living room collapsed, crushing Laramie firefighter Dylan Schilt, who was left temporarily paralyzed. One of his colleagues also suffered a knee injury.
Living In A Hotel
The Crawfords made it out unharmed, but say they haven’t been back home since.
As they see it, the Laramie Fire Department and other agencies that responded could have had the fire out much sooner, with far less damage to their home.
A request for comment from the Laramie Fire Department wasn’t answered by publication time.
The Crawfords say they lived in a fifth-wheel camper trailer for a time.
Then Jack had to get double hip replacement surgery and was unable to climb the stairs to get into the camper. So, they started living in a hotel room in Laramie, dependent upon a living expenses payout from their State Farm Insurance.
The couple claims that State Farm has dragged its feet and made an offer that doesn’t nearly match the value of the damage to their home and lost possessions.
Meanwhile, their living expense account is running dry and Jack said a contractor recently told him that “the house is at least four to five months away from being livable again.”
State Farm responded to a request for comment with an email to Cowboy State Daily from the company’s corporate communications office.
“To respect our customer’s privacy, we can’t discuss specific claim details,” the company statement says. "Every claim is reviewed with care, based on the facts of the loss and the coverage in the policy.
"We’re continuing to work with our customer and their representative to pay all benefits available under the policy. Customers with questions, concerns, or additional information are always encouraged to reach out."
‘Let Burn’ Order
The Crawfords said that on the night of the fire, they were convinced that the blaze was inside the chimney, but firefighters took hoses into the house and sprayed water in several interior rooms, causing wall and floor damage.
After the chimney chase collapsed and Schilt was injured, firefighters cleared the house.
Sandy said several firefighters gathered on the back porch and when she approached to ask whether they could spray water down the chimney, one of the firefighters yelled that “we’re going to let your house burn.”
A sheriff’s deputy at the scene ordered them to leave, she and Jack both said.
Apparently, because of difficulties fighting the blaze and the injury suffered by a firefighter, a “let burn” order had been issued and the deputies were ordered to clear out non-essential personnel, in case the entire structure became engulfed, Jack said.
However, a ladder truck arrived about an hour later, he added.
“Luckily, the ladder truck poured enough water on the roof (that) the house didn’t become fully engulfed” and the fire was finally put out, Jack said.
‘I’m Not A Go-Go Dancer’
The Crawfords claim they also had trouble with ServiceMaster restoration company after the fire.
They say they admonished the Cheyenne ServiceMaster franchise owner and his employees to let them monitor what was being taken out of the house.
The also wanted to help assess what could or could not be salvaged because of smoke and water damage.
The Crawfords claim those requests were ignored, and ServiceMaster crews packed and removed things without their supervision or approval.
“I lost control of my house and all my possessions,” Jack said.
When a delivery of clothing was returned to their home, it included the wrong clothing, Sandy said.
“There was clothing for minors, kids’ clothes and what looked like go-go girl clothes,” she said. “I’m not a minor, I don’t have kids and I’m not a go-go dancer."
The couple claims that other items, including firearms, have gone missing and can’t seem to be located.
“A lot of stuff was broken or missing. They threw away things that they weren’t authorized to,” Sandy said.
The ServiceMaster franchise owner told Cowboy State Daily that he couldn’t comment because of possible litigation over the matter.
Lowballed Paintings
Jack said initial insurance payout estimates included roughly $800,000 for damage to the house, $500,000 for their possessions, plus roughly $200,000 in temporary housing expenses.
He said State Farm paid roughly $500,000 for the house, which still needs at least an additional $100,000 in repairs.
He added that the couple has received about $200,000 for possessions and roughly half of the initially agreed-upon living expenses.
Jack also is pushing back on the value of three 5-by-8-foot original oil paintings by famed artists Ralph Oberg and Taylor Blaylock.
The paintings came from the Riverbend mansion in Saratoga, and a professional art appraiser placed their value at about $233,000 each, Jack said.
State Farm has tried to place their value at about 10% of that, he added.
“State Farm has those appraisals (on the paintings), and they don’t want to pay on them. They’ve had those appraisals since Christmas,” Jack said.
‘I’m So Sick Of This Going On’
Tyler Spalding is a desk public adjuster for the Panama City Beach, Florida-based Noble Public Adjusting Group.
The company specializes in advocacy for people with allegedly mishandled insurance claims, Spalding told Cowboy State Daily.
"We’re basically their voice when they have none,” he said.
Spalding recently reached out to alert Cowboy State Daily about the Crawfords’ situation.
Insurance companies and vendors sometimes try to take advantage of elderly people, such as the Crawfords, he said.
“It’s a cash grab for these vendors. They go out and charge a lot of money to the insurance companies,” Spalding said.
He said he’s had numerous elderly clients who have been underpaid by insurance companies, as he thinks the Crawfords have been.
“Essentially, they’re not wanting to properly pay them for what their loss is worth,” Spalding said. “They’ve paid some, but it isn’t enough for the clients to be brought back to pre-loss conditions. It’s the same story across the country.
“This guy (Jack Crawford) is upset. He feels that the whole thing was handled wrong from start to finish,” Spalding added. “I want people to be aware of this, because I’m so sick of this going on."
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
