News>> Fire Destroys Nissan Skyline & Silvias

Speedhunters reader David Dennis recently went through something truly terrible – his garage caught on fire, destroying his three pride and joys and racking up a bill of over USD$260,000. Along with his forged and stroked R32 Skyline, his V8-powered Rocket Bunny-kitted S13 race car and S13 Silvia street car were also burnt to the ground.

We've been conversing with Australian David over the past few days about the tragic fire, which investigators believe was caused by a wiring malfunction in – of all things – the beer fridge in the back of his shed. Fortunately, no one was home at the time. "I was a kilometre away working in another shed on one of my other Silvia shells" say David Dennis. "I didn't know about the fire until a neighbour came running up and said 'Dave, the shed's on fire!' I thought I could just go put it out, but it turned out to be far too big for even the fire fighters to put out."

"After screaming and swearing, I concentrated on making sure the fire couldn't spread to the house. When I arrived, the cars and the shed were fully engulfed in flames, and there was nothing I could do to save anything." David continued. "I'm a third year apprentice mechanic, and everything I ever earnt that I couldn't eat, drink or wear was in that shed. My dad is also a mechanic, and all of the tools he accumulated over 35 years were destroyed."

I'm sure none of us would wish such a terrible thing on our worst enemies, let alone a fellow enthusiast. The total damage estimate is around AUD$250,000 (USD$265,000), however a clause in his insurance policy's fine print means the cars and their parts are not covered.

Everyone here at Speedhunters hopes David will be able to recover from losing three of his cars. David is quick to point out that he's received immense support from local car communities who are helping to rebuild his life. In particular, David would like to thank HTS Garage, the Smith Family, Consi, Brendo, Skin, Pagey, Matty Russell, Nic Wilson, JT, 'Madskids' Gossy, Jangles, Mozza, YT, Nutsy and Big John for their support.

- Charles Kha

Photos by David Dennis

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1

I started CRYING.

2

ohhhhhhhhh man, that poor guy! that sucks man, i feel for ya!

3

thats messed up

4

d*** that sucks....kno how it is to loose a car like this....keep pushn

5

omg!!! id probaly kill myself after something like this lol but dude keep your chin up

6

Another story written by my good freinds, they started a fundraiser for me!



http://www.wreckem.com.au/the-dave-dennis-dealio-help-a-brosef-out/



Big thanks to charles for the write up and coverage, helps in getting a grin out of a bad situation!

7

I can't imagine the pain. Just thinking about my own pride and joy burning up is giving me shivers, let alone your three monsters. Keep your head up man.

8

Holy shit man! this sucks. Dream cars go up in flames :'( I feel with you, good luck in the future.

9

Home insurance first, then the car insurance... Has to be able to recoup a bit of that! Sad...Sad...

10

dammm is got to be hard to see your fix up cars in flames and you can only look helpless at them

11

aw man!!! that sucks! i had goosebumps when i was reading that...

12

omg my heart just dropped i truly feel this guy i cant of a worse feeling in this dying would b better

13

Damn, that really sucks!

14

Oh man...



Could you share what was the clause in the insurance that made you lose your coverage? Soemthing that we all can learn from.



Thanks.

15

At least he got pictures.

16

I know how it feels to lose something of value. All you can do now is pick yourself up and "Keep Walking" ( Johnny Walker :P )

17

Kinda makes me think of how, in movies, the villain always goes after the hero's girl because she's his weak spot. For a lot of us, all the villain would have to do is go after our cars.

18

god damn insurance companies and their ridiculous clauses.



hope Dave gets back on his feet soon

19

So sad to hear :( Also screw those insurance companies! Does it occur to anyone else that a lot of the time the reason insurance companies won't pay out is the same reason people take out insurance anyway? They say "we won't pay you for that because we didn't expect that to happen!" Well that's why we ensure things! I guess it's not true in this case but it's still a kick in the 'nads.

20

Poor Guy :o(

21

terible thing this. I can't imagine how he must feel right now.

One question came to me reading this: you said he is a third year apprentice mechanic, how can he ever have AUD$250,000 on cars in his garage?

22

You poor bastard! I can't imagine what you're going through, hopefully there's something in the fine print of the insurance policy that will at least allow you to recoup something

23

Unlucky :/

24

thank God no one died. cars can be replaced, lives can't yes it is a shame, but people, they are just cars. the clause in his insurance policy was he probably was saving money on his premium by not claiming all of his assets

25

I was pretty bummed when I hit a small piece of metal on the highway with my R32 let alone losing everything in my garage.



Best of luck to you Dave, hope things get back to normal as quick as possible.

26

Rocket Bunny S13 with V8, sorry for u.

27

:(

a r 34 lost..my dream car :'(

28

I would never wish any of this to happen to anyone. I could not imagine the pain that you felt, when you saw three of your precious babies slowly burning away. From a fellow enthusiast to another, I am really sorry for your loss.

29

I'd be suicidal if that will happen to me, great thing that you had the guts to even take pictures of them.



Wishing the best of recovery.

30

well someone better take all the belts and guns away from him and give him lots of prozac.



cuz i would go on a suicidal rampage

31

I feel sorry for you bro...

32

dont post stuff like this it makes me sad :(

33

So sad hope he will get every thing back on track :(

34

Jesus fucking christ, insurance agencies shouldnt be able to do this/.



Where is the fund to help tihs kid out?

35

Can we setup a paypal donate account or something??? I'm sure if most readers from this site could spare $10 we would raise a heap to help Dave out....

36

Where can we send donations?

37

Hopefully this acts as a lesson to others who don't already know: Custom cars like this are almost never covered under home insurance without a "rider clause" carefully added to the policy.



Sorry to hear of the loss, Dave.

38

That gave me goosebumps. I feel sorry for you mate, but sometimes horrible endings can be a start for something wonderful. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

39

Why even pay for insurance if theyre not going to hold up their end. F that

40

Just awful. I'm sick at my stomach for David. F***ing insurance companies.

41

Jesus....that's horrible....!!!!

Poor guy......

42

thats real hard to go through, sorry bout that man.

God always make a way through,

don't worry!

43

Who said the cars were insured? If the shed was, but the cars not, it's his own fault. I'm sorry, but you can't say you're not going to insure your track day projects, because "I'm not even driving them on streets" and then expect from the insurance company that they pay up. If you didn't, why would they. I'm not saying that David (the owner) is the one blaming the company, it's regarding some of the posts above.

44

at least no life's were lost. but those silvias could of gone without being burnt down!

45

Holy shit man! this sucks. Dream cars go up in flames :'( I feel with you, good luck in the future.

46

Man that is terrible to see happen! Somebody get that man a reliable beer fridge!

47

I am sorry for the owner, and again another insurrance company screws an owner. this is why collector insurrance is such a great idea. Im sure you could make some money back and sell the cars to Mike Burroghs since he thinks rebuilding a car that was burnt to the ground is a great idea.

48

I'm so sorry Dave, Hope everything turns out for the best for you

49

Goooood!!

50

Soo sad to see those cars destroyed :(

51

2011 is turning out to be a very bad luck year for a lot of people. I feel for your loss, hopefully you can pick up and move forward. Better and stronger.

52

Dude, I would cry. I say Speedhunters set up donations.

53

That sucks. The same happent to my friend, destroying cars and some parts of mine. Fire is the worst thing to happen. Wish you the best.

54

Very sad indeed. We received the news on S12Silvia.com's Facebook by another fellow member. Dave has been an outstanding and veteran of the Aussie S12 community. The wealth of information and knowledge was great. Several of our members who are local are doing what they can. Very sad indeed. We all wish him the best of luck.

55

Can we donate money to him???

56

Oh bro :-( this is messes up,

I got that feeling like I wanted to cry looking at the photos, I crashed my pride and joy rx7 years ago and I felt like I lost my brother. I cryd to sleep.

I can't even imagine what you are feeling right now, the pain I'm sure is excruciating.

Much love and sorrow towards you and getting back on your feet and hopefully some donations can be given to you to help.

Good luck Dave. Sorry this happened to you. :-(

Ps - fuck that fridge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

57

Damn, You've got to be kiddin!!

My Best Friend Had The Same Thing Goin.

I know how you feel dave....

Keep Ya Head Up!

58

I don't even know what to say, this is beyond unfortunate

59

and here I was worried about an LSD bearing noise in my E92 BM .... best wishes of quick recovery!!

60

FCK THAT SUCKS!!! damn i feel so sorry for you man thoughts and prayers going out to you.. losing cars is like losing children

61

thats sad.. hope he recovers soon

62

for sale nissan skyline clean title needs little tlc no dings or dents needs paint job. obo lmao

63

Man., this is awful .. I can;t emagine what he feels like. Hope he really get back on feet and have those cars built very fast and be the champs. Donations are a great idea. Hope noones was injured..

64

Being in Australia and having cars in a shed with a beer fridge, I too would love to know the clause in the Insurance Policy that says that this is not covered.

65

To the guys asking about donations, Paypal is David.Dennis.aus@gmail.com and you can rest assured the money will be well spent!!



My friends at wreckem set me up a fundraiser on there website too

66

Jesus. Feel sorry for u dude

67

this is the last thing anyone wants to face....sorry for the awful accident...hope he recover soon

68

I wouldn't even know what to do with myself after something like that....I can only imagine the feeling of loss.



My thoughts go out to him in hopes he can at least get some of what he lost. Truly heart breaking.

69

oh man, im relly sorry to hear about that. i saw your rocket bunny s13 a little while ago on youtube and it was sick. build others, dont let this get to you too bad.

good luck

70

wow i cannot even imagine loosing all my tools workspace and cars like that wow. At least you were not under a car wrenching in that garage when this happened otherwise what really matters (your life) could have been in serious danger. Hope you can get something back from your insurance,



Best of luck to you!

71

Going from the other linked thread, those wanting to make a Pal Pal donation can do so here:

David.Dennis.aus@gmail.com. I hope we have all learned from this tragedy. Insure your house/contents/cars!

73

guatdafuk!

74

Good to see Speedhunters taking note.



Dave is an awesome bloke who is willing to help out anyone!



To those wishing to help out, Daves details are at the bottom of this article.

http://www.wreckem.com.au/the-dave-dennis-dealio-help-a-brosef-out/



75

Its terrible but when it boils down it was just a garage, and cars. Nothing that can't be replaced and rebuilt bigger and better than before. Its a difficult time but try to take serenity in the fact that no one lost their lives, there's been two house fires near my home in which two people in their 20's lost their lives. You can always get another car, you cant get another Father, Mother, Child or a second shot at your own life.



Good luck

76

This is a nightmare! Sorry for your loss...

77

Bad day ... Sorry for you ...

78

Man things like this put life into perspective. Glad no one was hurt, but it was a definite loss. My condolences.

79

Dang. I don't know what to say.

I hope things work out for you.

80

not to be an ass hole but shit i dont think most of could even afford half of those 3 cars let alone donate money....

81

what is the name of the insurance company. it would be a good idea to boycott them, both in support and to avoid a business that does not stick to the spirit of a contract.

82

Yeah I learned that regardless of what your parents say, read the insurance yourself so you can point out that most of your stuff isn't covered an then do something about it, and that cars are never covered as contents even tho theyre contained in the shed, and must have there own insurance, and race car insurance which covers everything except driving on street or track is cheap and would have really helped in this case.



83

this is a tradgedy! the worst possible thing, especially as priceless possesions such as your dads tools, the only thing i can say is keep your head up and take this oppurtunity to restart and make more beasty cars!!

84

And I thought I had it bad when I crashed my FC.... My hopes go out to David to rebuild his dream trio!

85

Dope STANCE on that silvia @ 2nd picture !

86

Do you idiots really think "That sucks" shows any sympathy at all? Goddamn, people.

87

What a tragedy!

Condolences.

88

Any tuners wurst nightmare!!! sorry for your loss...

Hope you recover from this, and build a new awesome car!

89

very sad mate. I hope you get another 2 S13 and another R32 and build them bigger & better than before!

90

????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ????

91

Holy shit! That is seriously not easy to restore in short time. I hope for you to have an wasy road on recovering everything you've lost, i know it won't do you much, but at least keep the spirit, things CAN be restored!

92

Breaks my heart... Really sad, dude. I'm feeling for you and your dad...

I'm a gearhead myself at University and am having a hard time with the economical crisis and all to get enough money to even buy ONE car!

What this guy had their was a dream come true that tragically turned into a life's worst nightmare....



I wish you the best and really hope that mighty good things will come your way from now on.

Think of it this way, great and beautiful things only come into being after destruction, so... Keep up and cheer up!



Insurance.... of course they won't pay, that's their job, to take money and do everything they can not to pay when you need it! Nasty fine print!

93

That's terrible, feel really bad for him. The insurance companies down here are a pack of mongrels, it's really been brought to light since this years floods :(



I wish David all the best in recovering from all of this.

94

OMG... Deepest condolences... I just can imagine how desperate it is to see Your creations burn...



Good luck

96

Wow, this is horrible, to think this happening to me I would be totally distraught...My condolences...



As for the Insurance situation, I'm actually an Insurance Agent, I don't know the guidelines in Australia, but in most cases if something like that happened here in the states the Property Insurance would cover the building and it's contents, the cars them selves would be covered under the Auto policy it self under comprehensive coverage, depending on the guidelines of course. I my self have full coverage on my S13 and FC for this exact reason. Obviously they wont pay for all my mods but at least I will be compensated somewhat.

97

All the best mate, thats a terrble thing - the insurance not covering is just not right. But, all the best ;)

98

i just bought a rhd swap for my s12 off of dave... sorry to hear bout this dave, if there is anything i can help you with hit me up on s12s

99

NOOOO!!!! Now I won't be able to sleeep ;/

100

NOOOO!!!! Now I won't be able to sleeep ;/

101

NOOOO!!!! Now I won't be able to sleeep ;/

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