Othello mayor recounts loss of home
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald - Othello Mayor Shawn Logan stands outside his business, Basin Insurance. Logan’s home burned down in early July.
In his 34 years selling insurance, Shawn Logan said he’s never had to help a client deal with a major loss — until his own house caught on fire earlier this month.
“We lost pretty much everything,” the Othello mayor said.
On July 5, Logan and his family were out watching a movie when he got a phone a call.
“It was from my mom. I texted her back, and then she called again. I then I got a text from a realtor friend saying, ‘dude, better get home, your house is on fire,’” Logan said. “I wondered if it was a prank, if someone was pranking the mayor.”
But Logan said something inside him told him to go see, so they left for home to find his house engulfed in flames. Even as mayor, the fire department kept him away.
“You just get to watch,” Logan said. “The fire department will not let you go in the house.”
Aside from a few family photos that survived shut up tight in plastic containers in the basement, and the family cat, which managed to find a safe place to hide, everything was lost.
“The rest is just stuff, but a lot of it was attached to memories,” he sighed. “Time to make some new memories.”
An investigator hired by Logan’s insurance company concluded the fire most likely started on the roof, and was caused by errant fireworks. Rebuilding will hopefully begin sometime in late September, Logan added.
Logan thanked everyone in Othello for being so very supportive since his house burned down, and had special words of respect for some junior high school students who had been skateboarding nearby who saw the smoke and broke into his house because they wanted to make sure no one was trapped or injured inside.
“They cared,” Logan said. “They didn’t want to see anyone die.”
After graduating from college, Logan went into banking. But he decided that he’d rather work for himself so got into the insurance business and eventually ended up owning his own company.
“I wanted to help people plan for their futures. Life has uncertainties. Curveballs are a part of life. So I help people prepare,” he said.
Logan said he had no idea at first just how hard selling insurance was going to be. Frequently, he said he just wanted to quit and find a real job with a regular income.
“Then I’d meet someone, sell him or her some insurance, and that would give me hope and keep me going,” he said.
And he’s been doing it well enough for long enough now, that his company, Basin Insurance, was named the Othello Chamber of Commerce’s business of the month for August.