A Christmas morning fire that devastated a Learmonth family has left them in limbo and possibly facing the loss of their brand new restaurant.
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While insurance has covered the contents of their home, a mix-up with payment of the building insurance has seen their claim knocked back - and with only skeleton staff available over Christmas and New Year at their bank and insurance company they have been unable to escalate their claim and get an answer.
If denied, Alex Catsicakis and partner Sean Murray might be forced to sell their new business venture Freda's Cafe Restaurant and Bar, which they opened just two months ago in the former Hog's Breath Cafe building on Victoria Street.
"It's been two months now that we have been trying to get Freda's up and running and promote it. Now we are looking whether we sell and try to recoup our savings," Ms Catsicakis said.
"It was something we always talked about for years, doing our own thing, and when (Sean) was made redundant we had money put aside for renovations (to the house) so we thought we'd put that into a business and hopefully earn more money for renovations."
The Christmas morning blaze began in the laundry of the family's historic home on High Street in Learmonth. Fire investigators believe it was either a dryer-load of tea towels from the restaurant, or power tools, that ignited the fire.
"It was deemed an accident. We know it started in the laundry. The restaurant dryer had failed on us so I took the tea towels home to pop in the dryer ... and (fire investigators told us) even after they stop drying it can form a hot spot and because of grease and oil on the towels they can catch alight. Or it could have been a battery from the power tools in the laundry but we don't recall having them on charge."
Ms Catsicakis woke about 6.30am on Christmas morning to sounds of "banging and knocking" in the lounge room and, assuming it was her cat and dog, jumped up to settle them down.
Instead she found the lounge room alight and rushed back to wake Sean and their daughter Victoria, 6, and escape.
"I thought it was just the lounge room. I didn't know the house was burning while we were sleeping," she said.
After escaping, Mr Murray rushed back inside to rescue the family pets but found the hallway ablaze and was forced out. He ran to the side of the house to get a hose, not realising the whole house was involved.
The dog escaped, but the family and neighbours are still searching for the cat.
Victoria's Christmas presents, and all of the family's belongings, were destroyed including the recipes from Ms Catsicakis' mother on which many of the meals at Freda's are based.
"We are still in shock and trying to take it one day at a time," Ms Catsicakis said.
The shock intensified when their building insurance claim was refused.
"Our contents insurance was up to date. We were in process of buying a business over the last few months, which was pretty full-on - we put our life savings into the business after my partner was made redundant.
"With the building insurance I remember receiving an email that said I needed to update our bank details as the direct debit didn't come out and I had to chase that up.
"Then I got an email that said it had been cancelled, that was the end of October, then I got another email about a week later saying it was renewed. Then I didn't hear anything until we needed them."
The couple were insured through NAB, who reinsure through Allianz.
"Allianz have said there's nothing we can do but because we had our mortgage with NAB maybe they are able to do something. We've lodged a complaint to see, now we are waiting to hear back.
"We can't do much because everything is closed. There's skeleton staff and those there don't really know what can be done."
Being in limbo means they're not even sure where they will live.
For now they are staying with a friend while they wait to see if their insurance will pay for a rental, or whether the Department of Veterans Affairs will be able to help given Mr Murray's service with the Australian Army.
The family had lived at the historic Learmonth address for six years, moving in when Victoria was just two weeks old.
"We had done quite a bit of work to the house. We had done a bathroom, my daughter's room, the hallway, the stumps and had just started the other bathroom downstairs," she said.
If they do receive their full insurance payout, Ms Catsicakis said the family were keen to rebuild a smaller home on their large block.
"I knew there was a fire here in the 1800s. There used to be a hotel and the pub burned to the ground in the same spot. It's a big block so I don't know if I would rebuild on the same spot," she said.
The support the family has received from the Learmonth and Ballarat communities has helped them through the toughest of times.
A Go Fund Me campaign has seen more than 200 people donate just over $15,000 to the family.
"Nearly everyone in Learmonth has called and my daughter probably has more clothes than she started with," she said.
"I'm really grateful. I came from Melbourne originally and I don't feel like I would have got this support in a bigger city."
