My name is David Mashiko.
I'm from Melbourne, born and raised, but currently live in Tokyo, Japan.

In February of 2019 my apartment was flooded due to firefighting activity in the apartment above mine.
The occupants upstairs had been drying clothes over a kerosene oil heater, which caught fire and gutted their apartment, the one above theirs, and severely damaged the apartment on the top floor.

My apartment was flooded by the firefighting activity. Every single room was damaged by ash-laden water.
Thankfully no-one suffered more than smoke inhalation, although for the two 8th floor occupants, their ordeal was much more traumatic.
The fire spread quickly up the stairwell from it's 6th floor origin, and also up over to their balconies, cutting off access to their fire escape ladders.
Fortunately the building had been undergoing repainting, and with a stoke of luck was a week behind schedule due to a recent typhoon. My 8th floor neighbours were able to escape by climbing out their front windows onto the scaffolding. If not for the typhoon they would have been stranded.
I began this appeal, because while the occupants who caused the damage had insurance for their apartment, Japanese insurance companies have no liability towards 3rd parties that have damage inflicted on their properties caused by their clients.

Unfortunately my apartment was uninsured. My uncle who originally owned this property passed away in 2010, and my dad bought the property off the rest of the family when the inheritance came out. Now I'm buying it off him, but the mortgage was done privately through the real estate agent, and didn't involve the banks who would have required a mandatory insurance purchase.  This was all done in Japanese (and mine was very poor then), and I was unaware that there was no insurance on the property. I had naively thought that the money I was paying to the building maintenance company also included some form of insurance.

Lesson learned: BUY INSURANCE!

It has taken a year for me to work up courage to create this GoFundMe appeal, because I've never thought I should ask for charity. In the past I've been fortunate to be able to rely on family when things have been tight, but I had become independent of that and was just starting to put my life and savings in order. I initially felt that I could just bear the costs, but since starting my repairs I've spent around $3,500 out of pocket, and need at least that much again to complete the repairs. So I decided it was time to be humble and ask for help.

My goal of $7,000 is to cover the costs I've incurred so far, buying materials, tools, hotel visits near the property on the weekends I've gone there to work on repairs (I'm fortunate to be able to live with my girlfriend in a different part of town, while I fix it up), and lunches and dinners for my mate Todd who, along with some others, has donated many a Sunday day-off to help me rebuild. The money will also cover costs of the repairs to be done and help put my savings back on track.

What's been done:
So far over the last year, the learning curve has been a rather steep. Learning to use all the tools, install ceiling panels, and flooring has been a challenge, but also a fun journey, gaining me skills that will come in very useful in the future.
To date the two bedrooms of my apartment have been stripped down, and both have had ceiling panels installed:
and the main bedroom has had flooring laid:

What needs to be done:
Thankfully the bathroom is a modular one, and was spared of any damage, but the hallway, dining room, living room and kitchen all need extensive work. They all need the wallpaper stripped and re-papered, the ceilings with the mold still within need to be taken down and disposed of. New ceilings need to be installed, and the floors need to be stripped and flooring panels installed. Fortunately all appliances survived, so only building repairs need to be done.

I will continue updating on the progress here, with photos and videos, and thank everyone who donates for taking the time to hear my story and donating any amount you've been able to spare.

My sincerest thanks,
David Mashiko