Property Fire Damage: Steps to Take After a Fire

When the worst occurs, the stress involved can be overwhelming. Even small fires can cause what may seem like an insurmountable amount of damage. On top of losing your possessions and your sense of security, filing an insurance claim after a property fire—dealing with fire damage—can be a headache

National First Response is here to walk you through this frightening process.

Smoke and Fire Damage

It’s no secret that fires can quickly consume an entire room, but there are often hidden damages caused by smoke and the water or fire retardant used to extinguish the flames. Fire damage causes ongoing and long-lasting safety issues.

The thick, black smoke that spreads throughout your home during a fire can cause insidious damages to your property. Microparticles of corrosive acids from smoke attach and eat away at surfaces in a home that has been on fire.

What and What Not to do After a Fire

After a fire check with the fire department to make sure your utilities are turned off, and that your residence is open for review and not still under investigation. In the case that your property is unoccupied, you should contact the local police so they can keep an eye on the area until you are back at home.

To evacuate the smoke in your home, all ventilation systems should be shut, and windows and doors should be open.

Although you may want to rush to clean up your home after a fire, it’s important that you do not touch, move, or remove, items before the fire marshal completes the investigation and an inventory is made for insurance purposes. Do not dust, sweep, or vacuum debris – just walking around the burn site or surrounding area will put you at the risk of becoming contaminated by toxic chemicals from the fire.

When you contact National First Response after a property fire, we will secure your home and begin your insurance claim. While we begin the fire damage restoration process, you may want to contact a local disaster relief, such as The Red Cross, for temporary housing, food, and medicine.

Fire Damage Insurance Coverage

Insurance companies typically insure fires in 2 main ways:

1. Open perils: cover all the causes of loss not specifically excluded in the policy.
2. Named perils: require that the actual cause of is listed in the policy.

Insurance is responsible for returning your property to a “uniform and consistent appearance” comparable to what it was prior to the fire damage.

When it comes to fire damage to landscaping coverage is typically a set amount or a percentage of your dwelling coverage amount. Most plants and landscaping affected by smoke will return with time more vibrant than before. However, if you live on a hillside, loss of foliage can lead to landslides or mudslides. In this case, it is important to quickly replant native trees and grasses to stabilize the landscape.

National First Response Professional Fire Restoration

While working with your insurance company to take some of the stress off you after a fire, National First Response swiftly secures your home against further fire damage.

We will provide you and your insurance company with estimates and repair any structural damage.

You won’t have to worry about your possessions during the restoration process. We will pack, transport, and store your property until it is time for you to return home.

After cleaning and restoring your property and possessions to remove soot and smoke from walls, floors, and furniture National First Response will restore your structure and goods to their pre-loss condition, if not better.

In the event of a fire, call National First Response and we will help you every step of the way to restore your property and get you back to normalcy.