Home fire restoration can involve a small section of a room, or an entire home. It can be as simple as recovering from a small grease fire on the stove, to a complete loss from a wildfire.
The first step in home fire restoration is assessing the damage. With a complete loss, starting over is the only alternative. But with a smaller fire, make sure you assess all of the damage. Smoke and soot can travel and penetrate not only the area affected by the fire, but also surrounding rooms. Be sure to assess everything including walls, paint, carpet, upholstery, drapery, clothing and family belongings.
Home fires are classified in different ways. Some are the result of ordinary combustible materials, such as paper, wood and plastics. Combustible liquids such as gasoline or oil cause others. Still others are caused by electrical equipment, including wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Depending on the type of damage determines your next steps.
In all cases, start by contacting your insurance company, and a reputable fire restoration company. Both can help you recover from your loss quickly, and offer you advice on the best way to proceed. For you, fire damage is an isolated experience. For both an insurance company and a fire restoration company, they deal with these types of losses frequently.
From there, concentrate on your personal assets. Remove as many items as possible to save and restore. Start making lists of items that have been destroyed. If you have video, photographs, or journals listing your assets, pull them out for the insurance company. The more proof you have of what was lost in the fire, the easier replacement will be.
Always rely on experts to get you back on your feet again. This is an emotional time for you, and you could miss important steps along the way. Having an expert along side of you to help pick up the pieces can not only save you time and money, but can also help you recover and restore areas you aren’t even aware of.
