NEED RESTORATION SERVICES?
Small house fires can occur more frequently than one might think. In fact, house fires are the single most common disaster in all of America. Due to this, there is an immense amount of damage to attend to, both inside and outside of the home. So, with that being said, how can someone recover from the fire damage caused to their home? In this article, we will be discussing everything you need to know about house fires as well as how to recover from the fire damage. Continue reading below to learn more.
As previously mentioned, house fires are one of the most common disasters. So, how do these fires start exactly? A few of the most common causes for house fires include:
While many of these are extremely common, it is still important to try and reduce these risks throughout your own home. Therefore, the best practices to prevent these common household fires include:
While it is often very common for a person to be in shock after a fire, it is important to take these necessary steps to ensure everyone is safe and taken care of.
Step 1: Be sure to check in on your family
It is important to make sure you, your family and anyone who was staying inside of your home with you is safe. While this may seem like an obvious task, it can sometimes be overlooked due to the overwhelming feelings after a house fire. Often times, people will be in too much shock to think properly in these kinds of situations. Therefore, it is important to have a proper guideline so that you can easily understand what should be done in these scenarios.
After you have had a moment to check up on everyone in the home, you should now contact family members and loved ones who were not in the home with you when the fire occurred. This is simply to let them know that you are safe along with the other family members who were inside of the home with you. It is also crucial to have support or someone to call in a time such as this as these scenarios tend to be very traumatic for a person to handle on their own. So, if you do not have family close by, be sure to phone a friend you feel close to who will rush to support you in your time of need.
Lastly, if you find that you are renting your home, it is important to also contact the property owners to inform them of what just happened inside. This will allow the property owners to make decisions about the property and begin the recovery process.
Step 2: Contact your homeowner’s insurance company for house fire insurance
Once you have contacted your family members and loved ones, it is important to contact your insurance company. This is will start the process of vent documentation and begin the insurance claim process.
From there your insurance agent should be experienced in dealing with property emergencies and can talk you through things like emergency lodging and living expenses. They will also get you in touch with restoration companies that can do fire damage restoration as well as smoke damage repair.
Step 3: Recognize if your home is salvageable after the fire damage
If you find that f your house has been damaged rather than destroyed in the fire, it will need professional fire damage cleanup. Not only will direct damage from the fire need to be repaired or replaced, but heat, smoke, and soot can cause damage to your home and your possessions. On top of that, you may now actually require water mitigation to prevent or reduce the amount of water damage that happens after the firefighters put the fire out.
Step 4: Determine if the home is still safe
Do not enter the home until you have been given the clearance that your home is safe. Often times, fires are known to ignite again even if they appear to be out. Roofs and floors can also be damaged without your knowledge.
Step 5: Go through your possession and save all undamaged items
Next, organize your possessions and find out what has survived the fire damage. ny items that are not damaged or destroyed should be put in a safe place, even if it means putting them in storage.Any items that you want to save will need to be carefully and potentially professionally cleaned.
Step 6: Find a place to stay during the fire damage restoration process
Many homeowner’s insurance policies will pay for any food, clothing or shelter you may need for a definite period of time. In addition to this, you may want to contact family or friends who are willing to help you find a safe place to stay while restoration services are in progress.
When it comes to a house fire, the first thing you should do is call for help. This allows for firefighters to rush to the scene in order to work and put out the flames. However, with that being said, when these firefighters arrive, they will use a significant amount of water in order to fully put out the fire. This of course is the goal, however, the water the firefighters are using to extinguish the flames can also cause significant water damage which can often lead to mold growth unless taken care of immediately.
In addition to calling for help in a fire scenario, it is important to bring on a professional restoration team to help take care of the aftermath of the fire damage for you. If it is deemed necessary, the restoration contractors will then begin boarding and tarping areas to protect your remaining belongings inside the building and prevent further damage.
In some cases, fire and smoke damage may be hard to find. This of course will always depend on the size of the fire or potential fire hazard. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to these key features:
Now that you have a better understanding of what fire damage can look like as well as what actions should be taken to help reduce the risk of a fire outburst, be sure to take extra caution when looking after your home. Afterall, house fires are common, therefore, it is important to play your part in order to help reduce them. So please, blow out that candle before leaving a room and never leave your stovetop burning while you are out of sight.
We have experience working with all insurance companies and can help you file a claim correctly, no matter where you are located.
If your damage is not covered by insurance we will work with you at an affordable cost while still providing the same high quality work and desired results.
Free mold inspection for homeowners and landlords. Fill out the form below or call us for more details (786) 661-9585