What to Do After a Fire in Your Home or Business
A fire in your home or business can be devastating, resulting in significant damage to your property. While it can often be a stressful and overwhelming time for you, it’s important to take the proper steps after a fire to make the process more manageable for your family or business. Having a plan in place can help you address all the important actions required after a fire, ensuring you’re able to resume normal life or get back to running your business as soon as possible.
While the situation associated with every fire is unique, there are certain required actions that are common after all fires at residential and commercial properties. The following guide will help ensure you know what to do if a fire ravages your home or business.
Make Sure Everyone Is Safe and Call for Emergency Assistance
Your top priority after a fire is to make sure everyone is safe. This includes any pets. Make sure everyone has exited the building safely and is accounted for. If anyone is seriously injured, request emergency medical attention at once. If anyone is trapped inside the building, dial 9-1-1 immediately.
Once you know everyone is safe, call 9-1-1 and/or your local fire department to request emergency assistance. The firefighters and other emergency first responders who arrive will help put out the fire and attend to any injuries sustained by people in the building.
It’s important to remember that you should never re-enter your home or business after a fire until you receive the go-ahead from the fire department. There are a variety of potential hazards that may exist after a fire, including:
- Harmful fumes and particles associated with smoke and soot
- Structural issues to the building which can create safety hazards
- Electrical hazards that can be made worse if the building sustains extensive water damage while the fire is being put out
- Gas leaks
Re-entering the property before it’s safe to do so can place your health and safety at risk.
Contact Your Insurance Company
One of your first calls after making sure everyone is safe should always be to your insurance company. You’ll need to inform them of the incident and start the process of filing a claim. While you’ll need to document all the damage as part of your claim, this can be done later once it’s safe to re-enter your home or business. However, starting the claims process right away is important, even if you’re not ready to talk about specifics regarding the damage sustained.
Your insurance agent can help you address a variety of immediate needs, including:
- Securing temporary housing if your property isn’t safe to live in while repairs are made
- Finding a fire damage restoration company who can help you secure the property and begin making necessary repairs
Contact a Fire Damage Restoration Company
It’s critical to secure your property as soon as possible after a fire. It’s common for damage to roofs, windows, doors and siding to create openings that can result in additional damage from weather, intruders or animals. In addition, water damage from firefighting efforts must be addressed promptly to prevent additional structural damage and mold growth. Time is of the essence, and the sooner you begin the process of securing your property, the greater your chances of minimizing additional damage. Contacting a professional fire damage restoration company will ensure this process is completed properly.
At RestorePro Reconstruction, we offer 24/7 emergency response fire damage restoration services, and our team will arrive at your home or business shortly after receiving your call to begin securing the property. We’ll perform temporary board-up and tarp service to protect your home from inclement weather and potential intruders. We’ll also begin water extraction and structural drying to mitigate the any water damage. Finally, we’ll assess all the damage to your home or business and create a plan for all necessary restoration work.
Find a Safe Place to Stay
In most instances, you’ll need to find a place to stay temporarily until the fire damage restoration process is complete and your home is safe to inhabit again. It’s important for the property to be thoroughly cleaned to ensure all smoke and soot damage is repaired and all toxic odors have been eliminated. In addition, all structural repairs must be made to ensure all safety hazards are addressed prior to returning home.
Often, your insurance benefits will cover temporary lodging while the fire damage restoration work is being performed. If not, you can ask family or friends whether you can stay with them. If you don’t have any options for places to stay, organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army can help you find temporary housing.
For businesses, it will be important to secure a place to resume business operations as soon as possible. Every day you’re closed due to the fire equates to lost profits. While finding a temporary location may be more challenging for certain types of businesses such as manufacturing facilities, warehouses, restaurants and retail stores, there are many businesses that can get creative to remain open while your office is being restored:
- If your employees have the ability to work remotely, allow them to work at home until they can return to the office
- Look into a short-term rental that can serve as temporary office space for any employees that must perform their job duties in person
- If your business has multiple locations, you may even be able to have displaced employees from the fire damaged office work from one of your other locations
Document the Damage and Recover Your Possessions
Once it’s safe to re-enter your home or business, begin the process of documenting all damage for your insurance claim:
- Create a detailed list of all damaged property to submit to your insurance company
- Take photos and videos of all damaged property and belongings to provide visual proof
- Go through the property to find any important personal documents such as passports, birth certificates and social security cards, and create a list of any destroyed documents that must be replaced
- Businesses should assess all damage to equipment and generate a list of items that can be salvaged and items that must be replaced
At RestorePro, our team will help you navigate this process and create a detailed list of all damaged property for you to submit to your insurance company as part of your claim.
Review and Implement Your Business Continuity Plan
All businesses should have a plan in place that outlines the steps and processes that must be taken to restore critical operations and avoid long-term disruptions while the fire damage restoration process is being completed. After a fire has impacted your business, you must be prepared to put this plan into action.
If you don’t have a business continuity plan for emergencies, we strongly recommend that you create one immediately so that you’ll have it ready in the event that a fire, storm or other disaster strikes your business in the future. If you need assistance, RestorePro can help you with this plan. We have several programs and services that will help your business stay afloat during the fire damage restoration process:
- Ready Action Plan – Our Ready Action Plan (RAP) is an exclusive platform providing your business with critical planning, execution and vital document storage in an easy-to-use application. Our RAP will ensure you’re prepared in the event that your business is impacted by a fire.
- Priority Service Agreement – Our Priority Service Agreement provides your business with important assistance after a damage event. This free service will give your business higher priority access to RestorePro services than non-PSA businesses receive, expediting the restoration process.
RestorePro Can Help After Fire Damage
If your home or business has been damaged by a fire, RestorePro can help. Our team provides comprehensive fire damage restoration services for homes and businesses throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Our certified technicians can handle the entire process, from initial assessment through all restoration and reconstruction work, ensuring that the job is performed correctly.
RestorePro offers 24/7 emergency response fire damage restoration services and will arrive shortly after receiving your call ready to begin securing your property. We’ll coordinate with your insurance company to facilitate a smoother claims process and ensure you receive the maximum benefits to which you’re entitled.
Our team has witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by fire damage, and we’ll be by your side every step of the way to reduce your stress and make the process as easy as possible. With over 30 years of experience, our team can handle any job, regardless of the size of the property or the scope of the damage. Find out why RestorePro has developed a reputation as the leading fire damage restoration company in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. We’re here to help in your time of need.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment. RestorePro provides comprehensive fire damage restoration services throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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