When a flame engulfs your home, this can be one of the most devastating experiences. But keep your head up and your thoughts positive, not all is lost!
In Denver, we’ve dealt with many fire-damaged homes. We are well aware of the impact this disaster has on your life and your family’s wellbeing. This checklist will help you manage your safety and your belongings after the fire has been put out.
Follow the five steps outlined below to get yourself back on your feet.
1. Find Somewhere to Stay
Your health and safety come first. When a fire damages your home, it’s not safe to stay overnight for a multitude of reasons.
- If the fire was catastrophic to your house, then the damages might not be finished. Pieces could still fall down, appliances releasing toxins, and walls could potentially collapse.
- All fires have smoke, which lingers in the air for much longer than you’d think. This is unsafe to breathe and causes other damages to your home.
- The fire department potentially used hundreds (more likely thousands) of gallons of water to mitigate the fire. This water doesn’t just go away and the damage can cause more problems for your home.
Try reaching out to a family member, friend, or a local disaster relief agency such as the American Red Cross to assist you with temporary living. Depending on your insurance provider’s policy, you could be eligible to stay in a temporary living space covered by your policy.
2. Contact Your Homeowner’s Insurance Company
As soon as you can, start a claim with your insurance company. The sooner you warn your insurance company of the disaster that overtook your home, the sooner they can respond and get you loss of use funds to cover your living and daily need expenses.
Be sure to keep a collection of your receipts related to the post-fire purchases and provide as much detailed information as possible in your claim.
If your property wasn’t insured at the time of the fire, contact local community groups for assistance.
3. Create a List of Your Damaged Items
Any items and possessions that were damaged in the house fire should be valued and listed for insurance purposes. Your insurance company should be able to replace these items if you have a replacement cost policy. When the settlement comes in, you will receive cash value for your items that were damaged during the fire.
4. Call the Police Department
Since you’ll be staying elsewhere, your home will now be vacant. Looters and squatters can take advantage of a fire-damaged home since it’s wide open for them to come in and take what they want or stay in your home until it can start to be restored.
Putting your home on your local police department’s radar will give you peace of mind that it’s being looked after. They can help keep these uninvited individuals away from your home.
5. Contact a Local Disaster Company
Once you’re safe, your finances are in order, and you’re ready to start planning the return to your home, it’s time to call your local disaster company. Restoration companies like Restoration 1 of Central Denver are knowledgable, licensed, and insured to rebuild your home and restore it to the way it was before the fire damage.
As we stated before, when the fire department uses water to extinguish the house fire, the water collects and soaks into the materials and items in your home. This means that there is more than fire damage restoration to perform; water damage restoration is also necessary. Without the proper restoration services performed, your home could gather mold and further damages.
If you live in or near the Denver area, contact our certified restoration experts. We’re more than happy to help restore your home to the beautiful state it was in before the flames. You’ll never even notice the fire event took place.
Stay safe, stay healthy. You’ll get through this difficult time.