Smoke and fire damage are expensive to repair. The average cost of cleaning up after a fire is between $3,000 and $27,000, and that’s without considering structural repairs and replacement of lost belongings. This is just the cost of soot removal, water removal (from fire extinguishing efforts), smoke damage restoration, and furniture and textile deodorizing. More extensive damage requiring structural repairs or replacing smoke-damaged belongings will be even more expensive. Take the cleanup and recovery process step by step.

Entering Your Home

When the fire department allows you to re-enter your home, dress to protect yourself. Rubber or otherwise sturdy boots, safety glasses, a dust mask, rubber gloves, and a hard hat are necessary. Be sure to ask the fire department if they have taken care of gas and electrical hazards, and alert them if you encounter any damaged or fallen wires.

Do not start cleaning up or removing damaged possessions. Not only should you leave this to a professional, but the insurance adjuster will need to evaluate the damages. If you need to remove an item in order to preserve it (because, for example, leaving it in place any longer would ensure that it became irreversibly destroyed), document the removal and any restoration efforts carefully.

Document Recovery

In addition to personal possessions and valuables, families often lose important documents in house fires, such as animal registration papers, bonds, credit cards, passports, titles to deeds, and medical records. The Red Cross has a contact list for replacing those documents.

Make Your Insurance Claim

Homeowners rely on their insurance to compensate for the costs of rebuilding their lives after a fire. Most policies come with a deductible – an amount the policyholder has to pay before the insurer kicks in payments – but the bulk of the costs in an extensive fire will be borne by the insurance company.

When you make a claim, your insurer will send an adjuster to review your losses. They will get an estimate of damages from a contractor or appraiser and require that you prove the loss and value of belongings. That means they will want to see evidence of damaged furniture, clothing, appliances, etc.

The adjuster does not work for you, nor are they a completely neutral party, even if they work through a third party adjusting firm and not for the insurer directly. The adjuster presented by the insurance company works for the benefit of the insurer, but you can hire your own public adjuster or an insurance lawyer to work for your benefit too. Public adjusters or insurance lawyers are focused on content insurance claims, structure, and loss of use claims. This can include:

• The cost of repairing the damage done to the structure of your dwelling, or rebuilding it in the event of a total loss;
• The cost of replacing and salvaging personal belongings; or
• Expenses related to your inability to use your home.

They will help you satisfy the company adjuster’s requirements and ensure you get more from your claim.

Inventory Your Losses

Content insurance will compensate you towards replacing lost belongings. Part of your insurance claim will involve inventorying your lost items. You will have to make a complete list of lost clothing, furniture, jewelry, electronics, art, food stuffs, and more. Ask your family and friends for help remembering everything.

Work with Your Insurer on a Cleanup Plan

Your insurer will likely recommend a contractor to undertake the cleanup and repair process with regard to the physical building. However, you do have a say in how this process goes. Communicate with your insurer if you have concerns about how the work is being done. You may want the help of a public adjuster or insurance lawyer to have your voice heard.

Once the cleanup and recovery are completed, you may want to have your home inspected to ensure that it’s safe and the water supply is clean before moving back in.