Important Steps To Take After Experiencing a Fire in Your Home

 

A fire can be incredibly daunting and scary to face. Depending on the severity, it could leave you without a home to live in at the end of the day. Most people would consider themselves lucky to escape a fire with their life, but even then, it’s hard to put your life back together after such a devastating event. So what exactly can you do to recover after experiencing a fire?

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Things you should avoid doing after a fire

First, we’ll cover some of the things you should absolutely not do after a house fire.

Don’t enter your home until you’ve been given permission that it’s safe. If you’ve had to call emergency services to get the blaze under control, you need to speak with them first to determine if it’s safe to re-enter.

Don’t try to clean heavy smoke and soot. This should be left for fire damage professionals to take care of as it can be dangerous to you without proper safety equipment.

Don’t turn on any appliances unless a professional has deemed it safe. You may want to contact gas, water and electricity services to ensure your utilities are safe to use.

Don’t touch or move anything that has been damaged. For example, if your car was partially damaged in the fire, don’t attempt to move or use it. Similarly, any furniture should be left alone and inspected by an expert before using it again.

Steps to take after a house fire

Here are the steps you should be taking after a fire. Please note that these aren’t in order of importance and should all be prioritized.

Make sure you cooperate with emergency services. You might be asked to explain how the fire started and to report whatever you know.

Document all of the fire damage so you can make an insurance claim.

Secure a place to sleep if your current home is off-limits. You may need to search for a local hotel or ask a friend or family member if you can stay over.

Take care of your family’s needs. From children to pets and elderly parents, tend to everyone and make sure to help soothe their emotional state.

Retrieve any important belongings such as identification documents with the help of emergency services. This may take some time to retrieve anything that may have been affected by the fire.

After you’ve taken these steps, there are a few more extra steps to take that will help you get back to your daily routine again.

For starters, make sure you focus on avoiding potential fires in the future. Keeping your home safe is an important step that everyone should take. This includes inspecting your appliances and ensuring that you’re not doing anything dangerous or questionable that could cause fires again.

You might also need to rebuild parts of your home that were damaged by the fire. Hopefully, your insurance will take care of most of these costs, but you might also want to dig into any savings you have because this is certainly an emergency. 

 

If you’re having trouble with your insurance company, contact a licensed public insurance adjuster. These property loss professionals work on the behalf of policyholders, not the insurance company. They will evaluate the damage and property loss caused by the fire or any other disaster, and then they will negotiate your claim for you, potentially saving a lot of money and ensuring that you get a fair payout. 

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