Steps You Should Take Immediately After a Fire in Your Home  

A house fire is frightening, and the damage it leaves behind can be devastating, even if the fire was relatively small. Knowing what to do right after the fire can make all the difference in keeping you safe and enabling a fire damage restoration company to save your belongings.

Take Care of You and Your Family First

It’s essential that you ensure the fire is completely out and that you, your family, pets and housemates are all safe.

• If the fire department wasn’t involved in putting out the fire, call them immediately so that they can make sure that nothing is smoldering.
• If your house is not habitable, call your insurance company and ask for an advance payment to cover emergency lodging and supplies.
• Remove urgent personal belongings from the home only if possible.

See What Can Be Saved

If the fire was severe and part of the house is in ruins, do not enter the structure at all unless the fire department or building officials have said it’s okay to do so. If the fire was confined to one area and did not affect the structure itself, ask your insurance company about moving items around. The adjuster will need to see what the extent of the damage is like, and moving items could inadvertently hide damage.

Take pictures of the damage, in detail, and contact the fire damage restoration experts at ServiceMaster of Buncombe County as soon as possible.

ServiceMaster of Buncombe County is ready to help your home and belongings recover from fire damage as quickly as possible. Contact us to set up an appointment.