Day one
- Do not re-enter until the fire department releases the building. Not for pets, not for documents, not for anything.
- Get medical attention for smoke exposure if anyone has a cough, breathing difficulty or headache, even mild.
- Call your insurer and open the claim. Get the claim number and ask specifically about additional living expense coverage.
- Arrange somewhere to sleep, and keep the receipt.
- Arrange board-up and tarping of broken windows, doors and roof openings. Most policies require reasonable steps to prevent further damage, so this is both practical and contractual.
- In cold months, winterize immediately. A Colorado house with no heat in January has burst pipes within a day or two. Either drain the system or arrange temporary heat. This is the single most common way a fire loss doubles in size.
- Notify the mortgage holder if you have one. Insurance settlement checks are frequently made out jointly.
Day two and three: the salvage window
Soot is acidic and it does not wait.
Within 24 hours it begins etching glass and discoloring plastics and finishes. Within 72 hours it corrodes metal fixtures and appliances and bonds into porous surfaces where it becomes permanent. Fabric and upholstery that could be cleaned on day one may be unrecoverable by day five.
What happens in this window determines the size of the eventual bill: pre-cleaning of surfaces, corrosion inhibitors on metal, and removal of contents to a controlled environment.
The water clock runs alongside it. Suppression water sitting in the structure starts the same 24 to 48 hour mold timeline as any other water loss, so extraction and drying need to begin while the soot work is still being scoped.
Documentation
- Photograph and video every room, wide and close, including rooms that look untouched. Smoke travels.
- Photograph the exterior from all four sides.
- Make a written contents inventory as items are packed out, with condition noted. Reconstructing it from memory months later is how claims get underpaid.
- Keep every receipt: accommodation, meals, clothing, board-up, temporary heat.
- Do not dispose of anything before the adjuster has documented it, including items that are obviously destroyed.
What not to do
Do not wipe soot with a wet cloth. Do not run the HVAC system, which distributes soot through the entire building for as long as it runs. Do not turn on appliances that were exposed to smoke or heat. Do not use upholstered furniture that took smoke before it is assessed. Do not eat food that was exposed, including sealed packaging.
And do not sign a contract with anyone who appears at the property uninvited offering to handle everything. That happens after every significant fire and it does not end well.
What comes next
Once the structure is secure, dry and documented, the longer work begins: soot cleaning matched to soot type, odor removal at the source rather than masked, HVAC decontamination, contents restoration, and rebuild. That whole sequence is on the fire and smoke damage restoration page, and the first-72-hours detail is on the fire damage response page.
Claim documentation standards are covered in the insurance claims guide.
Frequently asked questions
When can I go back into the house?
Only when the fire department releases the structure, and then only briefly and with a respirator. Structural members can be compromised invisibly, and post-fire air carries particulates and combustion byproducts that an ordinary dust mask does not filter. Do not sleep in the building until it has been assessed.
Should I start cleaning soot off the walls?
No. Dry soot is removed with dry chemical sponges before anything wet touches it, and wiping it with a damp cloth drives it into the paint and makes the stain permanent. It is the most common and most expensive homeowner mistake after a fire.
What is additional living expense coverage?
The part of a homeowners policy that pays for temporary accommodation and extra costs while your home is uninhabitable. Ask about it when you open the claim and keep every receipt from the first night. It is commonly underclaimed simply because people do not know to track it.
How long does fire restoration take?
Cleanup and deodorizing on a contained room fire typically run one to three weeks. Structural rebuild after a significant fire commonly runs several months once engineering, permits and materials are accounted for. Anyone quoting a firm total before the structure is assessed is guessing.