A home fire can be a harrowing experience for an entire household. The latest research shows that there are over 340,000 home fires every year in the US, leaving thousands of Americans wondering how to pick up the pieces. Worse, some may be without anything salvageable. However, if you understand what to do in the immediate aftermath of a fire, you can better provide for your household’s safety and know that contacting Paul Davis Restoration of Mid-Central, NJ gives your home the best chance for restoration.
Five Immediate Steps After a Fire
In the event of a home fire, it helps to have a plan in place long before. Explaining to every member of your household how to get out of the house, and where to go once they’re out, is one of the best ways to keep everyone safe. But once you’re out of the house, there are some additional steps worth taking.
- Call 9-1-1: As soon as possible, contact your emergency services at 911. Even if you think the fire was small or that you put the fire out yourself, call. Some fires may not be fully out or damage may be more extensive than previously thought. Getting your local fire department to the scene can help keep a small fire small and prevent any further damage.
- Provide Care and Transportation for Family & Pets: Not everyone in the household has the same capabilities, so be sure to assist those who may need it to get to safety. Helping pets get out of the house can sometimes be forgotten in the chaos of a home fire, but they’re just as scared and in need of safe shelter as anyone else in the house.Â
Likewise, other family members may know the evacuation plan but have difficulty moving or become too scared to move during the fire. Knowing ahead of time who these folks may be can make it easier to get them out of the house if the need arises. - Get to Safety: After a small house fire, you may be given the all-clear from emergency responders, letting you know it’s safe to re-enter your home. In all other cases, however, you’ll need to find a safe place to stay for the foreseeable future. For some, relatives or a hotel may be suitable. For others, it may be worth locating emergency shelters or other services that can assist. What’s important is that you have a safe place to rest while your home is restored or rebuilt.Â
- Notify Other Family Members: Once you’ve reached safe shelter, take the time to notify other family members that you are safe and unharmed. They may fear the worst, so putting those worries to rest should be a priority. From their vantage point, they may also be in a better position to provide assistance to you and your household.Â
- Contact a Reputable Fire Damage Restoration Team: Once you and your family have made it to a safe shelter, you can begin the process of getting your home back. That may start with a call to your homeowner’s insurance company if you have one, but should definitely include a call to fire damage restoration company.Â
Not just any company will do, though. Looking for local companies by searching “fire damage restoration near me” can help you find companies that can provide the kind of rapid response needed in an emergency like this. Your local Paul Davis Restoration of Mid-Central, NJ, for instance, offers a thirty-minute response window, meaning we’ll be in touch with you within thirty minutes to begin coordinating fire restoration.
The Fire Damage Restoration Process: A Step-By-Step Breakdown
Now that the fire damage restoration process has begun, you’ll likely want to become familiar with what to expect along the way. Your home isn’t just a shelter, it’s a place filled with memories and items both valuable and invaluable.Â
With so much at stake, it’s understandable to have an inside look at what fire damage restoration looks like. At Paul Davis, we’ll arrive on-site to evaluate and assess the damage. We’ll assess what work can be done to restore your home and possessions. Following our assessment, our process typically involves:
- Structural Stabilization and Repairs: No work can proceed in a building at risk of collapse. Our first step is to identify potential weak points, board up vulnerabilities, and stabilize the structure.
- Debris Removal: Once it’s safe to work inside the house, our crew will remove unsalvageable items from the house to make it easier for equipment and workers to move through the house.
- Drying: Putting out fires requires gallons of water. Left untreated, this water can become another source of damage to the house. We’ll go about drying up any remaining water before moving on to any mold clearing.
- Smoke & Soot Removal: Next, we use sustainable materials to remove odors left behind by smoke and to clean up the visible damage smoke and soot leave behind. This may be a critical step for restoring any items inside the house.
- Sterilization: After the house is stabilized, cleared out, dry, and odor-free, we move to sterilize the air, preventing damage from any residual smoke.Â
DIY Fire Damage Cleanup Isn’t Worth the Risk
Being away from your home involuntarily can be anxiety-inducing. There’s a natural temptation to try to get right back into the house as soon as the authorities deem it safe to do so. Once the house is stabilized, a natural next step might bring you back to the house to identify what items were damaged and which ones are salvageable. But that’s where DIY work should stop.Â
Why? As mentioned, there may be dangers beyond what the eye can see. Even when the house has been stabilized, there may still be areas that are off-limits. Having professional assistance at the house as you identify items can help you avoid unknowingly walking into dangerous areas.
The other risks with attempting fire restoration cleaning by yourself are that it could result in incomplete or hazardous work being done. Professional fire damage restoration crews are trained, licensed, and experienced in this work. That helps them identify and make critical calls on what structural elements of the house, like drywall, can be safely restored and which ones can’t. Professional teams can quickly identify or prevent mold and mildew growth.Â
Additionally, the equipment required to do a complete restoration is typically unavailable to the average homeowner. Responsible fire damage restoration teams use equipment like ozone machines to eliminate smoke odor and damage. Without proper training and procedures, though, the use of an ozone machine can be deadly. Also, ozone machines and materials used in fire restoration cleaning need to be cleaned up properly to make the house livable once again.Â
If your goal is to return to normal as fast as possible, rather than get back into your house as fast as possible, then professional fire damage restoration is the route to take.Â
How Insurance Works With Fire Damage Restoration
If your homeowner’s insurance covers home fires, contacting your insurance company and filing a claim can help cover the cost of fire damage restoration services. Depending on your company or policy, the insurance company may provide a company with which they work alongside.Â
In these instances, the fire damage restoration company can help document the damage to assist with your claims process. They can take photos and record videos showing the extent of the fire and damage to any possessions. This level of service may be the difference between getting family heirlooms covered or completely losing them to the fire. It’s also a level of service Paul Davis pioneered almost sixty years ago.Â
Choosing the Right Fire Damage Restoration Company
Home fires were responsible for almost 24 billion dollars in losses, according to the most recent research. Rebuilding after a fire can be painful, but it is possible. The right fire damage restoration company can make all the difference. When it comes to fire damage restoration, every second counts. You want a company that can be on-site and working as fast as possible to save as much as possible.Â
Starting with a search for fire damage restoration near me can help you find those companies that can be at your home fast. But being nearby isn’t enough on its own. You want a company with decades of experience restoring homes to New Jersey’s rigorous codes and standards. Finally, you want to know that they have the resources and team available to restore your home to your standards. Only one company serving Elizabeth, Piscataway, Union, and surrounding NJ areas meets all three conditions—Paul Davis Restoration of Mid-Central, NJ. Our locally owned franchise is backed by a nationwide commitment to quality work, highly competent teams, and clear communication throughout. Contact us today to learn how we can help your home.