In the first 48 hours after a house fire: stay out until the fire department clears the structure, call your insurance company to start the claim, secure the property with board-up and roof tarping, document everything before touching anything, leave soot and utilities alone, and get a professional restoration company involved. The order matters - each step protects both your family and your insurance claim. Here is the full checklist.
The First 48 Hours: A Step-by-Step Checklist
Work down this list in order - the early steps are about safety, the later ones about protecting your recovery.
- Make sure everyone is safe and stay out - Wait until the fire department declares the home safe before re-entering.
- Contact your insurance company - Report the fire, start your claim, and ask about additional living expenses (ALE) coverage.
- Secure the property - Board up openings and tarp the roof to keep out weather and intruders; Drake's provides emergency board-up.
- Document everything - Photograph the damage and list damaged belongings for your claim before removing anything.
- Don't touch soot or restore utilities - Avoid wiping soot, using appliances, or turning power back on until they're inspected.
- Call a professional restoration company - A qualified crew handles smoke and odor removal, structural drying, and the rebuild.
What Not to Do After a Fire
The instinct after a fire is to start cleaning, and it is almost always the wrong move. Do not wipe or scrub soot - the residue is acidic and oily, and wiping grinds it into walls, fabrics, and finishes that a professional could otherwise restore. Do not run the HVAC system; the ductwork becomes a distribution network for smoke residue the moment the blower kicks on. Do not turn electricity, gas, or water back on until each has been inspected - heat damages wiring insulation and appliance components in ways that are not visible.
Leave food, medications, and cosmetics that were exposed to heat or smoke alone; contamination is not always detectable by smell. And resist the urge to haul ruined belongings to the curb. Every item you discard before it is photographed and inventoried is value subtracted from your claim. Document first, dispose later.
Documenting Your Fire for Insurance
Your insurance claim is only as strong as its paper trail. Photograph every room from multiple angles before anything is moved, including areas that look merely smoke-stained - odor and residue damage are claimable too. Build a contents inventory: item, approximate age, estimated replacement cost, and a photo. Receipts, credit card statements, and even old photos of the rooms help establish what was there.
Keep every receipt from the day of the fire forward - lodging, meals, clothing, board-up costs - because additional living expenses coverage typically reimburses them. And know your rights when repairs begin: the insurer may suggest a preferred vendor, but you can choose your own contractor for the restoration and rebuild. A contractor working for you documents the loss thoroughly and estimates the full scope, not the convenient one.
Recovering From Smoke & Soot Damage
Smoke damage keeps working long after the flames are out. Acidic soot etches metal, glass, and electronics within days; odor compounds migrate into framing, insulation, and duct systems where surface cleaning cannot reach them. Professional restoration uses HEPA filtration, specialized cleaning agents matched to each residue type, and deodorization treatments that neutralize odor at the source instead of masking it. There is also a second loss hiding in most fires: the water. Firefighting soaks structures, and that moisture needs professional extraction and drying just like a flood - our water damage restoration crews handle exactly that phase of fire recovery.
Get Help Restoring Your Home
Recovering from a fire is a marathon of decisions, and the most important one comes early: who manages the restoration. Drake's handles fire recovery for Mid-Ohio Valley families as one accountable contractor - emergency board-up, smoke and water mitigation, and the reconstruction that brings the house back - with the insurance documentation handled at every step. Start with our fire damage restoration team, or contact us for immediate help securing your property.
