Fire Damage Restoration Process: Complete Guide
Fire damage restoration involves swift coordination of pros across multiple industries
Highlights
Fire damage restoration consists of three parts: Assessment, cleanup, and restoration.
The average cost for fire restoration is $20,996, or about $4 to $6.50 per square foot.
While smaller fires could be DIY cleaned up, this is usually better left to the pros.
In 2021, a U.S. fire department responded to a fire every 23 seconds, on average. Once the flames are put out, homeowners are left scrambling to save their belongings and the structure of their homes. The easiest and safest way to do that is to hire a restoration team.
These experts will collaborate to create and implement a comprehensive fire damage restoration process that helps you get back in your home faster and safer than you could (or should) on your own.
Learn more about this process and what it entails in our guide.
What is Fire Damage Restoration?
Fire damage restoration is a disaster restoration or recovery service for home or business owners after a fire. It involves assessing the damage, cleaning up water, soot, and debris, and bringing the home back to its “pre-loss condition” via construction services.
Common tasks include boarding up the property, removing smoke odors, mitigating any disturbed hazards (like asbestos or mold), and rebuilding the home.
Because it coordinates work from various industries and professions, the fire damage restoration process involves considerable logistics, labor, skills, and effort.
Fire Damage Restoration Standards
Entering a home after a fire is dangerous, no matter one’s experience. That’s why set standards are in place to keep people and properties safe.
Most companies follow the BSR/IICRC S740 Standard for Professional Restoration of Fire and Smoke Damaged Personal Items, which is a set of methods and principles for evaluating and restoring damaged personal property.
Professionals will follow industry standards for removing toxic chemicals, dangerous components, and unsafe framing and systems to make sure your home is safe and clean when they’re done.
Preparing For Fire Damage Restoration
Before starting the fire damage restoration process, you can do a few things to help prepare yourself and your home for smooth sailing.
Don’t enter your home: Never enter your home after a large fire because you don’t know if it’s safe or not. Only enter after you get an assessment from a restoration company (or at least the approval from the fire department).
Contact your insurance company: The faster you contact your insurance provider, the better. They can provide detailed information about the process and helpful water damage insurance claim tips that can make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
Get a copy of the fire report: Your insurance company will need a copy of the fire report to process any claims. Request it after the fire to ensure you have it on hand when they need it.
Record any damaged items: If it’s deemed safe to enter your home, start making a list of what items were damaged. If you can’t get into your home yet, you can still start creating a list of big-ticket items that, if damaged, will cost a lot to replace. This will give you a leg up during the claims process.
Hire a reputable restoration company: There are many restoration companies out there, but not all of them offer fast, reliable, and affordable services. Compare multiple providers, read reviews, and get quotes to find and hire a fire restoration company that best fits your needs.
How Fire Damage Restoration Works
When the fire damage restoration team arrives, they’ll tackle three main steps to restore your home to its original condition: assessment, cleanup, and restoration. Each step requires a coordinated effort from experts across multiple industries, such as construction, electrical, water removal, and more.
Keep reading to learn more about what happens during each step.
Damage Assessment
Once emergency personnel determines your home is safe to enter, your fire damage expert will start assessing the damage. They’re looking for things to see the impact of the smoke and fire on the structural integrity of your home, how much water is leftover from the fire department, and how extensive the cleanup will be.
They’ll also look for other risk factors, like exposed wiring and weak floor spots, to ensure it's safe for all construction crews to enter.
Once they’re done, you can expect to receive a full scope of the work, including a timeline, estimated costs, and required tasks.
Water and Smoke Clean-Up
After you agree to the assessment, it’s time to clean up the area to get it ready for construction. There’s a lot that goes on during clean-up to make sure the area is safe. In addition to cleaning up a fire-damaged home, you’ll likely also have to worry about cleaning up a flood-damaged home as well.
Securing of Property
Before they go any further, the team will create a temporary fence around your property to keep out any nosy neighbors and to protect your home from any further accidental damage. They’ll also tape up any holes in the wall and ceiling, board up entry points to your home, and ultimately make sure no person or animal can get in (that isn’t part of the restoration team).
Water Removal
Smoke and fire aren’t the only types of damage you need to worry about. During a house fire, firefighters use an average of 3,000 gallons of water to put out the flames. This much water can easily lead to mold, rot, and mildew if not handled in time.
To prevent any further damage, the restorers must start the water damage cleanup process almost immediately. They’ll use water extractors to remove any standing water and run humidifiers to remove any extra moisture in the air.
Demolition
If any structures are too far gone to be salvaged or have too much water damage and are now considered dangerous, the pros will start to remove them.
Floors, walls, and any other materials will be taken down to the studs to stop the damage from spreading into other areas and causing a bigger mess.
Smoke Damage Mitigation
Usually, this is the most labor-intensive part of the clean-up process. Crews will start working to thoroughly remove any soot and clean smoke damage from your home's walls and other physical components. Once it’s cleaned up, they’ll apply deodorizing agents to make sure the smell (which often penetrates deeper than the physical damage) is removed as well.
Home Restoration
The goal of restoration is to bring the home back to its “pre-loss” condition. So, depending on the damage, this could be as easy as painting and adding flooring or as complicated as rebuilding an entire area of the home. In some cases, this could take days, while in others, it could take weeks.
While you’re already knee-deep in construction plans, now could be a good time to consider that renovation project you’ve been dreaming about for years.
Can You Do Fire Damage Restoration Yourself?
Nine times out of ten, you should leave fire restoration to the professionals. Attempting it yourself is dangerous and could lead to much more damage—both to your property and yourself. A professional can assess and mitigate any risks more efficiently and effectively to give you and your family greater peace of mind.
In general, fire damage restoration costs between $2,975 to $40,011, depending on the type and extent of the damage and the size of your home. Class D fires (ones involving combustible metals like aluminum) will cost more to restore than Class A fires (ones involving ordinary materials like wood and plastic.) But usually, the cost is about $4 to $6.50 per square foot for most homeowners and fires.
Questions to Ask the Fire Damage Restoration Company
Fire damage is not something to take lightly. Before hiring a local fire restoration company, get quotes from at least three pros in the area and ask these questions so you fully understand the process, billing expectations, and timeline.
Are you licensed and insured for this work?
Do you have references I can call?
Is the estimate provided inclusive of all work?
What happens if the fire damage is more extensive than what is reflected on the estimate?
Are you able to look beyond surface damage to ensure the foundation of my home is safe?
Will this work require a permit? If so, will your company obtain those permits?
Can I remain in my home during the repairs?
Do you offer a warranty or guarantee on your work?
How soon can you begin, and how long do you expect the restoration to take?
What are your billing terms—do you require a deposit?
Frequently Asked Questions
Hard materials, washable fabrics, and undamaged electrical appliances can be salvaged after a fire. Hard materials include glass, metal, and hardwood floors. For washable fabrics, make sure to use a phosphate mix during the washing process to really extract the smoke smell.
There are a few things you should throw away after a fire, like canned foods and cosmetics, even if they don’t look like they’re damaged.
If untreated, smoke damage is definitely toxic. Carbon and tar are two types of toxic chemicals in smoke that can damage your lungs and other parts of your body if breathed in for long periods of time. If you still smell smoke after the fire, it’s important that you call your restoration team for support.