Who to Call for Smoke Damage After a House Fire

Picking up the pieces—both physically and emotionally—after a house fire can be challenging. While you and your family may still be battling with the shock, it’s important that you take action quickly to prevent further damage to your home and to protect your health, if you plan to inhabit the home again now or in the near future. That means hiring a professional smoke restoration company to thoroughly inspect the home, remove all smoke and soot, and provide structural repairs where necessary.

Benefits of Hiring a Smoke Restoration Company After a House Fire

Hiring a smoke restoration company near you following a house fire offers a number of benefits, including:

Thorough Inspection and Work

Professional smoke remediation specialists will start their work with a thorough inspection of the entire home, looking for signs of smoke and ash damage. After this inspection, they’ll present you with a thorough plan for every inch of your house and its contents.

Fast Remediation

It’s important to attack smoke damage after a fire as soon as possible. Homeowners attempting to DIY house fire restoration will have to go buy the proper tools and work around their schedules to tackle the job. When you hire smoke damage specialists, however, they’ll prioritize fast remediation—and they’ll have an entire crew who can expedite the process.

Expert Service and Proper Tools

Smoke remediation professionals are specialty trained to remove smoke, soot, and ash after a fire. They also have access to all the proper tools and can offer a full suite of services, from removing smoke and soot to cleaning ducts to water damage restoration, if there’s any water damage from the firefighting crew.

Homeowners Insurance Coverage

If your home has smoke damage following a fire resulting from a covered incident, your homeowners insurance policy likely includes smoke damage remediation. That means you can get professional help without spending anything more than your deductible.

Can I DIY Smoke Remediation After a Fire?

You should always hire a professional fire damage restoration company after a fire. Most homeowners insurance policies cover the cost if the fire is covered by the policy, so it should not come at any cost to you beyond your deductible.

Why is it important to hire a pro? They have the necessary tools and experience to do a thorough inspection and clear everything—and at a much faster pace than homeowners. DIYing smoke remediation means you might not do as thorough of a job and leave your home susceptible to further damage or expose your family to health problems.

Further, if you’re thinking about hiring a smoke restoration company, that means you and your family have clearly just undergone a traumatic event. Take this time to focus on your mental health (and your long list of other tasks you likely have) and let the pros handle the fire damage restoration process.

Can I Hire a Handyperson to Get Rid of Smoke Damage?

While a local handyperson may advertise that they offer smoke damage restoration services, they likely don’t have the same tools and training as full smoke remediation crews. For your safety, we always recommend working with fire damage specialists.

How Much Does Fire Damage Restoration Cost?

The cost of fire damage restoration depends on the extent of the damage. Remediating smoke damage after a small kitchen fire is considerably more affordable than a fire that damaged an entire home, for instance.

On average, full fire damage restoration costs $27,260, whereas smoke restoration typically costs $200 to $1,200 per room. Aside from smoke remediation, some areas of fire damage restoration may include:

• Water damage

• Soot removal

• Damaged item removal

• Duct cleaning

• Furniture deodorizing

• Thermal fogging

• Ozone treatment