Experiencing a fire is every homeowner’s worst nightmare. Whether big or small, fires can grow out of control, leaving behind real issues in their wake. After disaster strikes, a home may show instances of widespread fire, water, and foundational damage. Once repair cost estimates start rolling in, you might wonder: how long is this going to take?
While specific timelines differ, consider the following tasks to estimate a potential timeline for repairing fire damage:
- Learn what you should do immediately after a fire sweeps your home.
- Familiarize yourself with specific instances of damage you may need to replace or rebuild.
- Understand what’s involved in the typical fire damage repair process.
In this article, you’ll walk through a comprehensive fire damage repair process so you can estimate how long it’ll take for your specific situation.
What Should You Do Immediately After a Fire?
After emergency services extinguish the fire and consider your home safe to re-enter, you should contact a reputable fire damage cleanup company. Smoke and soot can hang onto your walls and floors, which produces a lingering smell, unpleasant appearance, and health hazard for residents of the home.
Fire damage cleanup companies specialize in cleaning and restoring your damaged furniture, clothes, textiles, electronics, and other belongings. They’ll also assess any structural damage and help you notify other companies that will help you through the process.
If you’re insured, Ready.gov suggests listing all of your damaged belongings in a property inventory before discarding anything.
Instances of Damage You May Encounter in Your Home
Most fire damage instances fall into three categories: structural, utility, and household item damage. If you conduct thorough research on what problems you might encounter, you can confidently bring any concerns to your fire damage cleanup and insurance companies’ attention.
Structural Damage
Structural damage includes issues with the ceiling, flooring, stairs, power and gas lines, and cracks in the foundation. According to Ready.gov, noticeable structural damage can point to a major problem inside your home.
Major Utility Damage
Major utilities, like electrical, plumbing, heating, and telephone systems, are subject to serious damage in a fire.
The American Red Cross advises homeowners to look for frayed wires, sparks, and a distinct heat insulation smell, indicating problems with your home’s heating or electrical systems.
Household Item Damage
Commonly damaged items in fires include furniture, clothing, and other personal valuables that may not be replaceable. In these cases, document your losses.
What’s Involved in the Fire Damage Repair Process?
Fire damage repair treatments vary depending on what your home needs. Lemonade.com names services like water damage cleanup, chemical contamination repair, soot removal and cleanup, furniture and textile deodorization, and ozone smoke removal among those most popular with fire damage repair jobs.
Cleanup companies break down the process into three stages: damage inspection, restoration planning, and cleanup and repair. Once the fire’s out, the cleanup company inspects your property, determines the damage extent, and mitigates any existing damage.
After creating a plan to repair problem areas and replace unsalvageable materials, they’ll clean up soot, smoke, and water while restoring your home.
Professionals can complete smaller fire repairs in a day or two, but extensive repairs can take up to several months. The size of the fire and affected household areas will determine your concrete timeline.
Conclusion
Your fire damage repair schedule will change based on what your property needs. It’s essential that you not attempt to control the damage and contact individual companies on your own.
After consulting with emergency services, a fire damage cleanup company will help you understand your specific needs and develop a conscious plan to restore your home with fire-resistant protective materials for the future.