What to do after a Home or Commercial Property Fire!

6/24/2022 (Permalink)

Experiencing a Home or Commercial Property fire can be a very traumatic experience and leave you feeling overwhelmed and confused. SERVPRO understands the anxiety that comes when a water or fire damage event hits your home or business. Our professionally trained staff is accustomed to handling these emergencies, and we strive to minimize the disruption for you so you can get back to normal life, soon. We’re a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup, restoration services, pathogen, and biohazard cleaning, and more. Our experience in this service allows us you help understand and answer some of the questions you may have and leave you with some insightful tips. The following is a list of tips we believe will help us through a difficult experience.

Call for Help

This may seem obvious for some but in the case of panic, your mind may be in a state of stress and confusion. Remove yourself from immediate danger and call for help. In the case of an emergency first responders are trained professionals with experience in dangerous situations Getting out of the home or property and seeking help from your first responder may be detrimental to saving others and your own life.

Take a moment to collect your thoughts

A backdraft of emotions often sweeps over the homeowners after a fire ravages a home. Fear, uncertainty, stress and doubt about the future of the property can overwhelm the homeowner long after the flames have extinguished, and the smoke has cleared. Once the first responders have arrived and you are no longer in immediate danger, take a moment. Understand that you may have just undergone a traumatic experience. Take a deep breath and take a moment to gather your thoughts. Taking a moment to collect your thoughts and clear your mind you may be able to better assist and communicate with your first responders. Help the first responders to answer questions they may have such as the number of individuals on or in the property and the cause of the fire. Help the first responders to make sure all individuals are safe. People and animals that are injured may need to be transported to a hospital or veterinarian for immediate help.

Contact your property manager or Insurance Agent

Contact your property manager to let them know what has transpired. Your property manager may have essential resources to help, such as new or temporary housing. Your property manager may also need to collect information from you to file an insurance claim. Contact your insurance company immediately. Insurance companies may take some time to process claims and the quicker that you are, the better. Many insurance companies face casualty losses such as fires and have national accounts with professional restoration companies. Such as SERVPRO, utilize highly trained and skilled technicians alongside advanced technologies to get your home back together “Like it never even happened”

Secure your property ad Call a reputable restoration company

Many restoration companies such as SERVPRO have emergency response teams that are available 24/7. Depending on the damage the company to come to your home and begin as soon as the fire department allows. When it is safe they will secure the property, and start pumping out water and drying material to reduce water damage and mold infestation. Restoration companies such as SERVPRO will help you understand the true damages of your property.

The first 48 hours after fire damage can make the difference between restoring and replacing your property and personal belongings. SERVPRO franchise professionals can help prevent fire damage from creating long-term problems. SERVPRO franchise professionals provide timely response with mitigation services ranging from fire, smoke, and soot removal to contents claims inventory and document restoration. These services help ensure your property, belongings, and memories are restored to preloss condition when possible. Here are a few tips you might be able to do until help arrives

• Limit movement in the home to prevent soot particles from spreading and additional damage from occurring.
• Place clean towels or old linens on rugs and high traffic areas and upholstery.
• Coat chrome faucets, trim, and appliances with petroleum jelly or oil.
• Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpet.
• Do not wash any walls or painted surfaces.
• Do not shampoo carpet or upholstery.
• Do not clean any electrical equipment.
• Do not send clothing to a dry cleaner since improper cleaning may set up smoke odor.