What to Do Until Help Arrives After a Fire

12/26/2018 (Permalink)

?Be sure to secure your loved ones as well as your personal belongings post a home fire.?

When a fire ravages a Houston area home or business, your Houston SERVPRO team stands at the ready to help. Whether the damage is from a small kitchen fire, mid-sized garage fire, or whole-house blaze, recovery requires comprehensive fire damage restoration. This process includes water extraction; removal and disposal of burned household items, walls, carpets, and floors; and clean-up of soot and smoke damage throughout the property.

Families are always anxious to get back into their homes in order to start locating personal items that can be salvaged. This is natural, but Houston SERVPRO wants to counsel property owners on how best to handle the situation until the emergency response team arrives. After a fire, there may be considerable damage to the structure of your home, and as a result floors, walls, and ceilings may be compromised. It is essential you follow the advice and directives of the fire department, and if your home is deemed too dangerous to enter, please remain outside.

After the fire, call your locally owned and operated SERVPRO of Clear Lake immediately. We can be on scene within an hour to assist you throughout the fire damage restoration process. If the fire department has indicated it is safe to re-enter the home before we arrive, be sure to wear appropriate protective footwear, clothing, and gloves. Remember, a fire leaves behind toxic residue and gases that may affect your health and safety. For their safety, we recommend that children, teens, individuals with respiratory issues, and the elderly be prevented from entering fire damaged and Houston water damaged properties.

While you wait for us to arrive, here are a few things you can do to help expedite the rebuilding and restoration process. First, call your insurance agent and schedule for an adjuster to come to your property. Second, when you do enter your home, take photos or videos as you walk through as this will be helpful in the insurance claims process. We will assist you with the room-by-room inventory, but these initial photos taken before things are further disturbed, are extremely helpful. Next, while it is tempting to grab clothing, photo albums, antiques, fine art, and other keepsakes and start cleaning them off, this is not a recommended practice. Any cleaning you do at this point could cause soot stains or damage to the items, and result in the smell of smoke being set into fabrics. Please wait for our team to arrive prior cleaning household or personal items.