{"id":352595,"date":"2025-11-11T08:53:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?p=352595"},"modified":"2025-11-11T08:53:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:53:23","slug":"was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here’s What to Do Next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Home fires remain a leading source of loss for U.S. households. The National Fire Protection Association\u2019s \u201cHome Structure Fires<\/a>\u201d research shows that homes account for about a quarter of reported fires but roughly three-quarters of U.S. civilian fire deaths, with national home-structure incidents holding in the mid- to upper\u2011300,000s annually in recent years. Cooking is the top cause of home fires and injuries, while smoking materials and heating equipment are major contributors to deaths and winter losses; many fatal incidents occur where smoke alarms were absent or failed to operate\u2014working alarms reduce death risk substantially (NFPA cooking<\/a>; NFPA smoke alarms<\/a>; USFA residential fires<\/a>). Climate change adds context: more than 46 million U.S. homes sit in the wildland\u2013urban interface where climate\u2011amplified wildfire conditions elevate structure-loss risk (U.S. National Climate Assessment<\/a>), and the U.S. recorded 28 separate billion\u2011dollar weather\/climate disasters in 2023 that often drive outages and higher\u2011risk behaviors in homes (NOAA Billion\u2011Dollar Disasters<\/a>). If a fire damages your home, the steps below align with current insurance guidance and restoration standards to help you recover efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to Your Homeowners Insurance Agent\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Notify your insurer or agent immediately and ask specific questions grounded in today\u2019s policy terms. Confirm coverages and deductibles, including any wildfire, hurricane\/named\u2011storm, or wind\/hail percentage deductibles; clarify if your roof is settled at actual cash value (ACV) due to age or material; and ask about \u201cordinance or law\u201d (code\u2011upgrade) coverage when rebuilding (NAIC<\/a>; Insurance Information Institute<\/a>). Discuss Additional Living Expense (ALE\/Loss of Use) benefits and whether advance payments are available if you\u2019re displaced; in some declared wildfire disasters, states have strengthened consumer protections\u2014such as a minimum of 24 months of ALE and extended periods to recover replacement\u2011cost benefits (California DOI<\/a>; Colorado DOI<\/a>). Remember standard homeowners policies exclude flood\u2014separate flood insurance is required (NFIP FloodSmart<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage and document them. Tarp roof openings, board windows, and isolate unsafe rooms. Dry any firefighting or sprinkler water quickly\u2014ideally within 24\u201348 hours\u2014to help prevent mold growth (CDC mold guidance<\/a>). Keep the HVAC system off until inspected; replace filters and upgrade to the highest MERV your system supports (ideally MERV 13) and consider portable HEPA cleaners to control smoke and soot particulates (EPA IAQ\u2014wildfire smoke<\/a>). Avoid ozone generators for odor control due to health risks and limited effectiveness at safe concentrations (EPA on ozone generators<\/a>). If outdoor air is smoky (wildfire), keep windows closed and create a clean room with a HEPA unit; use appropriate PPE when handling soot\/ash (OSHA wildfire cleanup<\/a>). Save all receipts for emergency work\u2014insurers typically reimburse reasonable mitigation costs (NAIC disaster claims<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read: Homeowners Insurance Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Document the Damage and All Losses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before the adjuster arrives, make a room\u2011by\u2011room list of structural and systems damage (home, garage, sheds, pool equipment). Note cracks, roof impacts, soot and odor spread, and have a qualified professional evaluate electrical, gas, and HVAC safety. For fire and smoke cleanup, the current industry standard of care is the ANSI\/IICRC S700\u20112024\u2014ask prospective restoration firms whether they follow it for inspection, containment, cleaning, deodorization, and HVAC considerations (ANSI\/IICRC S700\u20112024<\/a>). Insurers generally expect thorough documentation and may cover reasonable inspections necessary to scope the loss (NAIC disaster claims<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look beyond the burn area. Water, smoke, and soot can migrate into attics, crawlspaces, closets, and HVAC registers; check all floors and enclosed spaces even if fire was localized. National data confirm evening peaks from cooking and winter concentration for heating incidents\u2014patterns that help explain where residues collect and where to test for safety (USFA residential fires<\/a>; NFPA heating<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inventory all personal property losses. Ask how your policy settles contents (replacement cost vs. ACV) and note sublimits (e.g., jewelry, firearms). Provide the adjuster with an itemized list and any receipts\/photos, and do not discard damaged items until inspection (NAIC homeowners<\/a>). In declared wildfire disasters, some states require or encourage advance payments and offer simplified contents inventory options to ease documentation burdens (California DOI<\/a>; Colorado DOI<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capture extensive photo\/video evidence and keep a claim diary (dates, who you spoke with, what was decided). If records were destroyed, rebuild inventories from memory, emails, bank statements, and family photos. Timely communication and clear updates are strongly linked to better claim experiences (J.D. Power 2025<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep Detailed Records of Repair Estimates and Replacements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Obtain written, line\u2011item estimates from licensed, insured contractors. For fire and smoke restoration, prioritize firms trained to the current standard (ANSI\/IICRC S700\u20112024) and be sure scopes cover inspection, containment, cleaning, deodorization, moisture control, contents handling, and HVAC evaluation (ANSI\/IICRC S700\u20112024<\/a>). Detailed bids speed adjuster comparisons and help prevent scope gaps (NAIC disaster claims<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid large upfront payments and pressure tactics. Use milestone\u2011based payments tied to delivered materials or passed inspections; verify licensing and insurance; and collect lien waivers from the general contractor, subs, and suppliers with each draw to protect against mechanics\u2019 liens (FTC<\/a>; FEMA\u2014hiring after a disaster<\/a>; BBB<\/a>; Illinois AG\u2014lien waivers<\/a>). In California, home\u2011improvement down payments are capped at the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract price (CA Contractors State License Board<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make only necessary temporary repairs until the adjuster assesses the loss, and keep receipts. Know your Coverage A\u2013D limits and how special deductibles apply; don\u2019t overspend on temporary fixes if it reduces funds for permanent work (NAIC homeowners<\/a>; Insurance Information Institute<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For replacements, keep all receipts and model\/serial numbers. Many policies pay contents at ACV first and release recoverable depreciation after proof of replacement within the time allowed. Ask your insurer about deadlines and whether increased ALE, ordinance\u2011or\u2011law, or extended\/guaranteed replacement cost endorsements can support rebuilding decisions (NAIC<\/a>; III<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep a Copy of All Records for Yourself\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maintain your own complete set of documentation: estimates, invoices, photos\/videos, adjuster communications, permits\/inspection approvals, mitigation receipts, and lien waivers. Record names, titles, and phone numbers for everyone involved. In declared wildfire disasters, some states require advance payments, allow simplified inventories, extend ALE to at least 24 months, and provide more time to collect full replacement\u2011cost benefits\u2014review your state\u2019s current rules (California DOI<\/a>; Colorado DOI<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep records long after repairs. Recent FEMA reforms aim to deliver quicker initial displacement and serious\u2011needs assistance during federally declared disasters, reducing paperwork burdens (FEMA\/White House 2024 reforms<\/a>). After wildfires, monitor price\u2011gouging protections (e.g., California generally caps certain emergency price increases at 10%) and pursue property\u2011tax disaster relief or base\u2011year value transfers where available (CA Attorney General<\/a>; CA Board of Equalization<\/a>). If your mortgage is affected, notify your servicer promptly\u2014regulators expect disaster forbearance and loss\u2011mitigation options, and you\u2019ll need to coordinate claim checks and repairs (CFPB<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too Long, Didn\u2019t Read?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Report the loss promptly; confirm coverages, ALE, and any wildfire\/wind\/hail deductibles; ask about roof ACV terms and code\u2011upgrade coverage (NAIC<\/a>; III<\/a>). Mitigate and document: tarp and board as needed, dry wet areas within 24\u201348 hours (CDC<\/a>), keep HVAC off until inspected and use HEPA\/MERV\u201113 filtration (EPA<\/a>), and avoid ozone machines (EPA<\/a>). Document damage with photos\/video and an itemized contents list; secure detailed written estimates from licensed, insured contractors following ANSI\/IICRC S700\u20112024; use milestone payments and collect lien waivers (IICRC S700\u20112024<\/a>; FTC<\/a>). In wildfire\u2011exposed areas, expect more climate\u2011driven fire weather and leverage modern prevention: working smoke alarms (NFPA<\/a>), ember\u2011resistant home upgrades (IBHS<\/a>), and new early\u2011detection tools like AI camera networks and satellite fire products (ALERTCalifornia AI<\/a>; NASA FIRMS<\/a>; NOAA GOES\u2011R<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home fires remain a leading source of loss for U.S. households. The National Fire Protection Association\u2019s \u201cHome Structure Fires\u201d research shows that homes account for about a quarter of reported fires but roughly three-quarters of U.S. civilian fire deaths, with national home-structure incidents holding in the mid- to upper\u2011300,000s annually in recent years. Cooking is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":352596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1282,1268,1263],"tags":[21219,21217,21218],"post_author":[],"yoast_head":"\nWas Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here's What to Do Next - Reviews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If your home is damaged by fire, immediately call your homeowners insurance agent to discuss your policy coverage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here's What to Do Next - Reviews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If your home is damaged by fire, immediately call your homeowners insurance agent to discuss your policy coverage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reviews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Reviewscom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T13:53:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/home-fire-damage-reviews.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Reviews Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Reviews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Reviews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Reviews Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here’s What to Do Next\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/\",\"name\":\"Reviews.com\",\"description\":\"Your Guide to the Best Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here's What to Do Next - Reviews.com","description":"If your home is damaged by fire, immediately call your homeowners insurance agent to discuss your policy coverage.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here's What to Do Next - Reviews.com","og_description":"If your home is damaged by fire, immediately call your homeowners insurance agent to discuss your policy coverage.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/","og_site_name":"Reviews.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Reviewscom\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-11T13:53:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/home-fire-damage-reviews.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Reviews Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Reviews","twitter_site":"@Reviews","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Reviews Staff","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/homeowners\/was-your-home-damaged-by-fire-heres-what-to-do-next\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Was Your Home Damaged by Fire? Here’s What to Do Next"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/","name":"Reviews.com","description":"Your Guide to the Best Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352595"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352595"},{"taxonomy":"post_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_author?post=352595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}