When Fire Strikes

3/6/2020 (Permalink)

March 6th, 2020

Fire!! What to Do Next??

When disaster strikes, and your home is involved in a fire, your mind is frantic, and you have no idea what the next step is. You never pictured this would happen and you probably never thought what happens now. Below we have provided some of those next steps for you to take once your home has been involved in a fire.

1. First and foremost, safety is the most important. Find a safe place for your family and pets to stay. This should be a place that can help ease your mind and give you a place to think about what you need to do next. If you don’t have a family member or friend to stay with, check with a local disaster relief program like the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army as they can often provide you with free temporary housing. Accomplishing this one minor goal can help feel like you have some control of the situation.
2. Your next step should be to contact your insurance agent. The faster you contact your insurance agent; the faster things can begin whether it is repairs or looking for a new home. They also may be able to help you with your expenses due to losses in the fire. Insurance companies can also help you find a cleaning or mitigation/restoration service.
3. Contact the Police. To ensure the safety of your home, the windows and doors should be boarded up to ensure the building and belongings are left alone.
4. Plan out finances. Ensure you are prepared to pay your bills and it may even be best to suspend your cable and internet bills since you will not be in your home for a while. Some insurance companies will assist with these payments during this time.
5. Get a list of damaged items and be sure to report them to your insurance agent, also make sure you report all important documents that were loss and need to be replaced. These should be of high priority.
6. Before reentering your home, make sure it is reported to be safe by a fire marshal. Also, make sure you have spoken with your insurance agent to be sure that it does not void any of your policy if you are to enter your home. Always check with your agent before doing anything.
7. Finally, you may feel like it is your responsibility to go into the home and start packing up and collecting undamaged items. This can take weeks and can take away from the important things that are of higher priority. At SERVPRO we can pack up all belongings, clean them, and store them with us, until we have completed all our steps to ensure it looks "Like it never even happened." Then we will return all your cleaned items back to where they were. This process can be long and drawn out but with our elite team of professionals we are able to complete these tasks with ease. We also can assist with communication between insurance agents/adjusters to help put homeowners at ease.

If you have any questions check out the link below or if you or someone you know is in the process of going through any of these tasks and need help, feel free to call SERVPRO of LBL (731) 642-1284 and we will be happy to assist you during this difficult time.

Resources:

8 Things to Do After a Fire