Getting Your Home Back to Normal After a Fire
Fires are scary, and can be devastating for your home. Fortunately house fires won’t be a problem for most families, but if it ever happens and you find yourself working to clean up after it is all over, restoration contractors in Billings, MT can help you get your home—and your life—back to normal following this traumatic event.
Immediately After a Fire
Following fire damage, many homeowners want to go into their house and try to salvage some of their most prized possessions. However, right at first you should remember that the insurance will need to come and review the damage to prepare your claim. Don’t move anything until you have made arrangements with the insurance company, or if you must move something, be sure to photograph or make a video of the entire home and it’s contents prior to changing anything.
A post-fire home can also pose potential safety hazards, so before you venture inside make sure that the proper officials have deemed it safe to go inside. When you do retrieve valuables, make sure to store them in a safe place—especially if your home is damaged enough that you can’t stay there.
Dry Things Out
Putting out a fire generally requires water, which can also cause damage. Remove any excess water, then move things off the floor and place some industrial-strength fans in areas where there was standing water. Many homeowners can do this on their own before restoration contractors arrive for the major cleanup.
Hire Professionals to Help
Smoke and fire can cause significant damage beyond what you can see with the naked eye. Smoke particles are microscopic, and find their way into carpets, upholstery, walls, and more, which means even if it looks clean you could still have that residual smoke smell.
In addition different items in your home will cause different types of damage—burned wood, for example, requires a different cleanup strategy than burned plastic. If you don’t know how to clean up both you risk causing more damage. A professional restoration contractor in Billings, MT will have the right equipment to clean up different types of burn residue without causing more damage.
Fires can cause several different types of damage—burned items, water damage, broken glass, and weakened structural areas of the home. If you are unfortunate enough to have something like that happen, call professionals to help you get back to normal.
