Fire and Water Damage Advice

Everyone who has been in a house fire is likely to be eager to get back into their home and figure out just how much damage might have been done, but unfortunately if you are too eager to get this done, you might be putting yourself in danger if you do not make sure that your fire marshal says that you can re-enter the home.  He or she will tell you if it is safe to go back in the home yet and you should never ignore this advice. 

The next thing that you need to do is call your insurance company in order to file a claim.  Give your insurance adjuster time to get there and take a look at the damage before you try to repair or move anything in the home.  The electricity to your home should also be turned completely off in case there is standing water there from the fire trucks spraying it into the home.  Electrocution is possible if the power to your home is not turned off.

Hiring a professional fire damage restoration company is recommended, since they can give you all kinds of advice as to what items in your home can be salvaged and they know how to go about repairing damage to the floors and walls.  Their services might run on the expensive side, but using them instead of trying to fix your furniture and floors on your own will probably save you money in the long run. 

Anything in your home that got wet from the fire hoses should be dried out as soon as you can and any standing water swept out of the home.  Any other water should be soaked up with towels.  Sometimes carpets can be saved if you take the time to treat them properly, but it is best not to walk on wet carpet that has soot and ash all over it.  This will set them further into the fibers and make it extremely difficult to get out.

Since water damage to your floors is a serious issue depending on how much water was pumped into your home, you should do your best to dry out the carpet as soon as possible.  Mold will set in after a couple of days of being wet and once carpet gets moldy, it is better to throw it away most of the time than to try and clean it.  Molded carpet padding must always be thrown away.  It cannot be cleaned.

On Basement Flooding Emergency