What to Do After a Morganton House Fire

10/22/2020 (Permalink)

If your Morganton home has a fire, don't panic! If you take the necessary steps, your home can be restored to its pre-fire condition!

There are few things more stressful than having a fire damage your Morganton home and belongings. It can disrupt your life, dissolve your peace of mind, and destroy precious mementos. Unfortunately, people are often unprepared for these situations and aren’t sure what steps to take to begin returning their lives to normal.

That’s why at SERVPRO Alexander, Caldwell, Burke and Catawba Counties, we’ve created this guide — so you can begin the road to recovery.

Making Important Phone Calls

After a house fire, there are plenty of people you’ll want to contact, but there are some that will be extraordinarily helpful in giving you back your peace of mind:

• Your Insurance Company or Agent. If there’s anyone who’s going to help you reclaim your life, it’s your insurance representative. Call them as soon as possible because they will be able to advise you on any necessary actions regarding safety and recovery. If you have an agent, they will be able to help you file a claim. Depending on your policy, you may even be entitled to financial support while you get back on your feet.

• Disaster Restoration Company. Your insurance representative is going to walk you through the process, but your local fire damage cleanup company is the one who will actually do the work to restore your home and belongings. Your insurance will generally recommend their preferred restoration company, but you are legally entitled to choose your own. Be sure you choose one with a solid reputation and a wide range of services to make sure they can handle all of your needs. Your restoration provider will also have experience working with insurance companies during moments of crisis, so they will be able to help you take care of any necessary steps. If you live in Morganton, NC, consider our team at SERVPRO of Alexander, Caldwell, Burke and Catawba Counties.

• Family and Friends. Once you’ve contacted your insurance and a reputable disaster restoration company, call your loved ones and update them on the situation. If you do not have a safe place until you can occupy your home, consider asking somebody if you can temporarily stay with them. (If you do stay with friends or family, consider talking to your insurance about reimbursing them for putting you up.)

• Disaster Relief Programs. If you need the help, consider contacting your local disaster relief program, such as the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. They might be able to provide necessities like food, shelter, and other resources.

• Your Physician. If you evacuated without essential medications or devices, call your physician as soon as possible to review your options. Medications left in the home should not be consumed because they will likely have been contaminated by smoke and gasses.

• Your Creditors. Call any lending institutions you deal with (such as your mortgage, credit cards, utilities, etc.) as soon as possible. While you might not have to make any payments in the immediate future, most companies will work with you during moments of crisis. It’s possible they will reduce or defer payments.

Re-entering Your Home

After the fire’s been extinguished, you’ll probably want to run in and check on your belongings. Before you do, there are a few warnings:

• Do not re-enter your home until the fire department has given you an explicit OK. Structural damage and reigniting flames are highly probable immediately after a house fire, so do not enter without that permission.

• Do not consume anything that has been near flames, smoke, soot, or the water used to put the fire out. Even if food or water has been sealed in a jar or bottle, most consumables will be spoiled or contaminated due to extended exposure to heat or toxic fumes. This includes food in the refrigerator and freezer, which do not have airtight seals.

• Do not turn on any utilities if you’ve been instructed not to do so. Your local fire department will have advised you whether or not it is safe to use your utilities. If you’ve been told they are unsafe, do not turn them back on.

Once you re-enter and assess the damages, follow any instructions your insurance representative gave you. If your chosen disaster restoration company is there, they will likely be able to assist you in that process.

Restoring Your Home and Belongings

Depending on the size of the damage, you might feel that your home will never be the same again. But by working with your insurance and a disaster restoration team, your home and belongings can be restored to their pre-disaster state.

If you live in Morganton, NC or any of the communities in the Unifour area, our team is always here to help. If not, here are some things you can expect a quality disaster restoration company to do to restore your home after a house fire:

• Assess your home for damage. To make sure the team can perform the appropriate services to make your home as good as new, your house will be given a comprehensive assessment. This information will be especially useful to your insurance representative.

• Store your belongings. Instead of worrying about where you should store your non-vital belongings until your home is restored, some restoration companies (like us) will pack and store these items until you are equipped to take them back.

• Board up holes. The fire likely caused window, wall, and roof damage, which leaves your house exposed. A good restoration team will board up affected areas to prevent any further damage.

• Remove and dry water damage. If your home is wet from the firefighters’ efforts, this will be addressed immediately. A drying process will remove visible and hidden moisture to ensure you don’t get mold growth or additional structural damage.

• Remove soot and smoke from surfaces. Your disaster restoration company will use an array of tools to remove the fire’s residue from your walls, floors, ceilings, and any other affected surface.

• Clean and sanitize your home and belongings. You don’t want to return to your home just to be reminded of what happened. A good company will thoroughly clean, disinfect, and deodorize your structures and belongings to get them back to their pre-fire condition. In addition, they will use equipment to eliminate any lingering odors. Depending on the company, they may be able to restore and preserve damaged photos, documents, and other sensitive belongings.

• Restore your home. After everything else is complete, the team will make any necessary cosmetic or structural repairs. In the end, it should be “Like it never even happened.”

Returning Home

Finally, after working diligently with your insurance and your local disaster restoration company, your Morganton home and belongings will be back in pristine condition. Make sure you continue to work with both parties to complete any necessary paperwork and payments, if applicable. Once you move and settle back into your home, you can resume your life as normal.