After a House Fire - Do's and Don'ts

9/14/2020 (Permalink)

Having a house fire can be devastating and quite frankly, overwhelming no matter how prepared you are, you will need help and support. It’s important to contact SERVPRO of Springfield right away. Time is a definite concern when we are dealing with smoke and water damage. I know it seems odd to have water damage during a house fire but it's absolutely true.  We are so very thankful for our fire departments and our firefighters. They have an extremely difficult job and if you are from a small town you will notice most fire departments are volunteer-run. They still risk their lives for their community. KUDOS!

SERVPRO of Springfield has been proudly serving the Springfield and surrounding areas for many years. We are experts in the restoration business with highly trained production technicians proficient in water and fire restoration as well as CDC approved COVID-19 cleaning. 

I asked some of our team to put together a list for you to help decipher what to do in the unfortunate event of a fire. I hope you find these suggestions helpful and please don’t hesitate to call our office if you have any other helpful pieces of information to add. 

DO’s

• Take Photos of the damaged areas. It is recommended by most insurance companies to take photos of your belongings (especially valuables) prior to a house fire and keep them in a safe place or electronically save them where you would be able to gain access to them outside of your home.  
• If it is safe for you to be inside the home according to the firefighters, discard all food and drinks that were exposed to water, smoke, and fire. Empty out your refrigerator and deep freezers, unplug them, and keep the doors propped open. These will need to be cleaned and sanitized, there might be potential carcinogens from the fire.
• Send all clothing and curtains with smoke damage to SERVPRO of Springfield to be professionally cleaned.

We have the Do’s underway, let’s talk about the Do Nots. These may seem a little redundant but they are extremely important for many reasons, mostly being your health and the health of your family. SERVPRO of Springfield is here to keep you safe.

DO NOT

• Please do not enter your home unless it has been cleared by the fire department and inspected for safety. It may look safe and maybe look like there is very little damage but there could be water damage to the floor making it unsafe and unstable to walk on.
• Do not try to use water or electricity. The firefighters have most likely turned these off but in the event they did not, it could potentially be extremely dangerous.
• Do not eat, drink, or breathe in anything that has been exposed to the smoke, soot, or water used to put the fire out. These can all contain carcinogens that are dangerous to you.
• Please do not attempt to clean or launder anything exposed to the fire, soot, smoke, or water used to put the fire out. Any and all items that are salvageable should be cleaned and treated by the experts at SERVPRO of Springfield. 

When disaster strikes, please call SERVPRO of Springfield for your restoration needs. Our expert team is available 24/7/365, please call our office any time of day at 217-528-7775. We are Here to Help!