The thought of a fire starting in your family’s home is a horrible one. But these things do happen, and the most important thing is that no one gets hurt. But damage to your property is still traumatic. Here’s how to react to a fire in your home.
Make Sure the Home is Safe to Re-Enter
Fire causes more damage than can be immediately seen from the outside. If the fire is relatively minor, you should be able to return to the property quite quickly. But don’t go into the property until you have clearance from the relevant authorities.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the fire authorities will want to do a thorough check of the site, and they will probably create a safety zone around the property. Once this work has been done, someone will let you know if it’s safe to re-enter the property.
Get a Fire Report
Make sure the fire authorities then publish a fire report. This will help you establish exactly what happened, and why it happened. If you feel that the fire wasn’t your fault, you’ll be anxious to hear what did cause it, and the fire report will help you find out.
You might have to contact your local fire department to get access to the completed fire report. It should tell you what caused the fire to start and what the full extent of the damage was. From there you might want to pursue legal action.
Consider Legal Action
If the fire report concludes that someone else was at fault for the fire or a defective household appliance started the fire, you should consider legal action. Use a legal firm like Irpino Law, they have specialist knowledge of fire damage cases.
There are a lot of variables to take into consideration when establishing the cause of a fire. That makes the whole process very complicated, so it’s important to have a good lawyer on your side.
Clean Up
Your house will probably be in poor shape in the immediate aftermath of the fire. There will probably be a lot of damage to your property, and your floors and walls will most likely be affected by smoke damage.
You might want to get a professional cleaner to carry out the job if it’s too much for you to do alone. Remember, it’s not just a matter of sweeping up. All that ash and smoke will have damaged the property, and there’ll be lingering odours to contend with too.
Get Any Big Problems Seen To
If there are major problems brought about by the fire, make sure they’re seen to urgently. Structural damage is something to be particularly careful about. If you’re unsure about the damage caused, have a professional building survey take a look at it.
You also might need to get the house professionally dried if water hoses were used to put out the fire. This can cause a lot of damage like damp and rot if you don’t get the house properly dried.
Having your family home damaged by fire is always a devastating occurrence. But, hopefully, this guide will help you get back on your feet a little quicker.
Very helpful information in this article. I especially didn’t know about obtaining a fire report. I imagine that could help those seeking to exercise a claim on their insurance policy. I will be sure to include that information in my articles on fire safety.