How Much Does Fire Damage Restoration Cost? [2026 Data]

In 2026, the national average cost for fire damage restoration is $27,477, based on data from 305 verified projects reported by Angi Pros. Most homeowners pay between $3,083 and $52,031, with the range driven by fire severity, the extent of structural damage, and how quickly emergency responders arrived. Costs can reach as high as $180,000 when a major fire causes significant structural damage, while minor smoke damage from a small cooking fire may run as low as $800.

How Much Does Fire Restoration Cost by Type of Damage?

Restoring a home after fire damage involves multiple services, and costs vary based on the severity and duration of fire exposure, ranging from $200 and $6,000. The specific types of fire damage present in your home —from soot and smoke to water and structural harm—each carry their own price tag. 

Understanding what each service costs helps you build a realistic budget before work begins:

Water Damage Cleanup

Water damage from a house fire—caused by activated sprinklers, a firefighting hose, or heat-damaged PEX supply lines—costs between $1,000 to $6,000 to clean up, making it one of the more significant line items in a restoration budget. The process includes removing standing water, drying out building materials, and sanitizing surfaces to prevent mold growth. Materials like carpet, drywall, and insulation that are beyond saving will also need to be removed as part of this work. Act quickly: mold can begin growing within 24 hours of water damage, so prompt water damage costs remediation is essential.

Soot Removal and Cleanup

Soot removal costs average between $2,000 to $6,000, making it one of the more substantial components of fire damage restoration. Even after the fire is out, soot clings to walls, carpeting, furniture, and upholstery — leaving stains, discoloration, and serious health hazards behind. Depending on the affected material, cleanup involves vacuuming, blowing, and treating surfaces with a strong cleaning solution.

Removal of Damaged Items

Professional removal of damaged items from your home costs between $50 to $100 per pound, with the total depending on how much material needs to be hauled out. If you want to salvage and restore damaged belongings rather than discard them, hiring an emergency pack-out service is a practical alternative. This service is often covered by homeowner's insurance, so check your policy before assuming it's an out-of-pocket expense.

Smoke Damage Restoration

Smoke damage restoration costs between $200 to $1,200 per room, with the primary cost driver being the number of rooms affected and the depth of treatment required. The process involves deep cleaning, deodorization, and ozone smoke treatments to fully eliminate residue that won't disappear on its own. Ozone smoke removal costs between $400 to $800 on its own if you need that treatment as a standalone service.

Duct Cleaning

Duct cleaning after a fire costs between $250 to $500 on average and is an important step in preventing your HVAC system from spreading smoke odors and soot to rooms that weren't directly affected. The cost to clean air ducts ranges based on the size of your system and the extent of contamination. Skipping this step can result in smoke odors circulating through your home long after other restoration work is complete.

Deodorizing Costs

While many items in your home could be salvageable following a fire, you may find that they still have a strong smoke odor. You have several choices for removing the lingering smoke smell from your home:

• Standard furniture and textile deodorizing: $200–$1,000

• Thermal fogging: $200–$600

• Ozone treatment: $400–$600

Ask your fire damage remediation pros to help you decide which option is best based on your home. You may be able to begin deodorizing while your home's interior is still drying from water damage.

"We learned from our real estate agents about whole-house purifying treatments," says Bob Tschudi, Angi Expert Review Board member and general contractor in Raleigh, NC. "For about $100, these devices totally eliminate any smells, from cigarette smoke to fire smoke damage."

Fire Damage Restoration Cost Factors: What Drives the Total?

Several factors affect fire damage restoration costs, with the extent of damage and the size of your home being the two most significant drivers. The type of fire, how quickly emergency responders arrived, and the accessibility of damaged areas all play a role in shaping your final total. Understanding these variables before you meet with a contractor helps you ask better questions and set a more accurate budget.

Home Size

Fire damage restoration costs an average of $5.50 per square foot, with prices ranging from $4 to $7 per square foot depending on the extent and type of damage. The larger the area of your home that sustained damage, the more labor and materials the job requires—and the higher your total will be. 

Use the table below to estimate costs based on your home's square footage:

Geographic Location

Labor accounts for between 50% and 70% of your fire damage restoration total, and for minor work like fire damage, smoke damage cleanup, and deodorizing, nearly 100% of your cost can go toward labor alone. Because this is such a labor-intensive service, your location has a significant impact on what you pay. Homeowners in coastal states and major cities generally pay more than those in lower-cost-of-living areas.

The table below shows average fire damage restoration costs by state:

Severity

Standard combustible fires start at $9,000 in restoration costs, while combustible metal fires can reach $25,000. The type and cause of the fire—including how and where it started—directly affects your restoration costs. The Fire Equipment Manufacturers' Association classifies fires into five categories, each with its own restoration cost range. 

In residential settings, electrical fires tend to cause the most damage and carry the highest repair costs, followed closely by cooking and gas fires:

Emergency Response Timing

How quickly your emergency responders get to your fire will affect how much the fire spreads, the extent of the fire-damaged materials in your home, the extent of the smoke damage, and even how much water damage or chemical damage your home suffers when the pros extinguish the fire. The faster the response time, the less damage your home will suffer, and the lower your fire damage restoration costs will be.

Accessibility

Depending on where the damage is in your home, accessibility to the area can play a role in your fire damage restoration costs. Hard-to-reach areas, such as attics, crawl spaces, or basements, may require additional labor and specialized equipment to restore, which can drive up prices.

Insurance Coverage

Homeowner's insurance will normally cover your fire damage restoration costs if the fire started as an accident. However, your actual coverage amount will depend on your insurer and your policy. You'll always need to pay a deductible, which will also vary by policy, but you may see higher out-of-pocket repair costs if you opt for high-end materials for the build-back or choose to make changes to your home's layout during the renovation.

Pre-Existing Conditions

If your home already had structural issues, outdated wiring, or mold, these conditions could complicate restoration and potentially increase your expenses. You may want to include these renovations while the professionals are already on site, but your insurance may not cover add-on items, so you may pay more out of pocket for this type of work.

Specialized Item Restoration

Finally, the cost of restoring delicate or high-value items, such as artwork, antiques, or electronics, is much higher than restoring standard items. All of the costs mentioned above assume a standard home with standard belongings, so your total can vary widely depending on the items you need to repair or replace.

Fire Damage Restoration vs. Replacement: Which Costs More?

Fire damage restoration typically costs less than full replacement. As a practical example, remodeling a kitchen costs $14,600 to $41,300, while restoring a fire-damaged kitchen—removing soot, treating smoke damage, and replacing only what's beyond repair—averages $16,000 to $20,000, which is often the more affordable path. 

Whether restoration is even possible depends on the extent of the damage and the materials involved. Have a local fire damage restoration company assess your property to determine which option makes sense: if the fire was extinguished quickly and structural components are intact, restoration is usually the right call. If structural damage is present or materials are severely charred, full replacement is likely the safer and more practical choice.

Ordinary Combustible Fires

Ordinary combustible fires — involving wood, paper, plastic, or other common materials—cost between $9,000 and $14,000 to restore in a 2,500-square-foot home. Also called Class A fires, these burn more slowly than kitchen oil or electrical fires and respond to fire extinguishers, which helps limit the damage. Even so, they generate significant soot and smoke damage that requires professional remediation.

Gas Fires

Gas fires—involving flammable household liquids like petroleum, oil, and oil paints—cost between $14,000 to $20,000 to restore in a 2,500-square-foot home. These fires are difficult to extinguish, requiring smothering or specialized chemicals, and they leave dangerous residue throughout the home that demands unique remediation procedures. The combination of extensive damage and specialized cleanup requirements makes gas fire restoration more costly than standard combustible fire cleanup.

Electrical Fires

Electrical fire restoration costs between $12,000 and $23,000 for a 2,500-square-foot home, making it one of the most expensive fire types to remediate. These fires can originate at faulty outlets, the power grid, or appliances, and they often spread quickly before anyone notices — resulting in ruined furniture, damaged walls, and heavy soot and smoke damage. The combination of rapid spread and hidden ignition points typically means more extensive damage by the time the fire is controlled.

Combustible Metal Fire

Combustible metal fires are rare in residential settings but among the most expensive to remediate, costing $16,000 and $25,000 for a 2,500-square-foot home. These fires involve metals like aluminum or titanium igniting, and like gas fires, they cannot be extinguished with water — which actually causes them to spread further. They move quickly through a home and leave behind chemical residue that requires specialized removal procedures.

Kitchen Oil Fire

Kitchen oil fires—sparked by grease, cooking oil, or animal fats—cost an average of $12,000 to $20,000 to restore in a 2,500-square-foot home. These are among the most common house fires, and they flare up fast, damaging walls, cabinets, and appliances before quickly spreading to other areas of the home. The rapid spread and resulting soot and debris make professional remediation essential.

Cost to Rebuild After a House Fire: What to Budget For

Remodeling a kitchen costs $14,600 to $41,300 after a grease fire, while drywall installation for a whole-house fire averages $1,800, or $1.50 to $3 per square foot. Roof repair costs $400 to $1,800, and replacing a roof costs $5,900 to $12,800, depending on size and type. After restoration is complete, rebuilding costs vary widely based on the severity of the damage and which structural components were affected. 

Major fires may also require foundation repair, which runs between $2,200 and $7,800, depending on the extent and location of the damage:

Extent of Fire or Smoke Damage From Household Fire

Not all fires cause total destruction, and the amount of damage impacts how much you'll pay for restoration. The largest portion of restoration projects (33.9%) involves smoke damage but little to no fire damage. Only about 10% of fire restoration projects focus on repairing structures that have burned down completely.

Pricing to Expect for Fire Prevention Costs

Upgrading your home's fire suppression system after a fire is a smart way to bundle prevention costs into your overall project budget, with a home fire sprinkler system costing between $0.80 and $7 per square foot. Costs vary depending on the size of your home and the complexity of the system. 

Here's a breakdown of other fire prevention costs:

• Extinguishers: $20–$100 each

• Standard smoke detectors: $20–$65

• Home security system with fire detection: $300–$1,250

• Fire door cost: $400–$900

Why You Should Hire a Fire Damage Restoration Pro

If your home suffers fire damage, especially anything related to structural, plumbing, or electrical components, or if it required firefighters to put it out, hire a local fire damage restoration company.

Not only can it be unsafe to work in a home that sustained fire damage, but you could also miss structural damage and hidden water or moisture that could lead to more expensive and dangerous issues down the road. Plus, your insurance should cover most of the cost.

Here's why it's ideal to hire a fire damage restoration pro

Restoring fire damage is a complex and potentially hazardous process. Here's why it's best to hire an experienced pro for the job:

• Professionals know how to safely remove smoke, soot, and water damage from your home.

• Hiring an experienced restoration pro ensures compliance with safety regulations, building codes, and insurance requirements.

• DIY restoration can lead to health hazards, worsen damage, and result in costly future repairs.

• Experienced pros restore your home safely and efficiently, minimizing disruption to your everyday routine.

How Angi Gets Its Cost Data

Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects. 

Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to [email protected]. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.