What to Do After a House Fire: The Ultimate Checklist

Experiencing a house fire can be a traumatic and frightening experience—especially if you’re at home when the fire breaks out. Even a minor fire can cause serious damage to your home. Knowing what to do after a house fire can help you handle the process more easily.

Call 911 immediately when you notice the fire so a dispatcher can deploy first responders ASAP. Once the fire is extinguished, you’ll start the recovery process. This after-house-fire checklist will help you stay organized and focused so you can restore your home and move back as soon as possible.

Immediately After the Fire

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The time immediately following a house fire can be chaotic and uncertain. Knowing the right steps to take after you’ve experienced a house fire can help you better navigate this period so you can start healing from the experience—both physically and mentally.

Immediately after the fire has been extinguished, take the following steps:

• Focus on safety first: Check on your loved ones who were in the house when the fire occurred (including pets) and, if necessary, get them medical help as soon as possible.

• Check in with your network: Call your close family members or friends to let them know what happened.

• Find alternative accommodations: If the damage to your home is extensive, find a temporary place to stay until it’s safe to return.

One Day to One Week After the Fire

Once you’ve ensured your family is safe and you have a place to stay, you can start restoring your home. Here are the steps to take to get the ball rolling:

• File an insurance claim: Call your insurance company as soon as you can to report the fire and file a claim.

• Look for alternative help: If you don’t have insurance, organizations like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, community groups, or local public agencies may be able to assist you.

• Call your mortgage lender: They will need to be made aware of the fire and may be able to pause your payments temporarily.

• Secure the property: If you need to relocate during cleanup, lock all doors and windows or board them up if the fire has damaged them. The last thing you want is for someone to break into your home and steal things or vandalize the property while you’re not there.

• Collect important documents: If it’s safe, enter the house to gather any important items or documents from your home.

One Week to One Month After the Fire

Next, you’ll need to work on restoring the damage caused by the fire in your home and rebuilding your life. 

• Keep in touch with your insurance agent: You may need to provide documentation or evidence as part of your insurance claim, such as photos, the fire report, or anything else that shows your insurer the cause of the fire and the resulting damage.

• Get quotes for restoration services: Your insurer might recommend local fire damage restoration companies, but you can also request quotes on your own to compare and ensure you’re getting a good deal.

• Replace documentation and records: If your driver’s license, car registration, military discharge papers, Social Security or Medicare cards, credit cards, estate planning documents, medical records, or birth, death, and marriage certificates were destroyed in the fire, you’ll need to work on replacing them.

• Replace burnt money: You can take partly burned money to your regional Federal Reserve Bank or send it to the Treasury to get it replaced.

• Save receipts: If your homeowners insurance policy includes loss of use coverage, it will reimburse you for any expenses related to the fire. For example, if you have to stay in a hotel, eat meals out, and pay for parking or public transport, these expenses may be covered.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Fire Damage Restoration Pro?

The exact cost of fire damage restoration depends on the type and extent of the damage. After a house fire, you may have water, smoke, and soot damage—and there will likely be a lingering smell of smoke even if the damage to your home is minimal.

Fire damage restoration involves removing standing water, cleaning and sanitizing the home to prevent mold growth, removing damaged materials (like carpet, drywall, and insulation), and deodorization or ozone treatments to remove the smell of smoke. In total, you could pay between $3,110 and $51,250—though your insurance policy may cover most of this expense.