If you are a homeowner, your house is likely one of the most valuable things you own. A house fire is a devastating event that can happen without any warning and can leave your home uninhabitable for weeks or even months. A recent study found that over 76% of home fires start in the kitchen, and about 27% of those cooking-related fires are caused by unattended cooking. If you’re like most people, you might not think to put your food on a timer when you’re cooking it! This blog post will give you some tips on what to do if your home catches on fire and how to recover from it afterward.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Make sure all people and pets in the home are accounted for. If anyone is injured, make sure they’re taken care of first before anything else. If there are no injuries, then let your family and friends know you are safe.
2. Immediately call the police or fire department to report a house fire.
3. Call your insurance company so they can send out an adjuster to assess damages and provide you options for emergency lodging and living expenses. They will also get you in touch with restoration companies that can do fire damage restoration and smoke damage repair. The best restoration companies like A GRADE Property Restoration will work directly with your insurance company.
4. Take photos of everything that was damaged by the fire (e.g., furniture, appliances). It doesn’t hurt to even keep an inventory list for all items on-site so that there is no dispute over what was lost or damaged during the event.
5. Make sure it’s safe before re-entering your house, and only do so if absolutely necessary. Try to focus on retrieving valuables and important paperwork such as birth certificates, medical records, and passports.

If you have just experienced a house fire, we hope this post has been useful in helping you answer many of the questions that may be going through your head. We know how stressful and confusing it can feel to go through such an ordeal which is why our team wants to do everything possible to help make things easier for you during this time. It’s important not only that you take care of yourself but also those around you who are experiencing their own sense of devastation after losing their home or property.

The Public’s Adjuster is here to help you every step of the way, reach out to us at 1-866-MAX-PAY1 or 1-866-629-7291 if there is any guidance we can provide.