A house fire ends when the fire department says it is out, but what it leaves behind is only starting. We answer water damage calls across Azle and northwest Tarrant County, and when a call comes in after a fire, the first thing we tell people is that nothing else can begin until the house is safe. This post follows the first 24 hours in order. The safety steps come from the federal Ready.gov guide to home fires, and the drying advice comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We link both so you can read them yourself.
First: get out and stay out
Ready.gov describes how quickly a fire moves: in less than 30 seconds a small flame can turn into a major fire, and it only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house. If you cannot reach someone who needs help, Ready.gov says to leave the home and call 9-1-1 or the fire department, and to tell the operator where the person is. Its advice for the escape itself is to drop to the floor and crawl low, under any smoke, to your exit, because heavy smoke and poisonous gases collect first along the ceiling. Before opening a door, feel the doorknob and the door. If either is hot, or smoke is coming around the door, leave it closed and use your second way out.
Once you are out, stay out. Ready.gov’s instruction for after a fire is to check with the fire department to make sure your residence is safe to enter. Do not go back inside for belongings, however small, until the fire department tells you it is safe.
The first few hours
Ready.gov lists several things to do once the immediate danger has passed:
- Find a place to stay. If you need temporary housing, food or medicines, Ready.gov says to contact your local disaster relief service, such as the Red Cross.
- Leave the utilities alone. Ready.gov says not to attempt to reconnect utilities yourself. The fire department should make sure utilities are either safe to use or disconnected before they leave the site.
- Call your insurance company, if you have a policy. Ready.gov’s guidance is to contact the company for detailed instructions on protecting your property, conducting an inventory and contacting restoration companies.
- Notify your mortgage company. Ready.gov lists this as one of the steps after a fire.
After the fire department clears the house
When you are allowed back in, the first job is documentation. Ready.gov says to conduct an inventory of damaged property and items, and not to throw away any damaged goods until the inventory is done. It also says to begin saving receipts for any money you spend related to the fire, because they may be needed later. Take photographs of each room as it is, before anything is moved.
Then look at what the fire did not burn. Smoke and soot travel on warm air, so rooms the fire never touched can still be affected. And look at the floors. Firefighting uses a lot of water.
The water is on a clock
This is the part that surprises most people. Firefighting leaves heavy water damage behind, and that water keeps soaking into carpet, padding, drywall and framing after the trucks leave. The EPA’s guide, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, says it is important to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. The same 24 to 48 hour drying clock applies to a house that was wet putting out a fire. We cover that clock in more detail in our post on mold after water damage.
That means the first 24 hours matter twice. The first priority is safety. Right behind it is getting a crew started on the water, so the drying has a chance to finish inside the EPA’s window.
What our team does
Once the fire department has cleared the house, you can call us any hour. Our team removes the soot, the smoke odor and the water, and then dries the structure. You can read how that works on our fire damage restoration in Azle page. The water side of the job, from extraction through drying, is the same work described on our water damage restoration in Azle page.
Our work is cleanup and drying. Repair of burned structure is a separate job that follows once the house is dry and clean, and we tell you plainly where our part ends.
Before the next fire
Ready.gov also lists steps worth taking now, while nothing is wrong:
- Practice your home fire escape plan twice each year.
- Find two ways out of each room, in case the main way is blocked by fire or smoke.
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement.
- Replace smoke alarm batteries twice a year, unless you are using 10-year lithium batteries.
- Sleep with your bedroom door closed.
- Keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen.
If you are dealing with a fire now, contact Water Damage Azle or call the number on this page once the fire department has cleared the house. Our line is answered 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays.
Sources
- Ready.gov, Home Fires
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home