Home fires are one of the leading causes of property damage these days. It can be caused due to carelessness, accidents, or some fault in the electrical system, but whatever the case, the results can be devastating. Depending on the main construction material used in your home, you may have something leftover from the fire or you may have nothing at all. In either case, it is important that you start building from the ground up. Here is what you can do to get started with rebuilding your home after a fire.
1. Get In Touch With Insurance
Having home insurance is a legal requirement but the kind of policy you get is up to you. A lot of people opt for the most basic plan and this might not cover damage by fire. It’s best to get in touch with your insurance provider as soon as you can and also contact your home warranty provider if you use a home warranty. How much your insurance can help in the rebuild and what kind of specific things they can assist with will depend entirely on the specifications of your policy.
2. Secure The Building
Parts of the home will be exposed after a fire. Broken windows, burnt down doors, or entire sections of the wall that have been destroyed. The first thing to do is to get temporary fencing to cover that area. At the very least, you should get some thick plastic sheets and some cardboard to cover up the exposed sections until you can implement a permanent solution.
3. Get A Professional Evaluation
Just because a part of the home isn’t burnt after the fire doesn’t mean it hasn’t been impacted. House fires can create a lot of heat and the high temperature in the home can easily melt wiring and cause your piping to explode within the walls. An important step in post fire rebuilds is to get a professional evaluation done to determine the condition of the home. This way you will be able to highlight all the areas that need to be redone, and you will also find out which parts of the home are still safe to use.
4. Salvage Usable Items
After a fire in your home, especially if it was just restricted to a small part of the home, you might still have a lot of things that you can salvage from the building. If you know how to properly clean up you can still recover a lot of things after the fire. You might be able to buy clothes and other belongings later on, but certain things like a family tree or an heirloom are irreplaceable.
Luckily, there are a number of things that you can do with items to get them back in good condition. They might never be the same again, but at least you will still have them. Similarly, there are certain things that you should never use after a fire, for instance, electrical wiring. You can’t gauge the condition of such an item so it is best to start fresh.
5. Clean
The cleaning process is long and difficult after a fire. Especially if the fire has penetrated a large part of the home or has come in contact with drainage lines and other sensitive parts of the building, it can be rather difficult. The first thing that you want to remove is shattered glass. Under all the soot, ash, and debris, it can be hard to spot small pieces of glass, making it a safety hazard.
Try to remove all the glass you can easily see before moving in to clean. With all the big things cleared out, you will have to deal with the smell. A good way to mitigate the smell of fire is to repaint the building. This will remove the residual scent of smoke from the walls since the smell of new paint can overcome even the most overpowering burnt smell.
6. Rebuild
When you start rebuilding, remember that the fire will have severely impacted the integrity of the structure. If you are rebuilding a large portion of the home, it might be better to demolish the remaining part and start all over again. If it is just a small area of the home then you might be able to get away with rebuilding just that part. While you are rebuilding, take this opportunity to double-check all spaces in the home and make sure you have covered all the weak points that could lead to a disaster in the future.
Recovering from a house fire can be financially challenging. There are a number of organizations that you can reach out to and seek financial aid in during this process. They can provide you with information, resources, and the financial assistance that you might need to make your home livable again. If you don’t find any service providers in your city, you can always reach out to international organizations that provide assistance to affected people no matter where they are.
