What’s In This Articles

• Estimating Fire Damage and Restoration Costs
• What Should You Do After a Fire in Your Home?
• What Are the Fire Damage Restoration Costs Going to Be?
• Fire Damage and Restoration Costs Also Vary Depending on the Extent and Type of Fire You Had
• If You Need a Public Adjuster for a Fire Damage Insurance Claim Call AllCity Adjusting

Estimating Fire Damage and Restoration Costs

Having a house fire can be one of the worst (and terrifying) experiences you can go through. Hopefully, everyone in your family is safe. Now, getting back to normal is your priority. Even if your house is intact, fire, smoke, soot and water can leave your home severely damaged. Therefore, you will now have to deal with fire damage and restoration costs to restore your home.

What Should You Do After a Fire in Your Home?

One of the first things to do is call your insurance agent or homeowners’ insurance company to report the fire. The soon you report the fire, the sooner the fire damage process can begin.

Next, as soon as it is safe, enter your home and take pictures of the fire-damaged areas. TAKE MANY PICTURES!

For example, take pictures of singed curtains and furniture. Take pictures of the pools of water or soaked carpets from the firefighting efforts. In addition, take pictures of the soot and smoke stains on walls and ceilings.

If there are items like furniture, wall coverings, appliances, etc., that are too damaged to repair, take pictures of them before you throw them out.

Indeed, inspect every room in the house. Remember, soot, smoke and heat will go to areas of your home that were never touched by flames.

An adjuster from your home insurance company will come to inspect the damage to your home. They’ll gather their own evidence and document the types of damage themselves.

When that adjuster comes, make sure he/she sees every damaged area of your home. For instance, if there is damage in a crawl space, point it out to him.

Likewise, if there is damage in your basement, take him to your basement.

Make sure he sees the stains on your walls and ceilings from smoke, soot and water.

What Are the Fire Damage Restoration Costs Going to Be?

Assuming the fire department used water to put out the fire, fire damage cleanup costs will be between $1,000 and $4,000 (Caveat: costs can vary from state to state). First, water damage cleanup and restoration involves removing all standing water.

Second, carpeting, drywall, and insulation that have taken on water are removed and disposed. Next, any personal property, such as furniture, curtains, clothing, etc., which can be salvaged, is sent to professional cleaners.

In addition, the water damage restoration company then dries the areas touched by water.

Lastly, they disinfect those areas to prevent mold growth.

While the fire is out, smoke and soot residue can linger on your walls, carpeting, furniture, and upholstery. Furthermore, soot and smoke create stains and discoloration on walls and ceilings,

In addition, soot and smoke residue are serious health hazards. Therefore, smoke and soot removal needs to be done by the restoration company.

Depending on the material, to remove smoke and soot residue involves vacuuming, blowing, and treating with a strong cleaning solution.

Alternatively, sometimes an ozone treatment is needed.

Smoke and soot removal costs an average between $2,000 and $6,000.

If you have central air conditioning and/or forced air heating, you will need your air ducts and vents professionally cleaned. Otherwise, trapped smoke odors from the fire will seep through your home. Costs range from $200 to $500.

Fire Damage and Restoration Costs Also Vary Depending on the Extent and Type of Fire You Had

Different types of fire create different damage in a home.

For instance, many house fires start with kitchen oil, grease, or related animal fats. In fact, kitchen fires flare up quickly. Additionally, kitchen fires cause damage to kitchen walls, cabinets, and appliances.

Moreover, these fires can also rapidly spread to other parts of the home.

Of course, as with many house fires, smoke and soot residue spread to other areas never touched by flames.

As such, kitchen fire restoration costs are on the expensive side. In effect, you are building a new kitchen. Therefore, fire restoration of a kitchen in a 2,500 square foot home can run between $12,000 to $20,000.

Typically, electrical fires start at faulty outlets via appliances that “short out”. These fires can start in a room where no one from the family is. Consequently, they can burn for several minutes and spread quickly (unless there are smoke detectors and someone is home to hear them go off).

The cost of fire damage restoration after an electrical fire costs are from $12,000 to $23,000 for a 2,500 square feet home.

When common materials like paper, wood, plastic, etc., catch fire, experts call it an ordinary combustible fire, or a Class A fire. These fires don’t spread as quickly as kitchen oil fires or electrical fires. In addition, fire extinguishers can put these fires out efficiently. Therefore, the cost of fire damage restoration for A Class A fire is typically lower than other types of fires. Consequently, we estimate the fire and damage restoration costs to be between $9,000 and $14,000 for a 2,500 square feet house.

Notwithstanding the above, if a Class A fire, or any other type of fire, does structural damage to a home, the cost to repair your home can skyrocket.

Gas fires differ from kitchen oil fires. Fires involving flammable household liquids like petroleum, oil, and even oil paint, are tough to put out. Those fires require smothering or a chemical that produces a similar result. As such, they create tons of damage in their wake and can leave dangerous chemically tainted smoke and soot residue throughout the home.

If You Need a Public Adjuster for a Fire Damage Insurance Claim Call AllCity Adjusting

We are a family-owned claims company with five decades of combined adjusting experience. As a result, if there’s one thing we understand, it’s that you need 100% of your claim value.

You have already gone through a tumultuous event. For this reason, get an agency that gets you more.

At AllCity Adjusting we work to ensure you get 100% of your fire damage claim value. Equally important, with over 50 years of combined adjusting experience, we know insurance companies and understand where they cut corners. Moreover, we help you build a larger claim, maximize your claim value, and get you back to normal fast.

Therefore, don’t get fooled, get the company that gets you more.

If you have received a low-ball offer from the insurance company, or they are taking too long to process your fire damage claim or you just want to talk to someone on your side, call us at 844.692.3587 or email us at info@allcityadhjusting.com.