What to Do After a House Fire: The First Day, Week and Month

The first 24 hours

1. Get cleared to enter. Fire can rekindle and floors, ceilings and stairs may be weakened. Go in only when the fire department allows it, and wear sturdy shoes, gloves and an N95 mask.
2. Find a place to stay. If you have nowhere to go, the American Red Cross helps families after home fires with emergency lodging, food and essentials. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
3. Call your insurance company. Ask what your policy covers for living expenses and whether they want you to arrange board-up yourself.
4. Secure the house. Broken windows, doors and roof openings need boarding and tarping so rain and intruders can’t get in. Insurers generally expect you to protect the property from further damage.
5. Leave utilities off. The fire department or utility company may have shut off power, gas or water. Don’t turn them back on yourself; have each one checked first.
6. Take what you need, if allowed: ID, medicine, glasses, phones, chargers, wallets and pets’ supplies.

The first week

• Get the fire report. Your insurer will ask for it. In Murfreesboro, ask Murfreesboro Fire Rescue how to request it; in the county, Rutherford County Fire Rescue.
• Document everything with photos and video, room by room, before anything is thrown out or cleaned.
• Start a list of damaged belongings with rough age and value. Bank and card statements, online order histories and old photos help fill gaps.
• Keep every receipt for hotels, meals, clothing and transport. Additional living expense coverage reimburses many of these.
• Throw out exposed food and medicine. Anything near heat, smoke, soot or firefighting water, including canned goods and the fridge, should go once it’s been documented.
• Tell the people who need to know: your mortgage lender, the post office to hold or forward mail, your employer, your children’s schools.
• Get the water out. Water from fire hoses soaks walls and floors and grows mold within days if the house isn’t dried.

What can be saved after a house fire

Don’t plug in or switch on anything that was in the fire, smoke or water until it’s checked. Keep damaged items until the adjuster has seen them.

Is it safe to breathe the air?

Soot and smoke residue contain fine particles and chemicals from burned plastics and building materials, and they stay on surfaces until they’re cleaned, not just until the smoke clears. Children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with asthma or heart conditions should stay out of the house until it’s cleaned. Wear an N95 mask and gloves when you go in.

Longer term

Expect the restoration to run in stages: securing and drying, then soot and odor cleanup, then rebuilding. Ask for a written scope of work you and your adjuster can compare. Keep a folder (paper or on your phone) with the claim number, adjuster’s contact details, receipts, the fire report and every estimate.

When it needs a professional

Soot is oily and acidic, and wiping it with water smears it deeper; smoke odor sits inside walls and ducts. Cleanup beyond a small kitchen flare-up is crew work. See how fire damage restoration handles board-up, soot, odor and rebuild.