What to do after a house fire
Now the biggest thing people ask, What is the first thing to do after my house burns?
First of all, if you have any home left, DO NOT enter the house without it being inspected to see if it is safe enough for you to go in. Before this happens, the fire investigators will come to investigate how they think the fire may have started. They have will have to do a report, and you better hope they don’t accuse you of arson.
Arson is basically burning down you property on purpose. The biggest cause of this is just to simply collect the insurance money and buy or build a new home. The picture above is a good representation of what the investigators will do. It isn’t a simple walk through as you can see it is an extensive process to see how the fire started.
The process of looking to see how a fire started is trying to look at burn patterns and if they suspect arson, proof that an accelerator was used. An accelerator is something like gasoline that promotes the spread and size of fire. IF you are in fact charged with arson it can be a huge problem including fines and possibly jail time, so please do not try and burn your own house down.
So if you are not charged with arson, after the fire investigators are done with their job now comes the long process of rebuilding you and your families lives, one bit at a time.
The first step I always recommend doing is contacting your insurance agency! You need to let them know what has happened and let them know you will need somewhere to stay until you figure things out. Even if your house has been burned in just a certain spot or section of the house, DO NOT sleep in that house until it has been restored and cleaned up the correct way. If this is not done, and you decide to sleep in the house, you risk the chance of getting sick from the chemicals that were released when things were burned. The way things are manufactured in this day and age, everything has deadly chemicals infused.
After you tell your insurance company you need somewhere to sleep and you have been given the okay to enter the house (if you can), enter the house and look for personal item that can be saved. Whenever this is done, you need to find a good clean up and restoration company.
The picture to your left is a good example of what the companies can do for you. The company will come in and begin the huge project of restoring your home to the way it once was. They will first ask if you have any personal items such as- pictures, documents, collectibles, etc. that have smoke or water damage. They will then take these items and run them through the machine below.
This machine called the iS4000 and will take the water and that awful smoke smell out of your personal items. Now sadly all restoration companies do not have the luxury of this machine. So if you do have items that survived, and it is important to you, make sure you find a company that has one.
Now more than half of the time volunteer groups will find out that your house has burned down and will show up to help you. The biggest one is the famous American Red Cross. Most of the time they will bring you food, water, and some basic hygiene supplies. The Red Cross is an amazing organization that will come to your rescue in the blink of an eye.
Now of course with your home being on fire it will attract a lot of attention, and one group of people will show up, that will more than likely infuriate you. This organization is the lovely media. The picture to the left is a good example, even though in Arizona, it ill happen to you. The media kind of feeds off of your pain and suffering just to get a “good story”. It is absolutely sickening. Whether it be your news, or newspaper, they will show up and try to get a huge story off of your pain and agony of basically losing your whole life. Do not be afraid to either make those bloodsuckers leave or tell the firefighters to get them the hell out of there. You just lost your house and belongings the last thing you need is a reporter or a camera in your face. As far as interviews go, I think that they aren’t necessary and most are not real or edited. However, there are some interviews that I feel can show how awful these fires can be emotionally, and physically. This live interview is from a young woman whos house was burned the summer before her senior year of high school.
Now I know that all of this is easier said than done, I know from experience of being a firefighter that this process is long and strenuous. But, there are multiple people and organizations that are more than willing to help you every step of the way. Whether it be the Red Cross, family, neighbors, the firefighters, police, etc. We are more than happy to help and assist you in any way possible, and always remember, you are not alone.
