What to Do After a House Fire? Read 8 Tips
Feb 14, 2019 Home Improvement
A house fire can leave bad bruises on the people, their loved ones and pocket. Reconstructing sometime may feel like an impossible task. Here are some basic steps to help you put together your life if you ever find yourself in such situation :-
- Find a safe shelter
A safe and comfortable spot for the family can relax the family and give the necessary comfort and time to plan next moves in order to recover as much as you can while not worrying much about the family. As such incidents are terrifying experiences for kids and pets, they should be treated with special care. - Contact the insurance Agent
Filing the claim immediately can boost the services by them which can ease the expenses of repairing costs or search for new home. Some carriers can also aid daily expenses under loss of use funds. - Contact the Police
Damaged goods are in the eyes of thieves and looters. Informing the local police will ensure the protection of home in your absence. Sealing the windows and doors can work as an additional layer of security if transferring is an issue. Though, it should be checked with the fire department that the house is safe to enter. - Plan Your Finances
The expenditure does not decreases with the fire rather increase. It is better to notify service providers like mortgages, cable tv, internet services and cancel the services till you achieve the stable financial condition. It is common to lose possessions of day to day objects like clothing, utensils. Replacing these items should be done carefully of budget is a constraint. - Check on the Safety of Your Home
Fire degrades the structural integrity of home and weaken the walls and ceiling making it dangerous to enter. Before entering you should get approval from local fire department regarding any toxic fumes and damaged structure. Entering the home can also void the insurance policy, which is why you need to be aware about all the conditions before re-entering in the house even if it is to recover item. - Writing list of damaged or lost goods
A list of damaged or lost goods no matter how big or small can ease the burden of purchases as you can prioritise the objects based on their importance and this can help the expenses. This can be a difficult task if your home was completely destroyed or cannot be accessed. Online receipts can be presented as proof of purchase as most service providers now send an invoice by email. A separate list of important documents like driver's license, birth certificates, Adhar card, passport, etc. which are lost or unusable because of fire should be made and replaced as soon as possible as these documents are needed everywhere for identification including while claiming the insurance. - Save Undamaged Possessions
The recovered items should be checked very well regarding any hidden damage. There are professional services available regarding cleaning and restoring the fire-affected goods. Temporary space can be rented to store these goods after they are restored successfully. - Approval before Turning on Utilities
After restoration, it is noticed that firefighters turn off basic utilities to prevent further damage while combating the fire. The disconnection should not be disturbed before contacting the fire department and utility provider. Connecting them without consideration can be hazardous like gas leak, water leakage, etc.
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Onal Kothari
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