The First 24 Hours After a House Fire: What to Do and What to Leave Alone

In the first 24 hours after a house fire, your job is short: keep everyone safe and housed, stay out of the building until the fire department clears it, notify your insurance company, and get the property secured against weather and trespassing. Most cleaning should wait. Wiping soot with the wrong method tends to push it deeper into paint, fabric, and carpet, so the best thing you can do for many surfaces is leave them alone.

Start with people, pets, and a place to stay

Anyone who breathed smoke should be checked by a medical professional, even if they feel fine at the scene. Children, older adults, and people with asthma or heart and lung conditions are affected more quickly, and symptoms can show up hours later.

Next, settle where you will sleep tonight. Many homeowners policies include coverage for additional living expenses when a home is not livable, but that depends on your policy, so ask your insurer directly. Relief organizations such as the Red Cross often help families in the first hours after a fire. Keep every receipt for lodging, meals, clothing, and toiletries from this point on.

Do not go back in until you are cleared

A fire that is out does not make a house safe. Wait for the fire department to tell you that you may enter, and follow any limits they set on rooms or floors.

Hazards that are easy to miss:

• Floors, stairs, and ceilings weakened by fire or by the weight of water
• Hot spots that can rekindle hours later
• Wet wiring, outlets, and appliances
• Soot and ash in the air, including residue from burned plastics and synthetic materials
• Broken glass, exposed nails, and slick floors

If utilities were shut off, leave them off. Gas and electrical service should be restored by the utility or a licensed professional, not by flipping a breaker to see what works. Do not run the furnace or air conditioner either. A system that pulled in smoke will spread soot through every duct and room it serves.

Calls to make on day one

1. Your insurance company or agent. Report the loss, get a claim number, and ask what they need from you and what they want you to hold off on. Our insurance claims page explains how the process generally works.
2. A restoration company for emergency board-up, roof tarping, and water removal. You are generally free to choose your own contractor.
3. The fire department's non-emergency line, to ask how to request a copy of the fire report. Your adjuster will likely want it.

If you are allowed inside, keep the trip short

Wear sturdy closed-toe shoes, long sleeves, gloves, and a well-fitted N95 or better mask. Go in daylight, bring a flashlight, and limit the visit to a few minutes. People with asthma, allergies, or other breathing conditions should stay out and let someone else go.

What to bring out

• Identification, passports, and insurance papers
• Prescription medications, glasses, and hearing aids. Ask your pharmacist or doctor before using any medication that was exposed to heat or smoke.
• Phones, chargers, and laptops. Do not power on electronics that were near heat, smoke, or water until they have been evaluated.
• A small number of irreplaceable items, such as photo albums

What to document

Take wide photos and video of every room before anything is moved, then closer shots of damaged items. Start a written list of what was lost as you think of it. Do not throw anything away yet, even items that are clearly ruined. Your adjuster may need to see them.

What to leave alone

This is the part most people get wrong, usually out of a reasonable urge to start fixing things.

• Walls, ceilings, and woodwork. Soot smears easily, and household cleaners can set the stain. Professional cleaning starts with dry methods chosen for the type of residue.
• Carpet and upholstery. Walking on sooty carpet or sitting on sooty furniture grinds particles into the fibers. A household vacuum can blow fine soot back into the air.
• Clothing and bedding. Ordinary washing can lock in smoke odor. Set these items aside for specialized contents restoration.
• Food and drinks. Discard anything exposed to heat, smoke, soot, or firefighting water, including canned goods that were close to the fire.
• The area where the fire started. Investigators and adjusters may need it undisturbed.

Why the first day matters for the building

Two things keep causing damage after the flames are out. Soot is acidic, and within hours to days it can discolor plastics, tarnish metal, and etch glass and stone. At the same time, the water used to fight the fire soaks into drywall, insulation, and subfloors, and mold can begin growing on wet materials within roughly 24 to 48 hours.

That is why fire and smoke damage restoration usually begins with securing the structure and extracting water rather than with scrubbing. At Air Force Restoration, drying a fire-damaged house follows the same steps as any water damage restoration job: air movers, dehumidifiers, and moisture readings to confirm materials are actually dry.

A Nebraska winter adds one more concern. A house with no heat can freeze, so the plumbing may need to be drained or winterized to prevent burst pipes on top of the fire damage.

A short list for the first day

If you remember nothing else, remember this order:

1. Get everyone checked and find a place to stay.
2. Stay out until the fire department clears the house.
3. Call your insurer and get a claim number.
4. Have the property boarded, tarped, and secured.
5. Photograph everything and save receipts.
6. Leave the cleaning to people with the right equipment.

The first day is about safety and preventing further loss. Repair decisions can wait until you have slept and talked with your adjuster.