TL;DR: After a house fire, the fire department comes first if they haven’t already. Once they’ve cleared the structure, call your homeowners insurance company to open a claim, then a licensed fire and water restoration company to board up the property, extract water left by firefighting hoses, and start smoke and soot cleanup. In Topsfield, MA, most homeowners make all three calls within the first 24 hours.
If the fire trucks just pulled away and you’re standing on your lawn looking at a scorched kitchen or a smoke-filled colonial on a quiet Topsfield street, the next few hours matter more than almost any other part of this process. Broken windows let rain and animals in. Firefighting water sits in subfloors and starts growing mold within 24 to 48 hours. Soot keeps etching into finishes the longer it sits. Here’s the order to make calls in, and what each one actually does.
Who do I call first after a house fire?
The fire department comes first, always, even if the fire is already out and you’re calling about a smoldering wood stove or chimney issue. Once firefighters have confirmed the structure is safe to approach, your next two calls are your homeowners insurance company and a restoration company.
Your insurer opens the claim and assigns an adjuster. A restoration company secures the property the same day, usually before the adjuster even arrives, because an open house with no power and broken windows is a liability nobody wants sitting overnight. Many restoration companies, including a local fire and water restoration company, can call the insurer on your behalf once you’re on site and authorize emergency mitigation.
What does a fire restoration company actually do?
A fire damage restoration company stabilizes the building first, then cleans and restores what can be saved. The first visit typically covers board-up, tarping, and a walk-through to document damage for the claim.
After the building is secured, the work usually moves through several phases: extracting water left by firefighting hoses, removing charred and unsalvageable materials, cleaning soot from salvageable surfaces and contents, and treating lingering smoke odor. Work is typically performed to the ANSI/IICRC S700 fire and smoke restoration standard, which sets the technical benchmark for how soot and odor should be assessed and cleaned. Smoke damage cleanup and odor removal are usually billed and scheduled as separate phases from the structural repairs, since they call for different equipment, like HEPA air scrubbers and hydroxyl generators, run over different timelines.
What’s on a fire damage checklist for the first 24 to 48 hours?
The first two days are about stopping further damage and documenting what already happened, in that order.
- Confirm the fire department has officially cleared the structure before anyone re-enters.
- Photograph every room, including ceilings, before anything is moved or cleaned.
- Call your insurance company and get a claim number.
- Arrange board-up and roof tarping for any broken windows or breached roof sections. A roofing crew usually handles tarp installation when the fire burned through the roof deck.
- Shut off power at the main breaker if a licensed electrician or the utility hasn’t already confirmed it’s safe.
- Avoid running HVAC systems, which can spread soot through ductwork into rooms the fire never touched.
- Don’t attempt to clean soot yourself with household cleaners; wiping dry soot often grinds it deeper into fabric and drywall.
Why is there water damage after a fire that never touched a hose?
Firefighting uses hundreds to thousands of gallons of water, and most of it ends up soaked into subfloors, insulation, and drywall long after the flames are out. That water needs to be extracted and the structure dried the same way a flood would be handled.
The EPA notes mold can begin growing within 24 to 48 hours on wet building materials, which is why water extraction and structural drying usually starts the same day as board-up, not after the insurance adjuster’s visit. Waiting even a few extra days can turn a drying job into a demolition job.
What should I throw away after smoke damage?
Some items are rarely worth trying to save: perishable food, medications, and cosmetics exposed to heat or smoke should be discarded, since heat and soot particles can contaminate them in ways that aren’t visible. Porous items held very close to the fire, like heavily charred bedding or upholstery, often fall into the same category.
Harder items like dishes, metal cookware, and most electronics can frequently be cleaned and tested rather than thrown out. A restoration contents team typically sorts items into salvageable, cleanable, and total-loss categories during the pack-out, which also gives the insurance adjuster a documented list for the claim.
When is it safe to go back inside after a fire?
It’s safe to re-enter once the fire department has officially released the structure and a licensed electrician or the utility company has confirmed the electrical system is safe to use. Every department handles clearance a little differently, so ask the officer on scene directly rather than assuming.
Even after clearance, structural damage, weakened flooring, and lingering carbon monoxide from smoldering materials can make a building unsafe to occupy for daily living. The U.S. Fire Administration’s guidance on returning home after a fire is a good general reference while you wait for a restoration contractor’s assessment of structural soundness.
With heating season underway across Essex County, wood stove flare-ups and chimney fires tend to climb through the fall and winter in older Topsfield homes. If you’re dealing with one now, the same call order applies: fire department, insurer, then restoration.
About This Guide
This guide was prepared by Hernany Dasilva with input from an IICRC-certified technicians fire, water, and smoke restoration crew founded in 2003 and licensed under Massachusetts HIC CS-113-396, serving Topsfield and the North Shore. Related reading: Fire & Smoke Restoration in Topsfield, MA: What to Expect From Start to Finish.
Call Restore & Repel at (800) 393-1532 for 24/7 board-up, water extraction, and smoke cleanup after a house fire in Topsfield or the surrounding North Shore towns.
Video Transcript
If your home in Topsfield just survived a fire, the next few hours matter more than almost any other part of this recovery. Call the fire department first, even if the flames are already out, until they officially confirm the structure is safe to enter. Next, call your homeowners insurance company right away to open a claim and get an adjuster assigned to your case. Then call a licensed fire and water restoration company to board up windows and stop further damage the same day. Firefighting water soaks into subfloors and walls, and mold can start growing within just twenty four to forty eight hours. A restoration team extracts that water, removes charred materials, and begins cleaning soot from every salvageable surface in your home. Don’t run your HVAC system after a fire, and don’t scrub soot yourself, since it often grinds deeper into fabric and drywall. Perishable food, medications, and heavily charred fabrics are rarely worth saving, but dishes, cookware, and electronics can often be cleaned. Only go back inside once the fire department clears the structure and an electrician confirms the power is truly safe. Call Restore & Repel at (800) 393-1532 to schedule an assessment and get your Topsfield home back on track.