A house fire that destroys everything that you own can be one of the most devastating things in one’s life. It takes at least a year to get back to a half way normal way of life. First, after seeing the horrible sight, one must sift through the remaining items, if there are any, and decide what to keep and what to throw out. And this is while you are breathing in soot and walking through caution tape and debris that is hazardous to say the least. You may think there are many remaining items that look OK and maybe it isn’t all THAT bad.
But then the vultures start arriving to let you know that your insurance is not going to treat you right and they have better options for you. They don’t care that you are in one of the lowest places you will ever be. And they don’t go away. These people are some of the worst people I can think of. They will not let you ignore them so you have to tell them politely to go away. But they will be back tomorrow…
This is in no way a complete list but a few salient points that one may not think about unless one has been through such an ordeal. Certain things depend on what insurance one has and what situation has occurred – a massive fire engulfing 100 houses or one lone house fire. Some people can be back to work in two days while others must take a leave of absence. Anyway, here are some tips to think about before you have a fire, some thoughts on what you might want to do after a fire and some ideas on what you could do for a friend or nieghbor who has been through a fire.
Some Things to Do Before You Have a Fire
Buy a decent fire safe and put things in there that you can not replace or do not want to replace. Place these items in plastic zipper bags. If you do not, water from fire hoses will penetrate the safe and get everything inside wet.
Copy computer data and make backups frequently of important photos, data and other things you may have. Keep these in the safe and/or at another location such as your parents’ or sibling’s home or in a safe deposit box.
Do not have a lot of ammunition and if you have some, keep it in an ammunition box or somewhere safe. Firefighters will not enter a house and try to fight a fire if they think they may get shot in the process by stay bullets going off.
Have appropriate fire extinguishers in different places of the house, especially in the kitchen and garage. Make sure these are checked yearly. Take a short course that allows you to use a fire extinguisher so you are familiar with how it works and are not scared of it.
Things to Do After you Have a Fire
One has to have a place to stay that is not temporary, at least a week. That may seem short but it establishes a sense of normalcy. The insurance company should put you up in a hotel nearby for up to a month until you can find someplace to stay or rent a place comparable to what you have. They will pay for both while you continue to pay your mortgage. They don’t usually pay anything for pets – boarding or vet bills.
Storage is another big deal. One can take things to the hotel room they put you in at first. But after a while the smell of burnt possessions gets to you and then you have to find alternate storage. It is best if you can find someone who has some free space or rent a storage space.
The other big item, albeit a luxury, would be something like an air purifier. You come home from working in the fire. You have possessions that are partially burned. They all smell like smoke. You can’t get away from it. Something to help alleviate that particular issue would be very nice in dealing with the evenings during the fire recovery.
The next most important things are what you will need for the first weeks and the initial weeks after that. This includes things like throw away clothing that you can wear when you go through the rubble. Trust me, you will never want to keep that clothing. This includes anything from cheap boots to overalls ( you really don’t care what you look like ). You will need the items when you get to “semi” permanent housing – an air mattress and sheets so that you have a place to sleep when move into your rental property. This is where all the little things come into play. Things like towels, toilet paper, toiletries, shower curtain, cooler, etc.
Kitchenware is another item to replace. Don’t get me wrong you will need the right spoon for everything, but the basics are necessary in the beginning. One thing to add here is that you should get things that you enjoy and will be worth keeping. Keep the receipts for everything because you will be sending or faxing them to insurance to be reimbursed. These things will be what you repopulate your future house with.
You may get some stuff back after the fire – like Pyrex measuring cups. But you have to wait until insurance inventories everything. Then restoration people come in, pack it all up, clean it and give it back to you after several months. Most stuff will not be returned to you since they are not allowed to give you back electronic things and regular glass has a tendency to break after being in such high heat.
Keep receipts for groceries and restaurants as well. They pay you back for groceries – up to what they estimate you had in your house. They will give you a percentage of restaurant bills back until you live in your more permanent housing. Go out to a nice restaurant even if you don’t feel like it. It will make you feel better. Make sure you have a few drinks if that helps you.
When you go through the item in your home with the insurance agent, they will ask you how old each item was and how much it costs. They will photograph it and record all their comments and these will be written down later. Eventually, they will have some company go through and estimate what each item costs and they will calculate the depreciation. Different things depreciate at different rates. Some insurance companies offer to replace things at the value they cost today. So, if you bought a radio five years ago at $50 and it depreciates 10% per year, you would get $25 back. Or you could go out and buy a similar radio again for $60 or so.
One problem is that they usually determine worth of contents of the hosue as a percentage of the cost of rebuilding your house. This means that if you have a cheaper house and more expensive contents, you must increase the amount of insurance you have. If you have a lot of computer equipment, get additional insurance. Usually, they only insure up to $5000. Things like jewelry should also be appraised and insured.
They will tell you to throw out everything. Please don’t. You will regret this for the rest of your life. If you have something that means a lot to you, give it to the restoration people and they will do their best to clean it up and return it to you. In the worst case, it falls apart and you never see it again. If it smells like smoke, you can put it in a case. If you are not happy with it, you can still call it a loss and get reimbursed up to a year (or two?) later. Just think about it before you let them throw your possessions into a trash container.
Things You Can Do for Others after They Had a Fire
One thing that may not seem like a big deal is home-cooked meals. Bring over meals for them to eat. It can even be people you have never met before, but the fact of the matter is that the next couple of weeks are going to be a blur for them. Not having to worry about food is a serious plus. These will be extremely appreciated. McDonalds only goes so far and it becomes the staple for too many meals during this time period. If you know someone well, some of you could come up with a weekly calendar for volunteers to do a meal for the family. That would be a huge help.
Gift certificates are one of the best things you could possibly give. If you come home from your burnt out house, the last thing you want to do is deal with basic stuff like food or supplies. Gift certificates can be used right away and people will be very grateful for them. One way to give them is in a basket with a plant like a Lily as the centerpiece and a bottle of wine. The reality is that the little things that you don’t have to deal with are some of the best things that may help during this time. For these certificates I would recommend things like Vons, Wal-Mart, and restaurants that are everywhere.
If they have a pet and you have a place for it to stay while they are in a hotel, it would be better for the pet and the owner. Unless they need to comfort one another, being locked up in a hotel room for weeks is no fun for anyone.
Depending on their situation, things like old shoes and clothing for taking inventory of the house would be thoughtful. Why buy a new pair of shoes for that? Also, if the family is not insured, the real help needs to start. They will not have ANYTHING. At this point absolutely anything will be of help.
An Ounce of Prevention…
Hopefully, no one will ever have to go through a house fire. But these tips are things to consider if you or someone you know does. Be safe and prepared!
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