FIRE DAMAGE · HIRING GUIDE
How to compare a fire damage cleanup scope
A fire damage cleanup proposal should say what the company will address, what it will protect and what remains for another trade. Compare those details before comparing totals.
Fire damage can affect more than the room where flames were visible. A cleanup company may address soot, odor, water used during firefighting, contents or damaged materials. Another proposal may include a different combination. Ask each company to identify its scope without assuming the work restores every area of the home.
Confirm access and safety first
Do not arrange work inside the home until the fire department or relevant authority says it is safe to enter. The U.S. Fire Administration gives the same direction in its after-fire guide. Source: U.S. Fire Administration, After the Fire.
Compare the included work
- Which rooms, surfaces and contents are included?
- What cleanup, removal, protection or contents handling is proposed?
- How will the company separate unaffected areas from work areas?
- What testing, monitoring or documentation is proposed, and what decision does it support?
- What work is excluded or requires another trade?
Ask the contractor to explain what could change after access is available or materials are opened. Keep the approval process for added work in writing.
Keep the insurance process separate
Contact the insurance company promptly if you have coverage and ask what it wants you to do first. The U.S. Fire Administration also advises asking cleaning and restoration companies for written cost estimates. Source: U.S. Fire Administration, After the Fire.
A restoration proposal does not guarantee an insurance decision or a final repair result. Keep your photos, inventory, correspondence and signed documents together.
Plan the handoff
Ask when cleanup ends and which next steps may need roofing, electrical, plumbing, flooring or other repair work. A clear handoff helps avoid a gap where each provider assumes someone else will handle a condition.
Ask for photos or a written closeout note that identifies the areas completed and the areas left for later repair. Keep it with the original damage record and insurer correspondence. The note is a project record, not a declaration that the home is safe to reoccupy or that every fire-related condition has been resolved.
Question: Why does a fire cleanup proposal not include rebuilding?
Answer: Cleanup and reconstruction can be separate scopes with different access, materials and decisions. Ask the company to list what it will do, what it will not do and how it will document the handoff to later repair work.
To describe a fire damage project after the site is safe, start a fire damage request. PickedPros is a matching service. Contractors provide their own proposals, and you decide whether to hire.