After a House Fire, What Happens to Your Belongings

Wait for the All Clear

Do not go into a fire damaged home until the fire department says it is safe. FEMA’s ready.gov guidance is to check with the fire department before you enter. Soot and dirty water can make you sick, and structures can be weak, with broken glass, exposed nails and unstable stairs and ceilings.

Do not turn the power or gas back on yourself. FEMA says the fire department should make sure utilities are safe or disconnected before they leave, and reconnecting them is a job for the utility or a licensed professional. Do not plug in or turn on electronics that were near the fire or got wet. They may fail or start another fire.

If you need a place to stay, the Red Cross can help with shelter, food and medicine after a home fire. The fire department can put you in touch with the local chapter.

What Pack-Out Means

Pack-out is a service where trained crews inventory your belongings, wrap and box them, and move them to a storage or cleaning facility. It protects your things from more damage while the building is cleaned and repaired. It also clears the rooms so workers can get in.

The crew photographs and lists what leaves the house. That list becomes a record for your claim. Ask for a copy of the inventory and make sure it matches what you think you own.

After the home is ready, the items come back clean and are unpacked. Some companies handle all of this. Others use a separate contents division. Ask which one you are getting.

What Can Often Be Cleaned

Hard goods like dishes, metal tools, glass and many toys can often be washed or wiped, depending on the damage. Clothing and fabrics are often cleaned with laundering or dry cleaning, and the results vary by how much heat and smoke the item saw. Electronics are risky. Soot and acid residue can damage circuits over time, so have a professional look before you power them on.

Paper, photos and keepsakes are a special case. Some can be saved by experts, and some cannot. Our guide on saving wet or smoky photos and papers goes through the basics. Do not scrub or try to separate stuck pages. Put them in a clean container and ask for help.

Furniture and rugs may be cleaned in place or at a facility. Heavily charred or soaked pieces are often not worth cleaning, and your insurer may pay replacement value instead.

What Usually Has to Go

Throw away food that was exposed to heat, smoke or fire fighting water. That includes canned goods, which can be damaged by heat even if the can looks fine. Medicines and cosmetics near the fire are in the same group. When in doubt, ask your doctor or pharmacist about medicine.

Porous items that soaked up smoke or dirty water, such as mattresses, pillows and some upholstered items, are often discarded. A cleaning company can tell you what is realistic. Do not throw out anything before you photograph it and list it. FEMA’s advice is the same, make the inventory first. Your insurer may want to see items or at least photos first.

Smoke Smell and the Long Game

Smoke smell lives in soft and porous materials and in the building itself. Cleaning the surfaces helps. Sealing and air cleaning can help more. Be careful with ozone machines. The EPA says ozone can damage lungs and harm rubber, wire coatings and fabrics, and it should never run in an occupied home. Our guide on getting smoke odor out of a home covers what works.

If the smell stays after cleaning, the source is often still in the walls, insulation or ducts. Tell the cleaning company and your insurer. It may need a second pass.

Keep Your Claim Clean

Make a room by room list of what was lost. Add brand, age and what it cost if you remember. Use old photos, social media posts, receipts and bank statements to help. Many insurers have a form for this.

Ask your insurer how contents are paid, at actual cash value or replacement cost. Actual cash value subtracts for age and wear. Replacement cost pays closer to the price of a new item, sometimes after you replace it. This changes how much to spend on cleaning versus replacing.

Keep every receipt for cleaning, storage, hotels and meals. Ask whether your policy pays for extra living costs while you are out of your home.

When to Call a Pro and Your Insurer

Call your insurer the same day you can. Call a fire and smoke restoration company soon after, because soot and acid residue keep working on surfaces. Our guide on the first 48 hours after a house fire has the full order of calls. Call a pro for any structural damage, any water that came from the fire hose, any suspected asbestos or lead in older homes, and any electronics or appliances you want to keep.

Be careful of door to door offers right after a fire. Check licenses, get more than one quote, and do not sign over your claim before you understand it.