If there is anything scarier than a house fire, we’d like to know what it is. Whether you are awake or asleep, a fire in the home is terrifying. It can wipe out your memories and your sense of stability within moments, and it’s not easy to recover from. A house fire can hit you hard in the wallet, but it hits you in the heart more than anything else. You’re losing everything from the walls and roof to the belongings that you have spent years building up – it’s a big loss.

With the right steps taken after the fact, you can make sure that you recover your losses and heal properly from the damage. Asking people in your life for a helping hand isn’t weak, nor is it something you should avoid. You need to be able to get back on your feet after a house fire devastates your family and your life, and to be able to do that you need the following steps to get back to normal.

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1. Having the right insurance is so important, so if you were smart enough to have life and home insurance, you are going to need to contact your home insurance company as soon as possible after the fire. You shouldn’t touch the site of the fire until after you’ve had some help to assess it, whether that’s your insurance company or a public adjuster who can help you with your case. Take pictures and videos and take the steps necessary to prevent anything additional happening to the property.
2. The fire department has to clear the area and let you know that it’s safe before you can set foot anywhere near it. You need to know that you’re not about to bring the whole house down when you step foot in your house. Waiting won’t mean that you are waiting years, either; give them a call before you call the insurance companies!
3. Assessing the damage may take some time but you need to know what the cost of this will be to repair. You need to know what you lost in this fire so that you can assess how much you need to spend to get your home back to what it was before the fire happened. You need to make a list of all the repairs that will be needed to rebuild the home properly. The last thing that you want to do is not know what the process is and find that you are out of pocket and out of time to rebuild!
4. Find a place to stay for you and your family once you know what resources your insurance company will pay out to you. If you know that they will put you up in a hotel, take advantage of this. Everything you spend, keep the receipts so that you can claim with them afterward.
5. Look after yourself as best you can. A fire is a traumatic event, and you and your family will need time to heal and take care of yourselves. You need to get some counselling and medical care, and you need to get back to routines as best you can as fast as you are able to. Consistency is key!