ARS PROPERTY-DAMAGE FIELD GUIDE

What to Do After a House Fire: First 24 Hours Checklist

A time-ordered field guide for protecting people, preserving information, and organizing the first day after a residential fire.

Do not re-enter because the flames are out. Hidden heat, weakened structural components, damaged utilities, contaminated water, sharp debris, and airborne residue may remain. Follow the fire department’s access instructions.

Before entering or approaching the structure

Account for household members and pets; tell emergency personnel immediately if anyone is missing.
Seek medical help for burns, smoke exposure, breathing difficulty, chest pain, confusion, or other concerning symptoms.
Do not cross fire-department barriers or enter until authorized.
Ask where household members can safely wait and how to receive updates.
If displaced, contact family, your insurer, or a disaster-relief organization for temporary lodging, food, medication, and essential needs.

First one to two hours

Record the basics: date, approximate time, property address, fire-department incident number, and the name of the responding department.
Identify access rules: who currently controls the scene, whether an investigation is pending, and when limited access may be allowed.
Contact the insurer: use the claim number as the common reference for future calls and documents. Ask what immediate protective work is authorized and what documentation is expected.
Protect the property only when permitted: damaged doors, windows, roof openings, and utilities may require qualified emergency stabilization.
Start one written log: every call, instruction, visitor, approval, expense, and decision goes in the same chronological record.

The rest of the first day

Document conditions safely

Photograph and video only from areas you are permitted to access.
Start wide, then move closer: exterior elevations, room entry, whole room, affected assembly, then item detail.
Include nearby rooms, lower levels, attic or crawlspace access points, utility areas, and HVAC returns only when safely accessible.
Do not move or discard items merely to make photographs cleaner.

Protect essential records and expenses

Save lodging, meals, transportation, medication, pet care, clothing, emergency work, and supply receipts.
Make copies of the fire report, claim correspondence, estimates, inventories, and signed authorizations.
Back up photos and documents to a second secure location.

Plan contents access

List urgent items such as identification, prescriptions, eyeglasses, work equipment, insurance documents, and irreplaceable records.
Ask who must approve retrieval and whether an escorted entry is required.
Do not consume food, beverages, or medicine exposed to heat, smoke, firefighting water, or fire residue until appropriate guidance confirms safety.

Questions to ask before authorizing emergency work

What immediate condition is this work intended to control?
What areas and tasks are included—and specifically excluded?
Who authorized access and who is the responsible onsite contact?
How will pre-work conditions, removed materials, equipment, and daily activity be documented?
Will contents be moved, cleaned, stored, or disposed of? Who approves each decision?
How will unexpected conditions and scope changes be communicated before additional work proceeds?
What payment authorization are you signing, and does it assign any rights beyond payment for the described work?

Avoid these preventable mistakes

Entering before the property is released.
Turning utilities or HVAC equipment on without clearance.
Using household vacuums, dry wiping, or untested cleaners on soot-covered finishes.
Throwing damaged items away before they are documented and the insurer’s instructions are understood.
Signing an open-ended scope or disposal authorization during the first hours without understanding it.
Assuming odor alone shows where all residue is—or that fragrance means the source has been removed.

Related resources

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Sources, scope, and review status

Last reviewed: September 2026. This resource is educational and does not replace instructions from the fire department, emergency services, your insurer, a licensed engineer, an environmental professional, or medical personnel. ARS does not determine insurance coverage.