What You Need To Do After A Fire
Here is some information to help you in the event that you have a fire in your home or business and some things you need to do. This may not be a complete list, everyones experience dealing with a fire will be different.
PROPERTY INSURANCE
The first thing to do after the fire is to contact your insurance company or agent as soon as possible. Your insurance adjuster may be able to help making immediate repairs or in helping to secure your home. If you are renting or leasing the property, you must also contact the owner. If you cannot reach your agent and need professional assistance in boarding up your home, a general contractor, a fire damage restoration firm can help. Check the Internet or Yellow Pages.
Remove as many valuable as possible if you must stay elsewhere. If the Belle Valley Fire Department is investigating the fire, an officer will accompany you through the house when you remove valuables. Be sure to inventory the property you remove. Further, you should check for important legal documents, which may have been damaged.
IF YOU CANNOT LIVE IN THE HOUSE
This may be your decision or one based on the Fire Chief’s judgment that the residence is unsafe and uninhabitable. If you decide to leave the residence:
1. Contact the local police: They will assign extra patrol duties for the property during your absence.
2. Temporary Housing: Local relief services like the American Red Cross should be able to help you with temporary housing. If you are insured under a Homeowner’s or Tenant’s Policy, a section of your coverage may pay for the extra cost of temporary housing, such as a hotel.
3. Try to locate the following items to take with you:
· Identification
· Vital medicines, such as blood pressure regulating drugs or insulin
· Valuables, such as credit cards, checkbooks, insurance policies, savings account books, money, jewelry, etc. If you have a safe, do not attempt to open it. A safe involved in fire may hold intense heat for several hours. If the door is opened before the safe has cooled, the contents may burst into flames.
4. If you have moved:
· Notify the Post Office of your forwarding address
· Notify any banks
· Notify the utility companies
· Notify any credit card companies
· Check with your local school district
· Notify Social Security Administration
The Township will be notified if there is structural damage to your home. Before attempting any repairs, check with them for the need of special permits.
UTILITIES
Often the Fire Department will have the utility services shut off or disconnected to prevent further damage to the structure and its contents as a safety precaution.
The utility company will not make repairs on the customer’s side of the meter such as house wiring or gas lines. A private contractor will have to be contacted to make the repairs.
DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS
Documents are very important to your well-being and can be damaged or destroyed as a result of a fire or other disaster. For this reason, the Belle Valley Fire Department has provided a list of documents that should be located if possible. Locating these documents will speed up the process of recovering from a disaster.
Birth Certificates, Divorce Decrees, Medical Records
Drivers Licenses, Citizenship Papers, Payment Books
Bank Books, Animal Licenses, Warranties
Insurance Policies, Registrations, Income Tax Records
Military Discharge, Credit Cards, Auto Registration
Papers, Title to Deeds, Title Papers
Passports, Stocks and Bonds, Prepaid Burial
Social Security Cards, Wills, Contracts
Marriage Documents, Death Certificates
Welfare clients should notify their caseworker if their ID card is damaged or destroyed. Copies of marriage and divorce records can be obtained from the County Court House..
Note: It is wise to store all-important documents in an approved container that is specially designed for such purposes.
MONEY REPLACEMENT
If your U. S. Savings bonds have been mutilated or destroyed, access the Internet website, www.usdepartmenttreasury.gov for the U.S. Treasury Department.
If the money (paper) you’ve kept in your home is only half burned or less, you can check with any local commercial bank or take the remainder to the Federal Reserve Bank.
You may access the U. S. Mint website at www.usmint.gov for information regarding mutilated or melted coins. For questions concerning the U. S. Mint coins, telephone the Customer Care Center at 1.800.USA-MINT.
SALVAGE HINTS
CLEANING WALLS, FURNITURE & CARPETING
1. Vacuum all surfaces
2. Change and clean air conditioner/heater filters
3. Seal off the room in which you are working with plastic wrap to keep soot from moving from one location to another. Try to keep windows closed.
4. Painted Walls – To remove soot and smoke from walls, mix together 4 to 6 tablespoons tri-sodium phosphate (may be purchased in paint stores) and one-gallon water. Keep mixture away from children and pets!
5. Wallpapered Walls – Usually wallpaper cannot be restored. Check with your wallpaper dealer.
6. Furniture – Do not use chemicals on furniture. A very inexpensive product called FLAX SOAP (available in hardware and paint stores) is a most efficient product to use on wood, including kitchen cabinets. Do not dry furniture in the sun as the wood will warp and twist out of shape.
7. FLOORS
Use FLAX SOAP on wood and linoleum floors. It will take four to five applications. Then strip and re-wax. For carpeting, steam clean, shampoo, and repeat steam cleaning.
8. MATTRESSES
Reconditioning innerspring mattresses at home is very difficult if not impossible. A company that builds or repairs mattresses can probably renovate your mattress. If you must use your mattress temporarily, put it out into the sun to dry, then cover it with plastic sheeting. It is almost impossible to get smoke odor out of pillows. Foam and feathers retain the odor – replace pillows.
9. LOCKS & HINGES
Locks (especially iron locks) should be taken apart, wiped with kerosene, and oiled. If locks cannot be removed, squirt machine oil through a bolt opening or keyhole and work the knob to distribute the oil. Hinges should also be thoroughly cleaned and oiled.
There are a variety of commercial cleaners on the market that will assist you in cleaning.. As with all cleaning agents, test a small area first to see if the cleaning agent will damage the article. Always read the instructions and follow safety instructions when using cleaning agents.
10. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
Don’t run wet appliances until you have had a serviceman check them. If the Fire Department turned off your gas or power during the fire, call the electric or gas company to restore these services. DO NOT TRY TO DO IT YOURSELF!
11. COOKING UTENSILS
Your pots, pans, flatware, etc., should be washed with soapy water, rinsed, and then polished with a fine-powdered cleaner. You can polish copper and brass with special polish, salt sprinkled on a piece of lemon, or also sprinkled on a cloth saturated in vinegar.
12. CLOTHING
Smoke odor and soot can sometimes be washed from clothing. The following formula will often work for clothing that can be bleached:
4-6 teaspoons tri-sodium phosphate
1 cup Lysol or any household chlorine bleach
1-gallon warm water
Mix well – add clothes, rinse with clean water – then dry well.
To remove mildew, wash the fresh staining with soap and water. Then rinse and dry in the sun. If the stain is not gone, use lemon juice and salt, or a diluted solution of household chlorine bleach. Test colored garments before using any cleaning treatment. Take wool, silk, or rayon garments to a dry cleaner as soon as possible.
13. LEATHER & BOOKS
Wipe your leather goods with a damp cloth, then with a dry cloth. Stuff your purses and shoes with newspapers to retain their shape. Leave your suitcases open. Leather goods should be dried away from heat and sun. When leather goods are dry, clean with saddle soap. You can use steel wool or a suede brush on suede. Rinse leather and suede jackets in cold water and dry away from heat and sun.
Books can be dried by placing them on end with the pages separated. Then they should be piled and pressed to prevent the pages from crinkling. Alternate drying and pressing to help prevent mildew until the books are thoroughly dry. If your books are very damp, sprinkle cornstarch or talc between the pages, leave for several hours, then brush off. A fan turned on the books will help them dry.
14. FOOD – “IF IN DOUBT - THROW IT OUT!”
Wash your canned goods in detergent and water. Do the same for food in jars. If the labels come off, be sure you mark the contents on the can or jar with a grease pencil. Don’t use the canned goods when cans have bulged or are dented or rusted.
If your home freezer has stopped running, you can still save the frozen food:
· Keep the freezer closed. Your freezer has enough insulation to keep food frozen for at least one day, perhaps two or three.
· Move your food to a neighbor’s freezer or commercial freezer firm. Wrap the frozen food in newspapers and blankets, or use insulated boxes.
If your food has thawed, observe the following procedures:
· Fruits can be refrozen if they still taste and smell good.
· Do not refreeze vegetables if they have thawed completely.
15. REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS
To remove odor from your refrigerator or freezer, wash the inside with a solution of baking soda and water or use one cup of vinegar or household ammonia to one gallon of water. Some baking soda in an open container or a piece of charcoal can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to absorb odor. When cleaning or discarding a refrigerator or freezer, be sure the door is removed or secured to prevent the door from being closed.
REFERENCE DIRECTORY
American Red Cross (24-hour Emergency Service) 814-833-0942
Millcreek Township 814-833-1111
Fire Prevention Bureau 814-833-1111
Erie County (General Information) 814-451-6000
Police Department 814-833-7777
Salvation Army 814-454-6497
Utilities
Penelec 888-544-4877
National Fuel Gas 814-871-8200
Verizon Telephone (Repair Service) 1-800-483-1000
Adelphia Cable 814-899-0625
Waste Management 814-825-8588