Checklists for working through a fire loss
Print these and write on them. Take the room inventory through the house with a pen, keep the hiring questions by the phone, lay two estimates side by side line by line, and look up a claim term when an adjuster's letter stops making sense. Your insurer and your building official still have the final word.
- A room-by-room worksheet for your contents claim
Most families underestimate how much they owned until they try to list it. This worksheet breaks the job into rooms and columns so the contents claim is complete, consistent and easier for an adjuster to process.
- Questions to ask before you hire anyone for fire cleanup
After a fire, several contractors may approach you within hours. These questions help you compare them on what matters: experience with fire and smoke, written scopes, permits, subcontractors and communication.
- Glossary: fire claim and restoration terms in plain language
Adjusters and restorers speak their own language. Look up a term here when a letter, estimate or conversation stops making sense, then ask your own insurer how it applies to your policy.
- Clean it, seal it or replace it: deciding material by material
Every surface in a fire-damaged house ends up in one of three piles. This guide lays out the usual reasoning so you can follow, and question, the choices in your restoration scope.
- What to keep and what to throw away after a fire
Some things in a smoky house aren't worth the risk. This checklist covers the household items that public health guidance usually says to discard, and the ones that can often be cleaned.
- What makes a fire cleanup bigger or smaller
Two kitchen fires can lead to very different repair scopes. Knowing what drives the size of the job helps you read an estimate, ask good questions and understand why your adjuster and contractor may disagree.
- Comparing two fire restoration estimates without getting lost
Fire estimates can run to dozens of pages. Comparing them room by room and line by line shows where they differ. That tells you more than the two totals ever will.
- A seasonal fire safety calendar for your house
Most house fires trace back to ordinary things: cooking, heating, dryers, electrical cords and outdoor burning. Spreading the maintenance across the year keeps it manageable and matches the way Front Range weather changes the risks.