A fire recovery plan for Provo households
A house fire turns ordinary life upside down. This guide puts the recovery in order, from the first night to moving back in, with the Provo and Utah details that matter at each stage.
Stage 1: the first 24 hours
1. Stay out until the fire department says it is safe. Damaged floors, ceilings and wiring can fail. 2. Find a place to stay. If you have insurance, ask your agent right away about additional living expense coverage. 3. Call your insurance company and get a claim number. Ask what they need from you and when an adjuster will visit. 4. Ask the fire department for the incident report number. Your insurer will want it. 5. Retrieve essentials only when allowed: medications, identification, glasses, phones and important documents.
Stage 2: protect what is left
NOAA's engineering weather data for Provo gives a 99% winter design temperature of 10°F and counts about 54 freeze-thaw cycles a year. A damaged house without heat can freeze quickly.
1. Board up openings and tarp the roof. Ask your insurer what it expects you to do to prevent further damage, and keep receipts. 2. Protect the plumbing. If the heat is off, have the water shut off and the lines drained. 3. Shut off utilities that the fire department or utility hasn't already disconnected, and don't restore them until they are inspected. 4. Photograph and video every room before anything is moved or thrown away.
Stage 3: the insurance claim
1. Read your policy for dwelling, contents, additional living expenses and code-upgrade coverage. 2. Make a contents inventory. Go room by room. Photos, receipts, bank statements and online order histories help. 3. Keep a claim log of every call, email, visit and decision, with dates and names. 4. Get estimates in writing for cleaning and rebuilding. 5. If you disagree with the insurer, ask for the decision and its reasons in writing. If you can't resolve it, the Utah Insurance Department takes complaints through its online portal, forwards each to the company for a response, reviews the answer and sends you its findings, usually within three to four weeks.
Stage 4: cleanup and drying
1. Choose a restoration company and ask for a written scope: drying, soot cleaning, odor treatment, contents cleaning and what will be removed. 2. Ask for moisture readings before walls and floors are closed up. Firefighting water hides in wall cavities. 3. Clean or replace the HVAC system's ducts and filter. Smoke residue spreads through them. 4. Keep a list of contents taken off site for cleaning or storage.
Stage 5: rebuilding
Utah law exempts alteration, repair and remodeling work with a contracted value under $7,000, labor and materials included, from contractor licensing, and plumbing or electrical work must always be done by a contractor holding the right Utah license. Most rebuilds after a fire exceed that amount.
1. Look up every contractor with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing. 2. Get a written contract with the scope, materials, schedule and payment tied to completed work. 3. Confirm the permits. Ask who pulls them and keep copies. 4. Ask about code upgrades. Rebuilding may require bringing parts of the house up to current code.
Stage 6: moving back in
1. Get the final inspection and the certificate or sign-off your city issues. 2. Install new smoke alarms and test them. 3. Keep every document from the fire, claim and rebuild together.