Can I stay in my house while fire damage restoration is happening?

It depends on the scope of the damage and which areas of the home are affected. If the fire was small and contained — a kitchen fire that didn't spread — and the rest of the home has power, clean air, and structurally sound rooms, some families do stay on-site during the work. However, if soot has spread through the HVAC system, if there is significant structural damage, or if deodorization equipment like ozone generators is running, the home is not safe to occupy during treatment. Your restoration contractor and insurance adjuster can help you make that call based on the actual conditions.

Will my homeowner's insurance cover fire damage restoration?

Standard homeowner's insurance policies typically cover fire damage restoration, including both the structural repairs and the contents that were damaged or destroyed. Most policies also include Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage, which pays for temporary housing and meals while your home is uninhabitable. The key is to notify your insurer promptly, document everything before cleanup begins, and work with a restoration contractor who can provide a detailed, line-item estimate that meets the adjuster's requirements. Review your policy's deductible and any exclusions before assuming full coverage.

How do professionals get rid of smoke smell permanently?

Smoke odor is not just a surface problem — the molecules that cause the smell penetrate porous materials like wood, drywall, insulation, and fabric at a microscopic level. Simply repainting or airing out the house does not remove them. Restoration professionals use a combination of techniques: HEPA vacuuming and chemical cleaning to remove soot residue, thermal fogging to push a deodorizing agent into the same spaces smoke reached, and ozone or hydroxyl generators that chemically neutralize odor molecules rather than masking them. The HVAC system and ductwork also need to be cleaned and sealed, since they are a primary distribution path for smoke during a fire.

What items can be saved after a fire, and what has to be thrown away?

More items are salvageable than most homeowners expect, but the decision depends on the material, the level of exposure, and how quickly cleaning begins. Hard, non-porous items — metal cookware, glass, ceramics, and many electronics — can often be restored through ultrasonic cleaning or professional content cleaning services. Soft, porous items like mattresses, upholstered furniture, and heavily smoke-saturated clothing are harder to fully restore and are sometimes more cost-effective to replace. Food items, medications, and anything that may have been exposed to firefighting chemicals should be discarded. Document everything with photos before any items are removed, and let your adjuster and restoration team assess contents before you make disposal decisions.

The Fire Damage Restoration Process, Explained

A house fire leaves behind more than charred walls. Even after the flames are out and the fire trucks are gone, the damage continues — smoke acids etch into surfaces, soot settles into HVAC systems, and structural materials absorb moisture from firefighting water. Understanding the fire damage restoration process helps you ask the right questions, make faster decisions, and avoid costly mistakes during one of the most stressful events a homeowner can face. Here is what the process actually looks like, from the moment the fire is extinguished to the day you walk back into a fully restored home.

What Happens to Your Home After a Fire

Fire damage is rarely just burn damage. There are usually three overlapping problems that restoration crews have to address simultaneously.

Burn and char damage is the most visible — scorched framing, melted fixtures, destroyed drywall. But this is often the most straightforward part of the repair.

Smoke and soot damage spreads far beyond the fire’s origin. Smoke travels through every gap in a structure: inside wall cavities, through HVAC ductwork, under door frames, into closets on the opposite side of the house. Within minutes, soot coats surfaces in rooms that never saw a flame. The residue is acidic — within 72 hours it begins permanently etching glass, corroding metal, and staining porous materials like grout, brick, and unsealed wood.

Water damage from suppression efforts adds a third layer. Fire hoses and sprinkler systems can push hundreds of gallons into a structure. That standing water and saturated drywall create conditions for mold growth within 24 to 48 hours if not addressed.

Restoration professionals treat all three problems. A contractor who only rebuilds the burned section without addressing smoke penetration and moisture will leave you with a home that smells like a fire for years.

The Immediate Steps After the Fire Is Out

Before any restoration work begins, there is a sequence of events that sets the stage for everything that follows.

Wait for official clearance. Do not re-enter the structure until the fire marshal or responding department says it is safe. Fires can reignite, and smoke-damaged structures can have compromised floors, ceilings, and load-bearing elements that are not obvious to the eye.
Call your insurance company. Report the loss as soon as possible. Your policy likely has a clause requiring prompt notification. Ask whether your insurer has a preferred vendor list — you are not obligated to use it, but knowing the process helps.
Document everything before anyone touches it. Walk through with your phone and photograph every room, every damaged item, every affected surface. This documentation is your evidence for the insurance claim.
Contact a licensed restoration contractor. Many restoration companies — including Crew Restoration & Construction here in Sioux Falls — can begin emergency board-up and tarping services quickly to secure the structure and prevent weather from compounding the damage. South Dakota winters are unforgiving; an unsecured roof opening after a January fire can cause as much additional damage as the fire itself.
Arrange temporary housing if needed. If the home is uninhabitable, your homeowner’s insurance policy likely includes Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage. Ask your adjuster about this before paying out of pocket for a hotel.

What NOT to Do After a Fire

Well-meaning homeowners often make the restoration process harder — and more expensive — by acting before they understand the situation.

Do not run your HVAC system. If the ductwork has soot in it, running the system distributes fine particulate through every room, embedding it deeper into carpets, upholstery, and wall surfaces.
Do not wipe soot off walls with a wet cloth. Dry soot is easier to remove than soot that has been smeared and wet-set into a surface. Restoration technicians use dry chemical sponges and specific cleaning sequences for a reason.
Do not throw away damaged items before the adjuster has seen them. Even items that look destroyed may be cleanable, and discarding them before documentation can reduce your claim payout.
Do not assume the smell will air out on its own. Smoke odor molecules bond to surfaces at a molecular level. Opening windows helps temporarily but does not eliminate the odor. Homes that are not properly treated with ozone or hydroxyl generators, or thermal fogging, will retain the smell indefinitely.
Do not attempt electrical use until a licensed electrician has inspected the panel and wiring. Heat and water from suppression efforts can damage insulation and create shock or fire hazards that are invisible to the naked eye.

What Professional Fire Damage Restoration Actually Involves

Once the site is secured and the insurance process is underway, a professional restoration team works through a structured sequence.

Assessment and scoping comes first. Technicians use moisture meters, thermal imaging cameras, and air quality testing to map the full extent of damage — including areas that look fine but have absorbed smoke or moisture. This scope document becomes the basis for the insurance estimate.

Emergency stabilization includes boarding up windows and doors, tarping roof damage, and sometimes installing temporary climate control to slow mold growth and prevent further structural movement.

Water extraction and drying addresses suppression water before mold can colonize. Industrial dehumidifiers and air movers run continuously, sometimes for several days, until moisture readings return to baseline levels.

Soot and smoke cleaning is meticulous, room-by-room work. Different surfaces require different techniques — dry sponging for flat painted walls, HEPA vacuuming for textured ceilings, ultrasonic cleaning for salvageable contents like electronics and dishware. HVAC systems are cleaned and sealed separately.

Odor elimination uses equipment like ozone generators or hydroxyl machines, and sometimes thermal fogging — a process that sends a fine deodorizing mist into the same microscopic spaces that smoke penetrated. This step is not cosmetic; it is structural.

Reconstruction is the final phase. Depending on the severity of the fire, this can range from repainting a single room to rebuilding entire sections of the home. Crew Restoration & Construction handles both the mitigation and the rebuild, which means one contractor manages the project from emergency response through final inspection — a significant advantage when coordinating with insurance adjusters.

The Timeline: How Long Does Fire Restoration Take?

Homeowners often underestimate how long the process takes, which leads to frustration when they expect to be back in the house within a week.

Minor fire (contained to one room, limited smoke spread): 1–3 weeks
Moderate fire (multiple rooms affected, significant smoke penetration, partial structural damage): 1–3 months
Severe fire (major structural loss, full gut-and-rebuild required): 3–12 months or more

The biggest variable is usually not the construction work — it is the insurance adjustment and permitting process. A restoration contractor who communicates directly with your adjuster and pulls permits promptly can compress the timeline considerably.

South Dakota’s climate adds a layer of complexity. Sioux Falls winters can delay exterior reconstruction if a fire occurs between November and March, and the region’s humidity swings affect drying times for water-damaged materials. An experienced local contractor accounts for these variables in the project schedule.

Moving Forward After a Fire

Fire damage is overwhelming, but the restoration process is methodical and manageable when you have the right team coordinating it. If you are in the early stages — still sorting through what happened, talking to your insurance company, or trying to figure out whether the damage is as bad as it looks — a professional assessment is the most useful next step you can take. Crew Restoration & Construction serves the Sioux Falls area and can walk through the property with you, document the damage, and help you understand what the path forward looks like. Reach out at (605) 965-2727.