The first hours and days after a house fire are disorienting. Smoke is still in your lungs. Your home may be taped off. Neighbors are staring. An adjuster is calling. A contractor just knocked on your door with a business card. In the middle of all of that, you have to make decisions that will affect your insurance settlement, your restoration timeline, and the safety of your family.
What follows is exactly what to do after a house fire in Pennsylvania, in order, by priority. Read it before the fire happens if you can. If you’re in the aftermath right now, start at whatever step fits where you are.
There is no wrong place to start.
Immediately After the Fire: Safety First
don’t Re-Enter the Structure
Even after a fire appears to be out, a structurally compromised building can collapse without warning. Smoldering materials can reignite. Smoke and carbon monoxide levels inside may be immediately dangerous to life even when you can’t see visible flames. Don’t go back inside until the fire department has declared the structure safe for entry and the fire marshal has released the scene.
Pennsylvania fire marshals typically need to investigate any significant fire before releasing a property. Depending on the cause and severity, this can take a few hours or several days. Respect the process, it exists for your safety, and entering before clearance can also create liability complications with your insurance claim.
Account for Everyone: Including Pets
Confirm that all family members, including anyone who was in the house when the fire started, are accounted for and have been evaluated by emergency medical personnel on scene. Smoke inhalation can cause delayed respiratory distress, symptoms sometimes worsen hours after exposure. If anyone has been exposed to significant smoke, insist on medical evaluation even if they feel fine initially.
Contact neighbors or animal control if pets are missing. Emergency responders may have moved animals away from the scene.
Contact Your Mortgage Lender
If you have a mortgage, your lender is listed as a loss payee on your homeowners policy. This means any insurance check for structural repairs will be made out to both you and the lender. Notify your lender as soon as possible after the fire so they aren’t surprised, and to begin understanding the endorsement process for getting restoration funds released.
The First 24 Hours: Insurance and Documentation
Call Your Insurance Company
Notify your homeowners insurance carrier as soon as possible after the fire, ideally the same day. Most carriers have 24/7 claims lines. Filing promptly protects your claim; many policies contain language requiring “timely notice” of a loss. The adjuster will be assigned and will want to inspect the property before significant restoration work begins.
When you call, have the following ready: your policy number, the date and approximate time of the fire, a brief description of what happened, the fire department’s name and incident number (ask a firefighter on scene for this), and your current contact information and temporary housing address if you have been displaced.
Document Everything Before Anything Is Touched
Before any cleaning, boarding, or salvage work begins, and before you or anyone else removes items from the property, photograph and video record every affected area. Walk through every room. Capture every damaged wall, floor, ceiling, appliance, and piece of furniture from multiple angles. Record serial numbers for electronics and appliances where visible. Open closets and document clothing and personal items.
This documentation is your evidence. Insurance adjusters work from what they see at inspection, and what is documented before cleanup. Anything removed or disturbed before the adjuster inspects it must be documented or it may not be compensated. Do this even if you can’t re-enter the main structure yet, document the exterior, the yard, any outbuildings.
Create a Home Inventory From Memory
While the fire is fresh, sit down and write out every significant item you remember being in the house, room by room. Furniture, electronics, clothing, jewelry, tools, hobby equipment, kitchen appliances, books, artwork. Note approximate age and replacement cost for each item. This list will form the basis of your personal property (Coverage C) claim.
Pull any existing records that help establish value: credit card statements, Amazon order history, receipts you have in email, photos of your home interior from before the fire (check Google Photos, iCloud, or any social media where you may have shared interior shots). The more documentation you can provide, the faster and more accurately your contents claim will be processed.
Securing the Property: Board-Up and Tarping
Protect the Structure From the Elements
After a fire, your home is open to rain, wind, and theft. Broken windows, holes in the roof, and damaged exterior walls need to be secured immediately. This isn’t optional, your insurance policy requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage (a clause called “duties after loss”). Failure to board up and tarp a fire-damaged home can give your carrier grounds to deny coverage for additional damage caused by weather or vandalism after the fire.
Your insurer may dispatch an emergency mitigation company, or you can hire one independently. Keep all invoices for board-up and tarping work, these costs are covered under your policy as emergency mitigation expenses.
Storm Chasers and Emergency Contractors
After a major house fire, you will likely be approached by contractors within hours, sometimes before you have even finished talking to the fire department. Some of these are legitimate restoration companies. Some aren’t. Don’t sign anything under emotional pressure at the scene of a fire. Don’t give any contractor authorization to “work directly with your insurance company” or sign an Assignment of Benefits (AOB) agreement on the spot. These agreements transfer your insurance rights to the contractor and can significantly complicate your claim.
Take business cards. Talk to your insurance company first. Then, if you want to hire a restoration company, do so with a clear written contract and full understanding of the scope and price.
Finding Temporary Housing
Your Additional Living Expense Coverage
If your home is uninhabitable after a fire, your homeowners policy’s Coverage D, Additional Living Expenses (ALE), pays for temporary housing and incremental living costs while your home is being restored. This typically covers hotel or rental housing, meals above your normal food budget, laundry, storage, and similar expenses.
ALE coverage is triggered the moment your home is declared uninhabitable. Keep every receipt from day one, hotel bills, restaurant receipts, laundry costs, gas for longer commutes, storage unit rental. Submit these to your adjuster. ALE is part of your policy and you are entitled to it.
ALE limits in Pennsylvania HO-3 policies typically run 20–30% of your Coverage A dwelling limit. For a $350,000 dwelling limit, you have $70,000–$105,000 for living expenses. Extended restoration timelines, fire damage restorations in Pennsylvania commonly run 3–6 months for moderate fires and 9–18 months for major fires, can run through ALE limits if the home requires a full rebuild. If your restoration is projected to extend to the edge of your ALE limits, flag this to your adjuster early.
Pennsylvania Resources for Displaced Families
If you need immediate assistance before your insurance processes, the American Red Cross responds to residential fires in the Lehigh Valley and can provide emergency shelter, food, and basic supplies in the immediate aftermath. Contact your local Red Cross chapter. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) also coordinates assistance programs for fire-displaced residents.
Working With the Insurance Adjuster
Understand the Adjuster’s Role
The insurance adjuster sent by your carrier is employed by (or contracted to) your insurer. Their job is to assess the damage and value the claim accurately, but their employer has a financial interest in settling claims for less rather than more. This isn’t a conspiracy, it is simply how the system works. You have the same right to advocate for yourself that the adjuster has to advocate for their employer’s interests.
Be present at the adjuster’s inspection. Walk them through every area of damage. Point out items they may have missed. Ask questions about what is and isn’t covered before anything is finalized. Don’t sign a settlement agreement until you have reviewed it carefully and are satisfied that it covers everything documented in your loss.
Understand ACV vs. RCV and How Depreciation Works
Your initial insurance check will likely be issued at Actual Cash Value (ACV), the depreciated replacement cost of the damaged items. This means a depreciation holdback is applied to your payout. For a structural repair that your policy carries at RCV (replacement cost value), you receive the full payment in two installments: the ACV amount upfront, then the depreciation holdback released when the actual repair work is completed and documented.
For personal property, the same applies if your policy is RCV for contents. Document your actual replacement purchases and submit them to unlock the depreciation holdback. If your policy provides ACV only for contents, the ACV payment is final.
If You Disagree With the Settlement Offer
You aren’t required to accept the first settlement offer. If you believe the adjuster has undervalued your loss, you have several options under Pennsylvania law:
- Request a re-inspection, provide additional documentation, contractor estimates, and evidence of items not captured in the first assessment.
- Hire a public adjuster, licensed professionals who work on your behalf (not the insurer’s) to negotiate your claim. They typically charge 10–15% of the final settlement, but often recover more than enough to cover their fee.
- Invoke the appraisal clause, most policies include a formal dispute resolution process where each party selects an independent appraiser and an umpire decides disagreements.
- File a complaint with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, if you believe your claim was handled in bad faith. The Insurance Department has enforcement authority and does investigate complaints.
The Restoration Process: What to Expect
Phases of Fire Damage Restoration
Professional fire damage restoration follows a systematic process. Understanding it helps you set realistic expectations for the timeline and communicate effectively with your restoration contractor and adjuster.
Phase 1, Emergency Mitigation: Board-up, tarping, site security, and removal of standing water from firefighting efforts. This begins immediately after fire department clearance.
Phase 2, Water Extraction and Drying: Firefighting typically saturates the structure with thousands of gallons of water. Before any fire restoration can proceed, the water damage must be mitigated, commercial dehumidifiers and air movers run for 3–5 days to bring structural moisture readings to acceptable levels.
Phase 3, Soot and Smoke Assessment: Trained technicians survey the full extent of smoke and soot penetration. This is more complex than it looks, smoke travels through wall cavities, HVAC systems, and into rooms far from the fire origin. Protein smoke (from kitchen fires) is nearly invisible but creates a persistent film on every surface and requires specialized cleaning agents. A thorough smoke assessment often reveals damage in areas not visually affected by the fire itself.
Phase 4, Demolition and Debris Removal: Unsalvageable materials, charred framing, burnt insulation, fire-damaged drywall, are removed. This phase also includes removing any structure compromised by the water used to fight the fire.
Phase 5, Smoke and Odor Treatment: Remaining structural surfaces are cleaned with appropriate soot removal agents, sealed, and treated with odor neutralizers. Thermal fogging or ozone treatment may be used for persistent odor in wall cavities. HVAC systems are inspected, cleaned, and if necessary replaced to prevent smoke odor recirculation throughout the home after restoration.
Phase 6, Structural Repairs and Rebuilding: Framing, sheathing, insulation, drywall, flooring, cabinetry, trim, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are rebuilt to pre-loss condition. In Pennsylvania, this phase requires permits for any structural, electrical, or plumbing work. Permit processes add time but aren’t optional, unpermitted fire repairs can create problems when you sell the home.
Phase 7, Final Cleaning and Turnover: Post-construction cleaning, window washing, and final inspection before the home is returned to you.
Older Homes and the Ordinance or Law Problem
The Lehigh Valley has a significant stock of homes built before modern building codes, pre-1978 homes with older electrical systems, homes with asbestos or lead paint, homes with framing and insulation practices no longer permitted under current code. When a fire triggers restoration, Pennsylvania building codes require that all repaired sections be brought up to current code standards, even if the original construction was legal when it was built.
Standard homeowners policies don’t cover the additional cost of code upgrades. If your home requires rewiring to current code, asbestos abatement, or structural modifications to meet modern standards after a fire, those costs can easily run $20,000–$60,000 and are your responsibility unless you carry Ordinance or Law coverage.
Ordinance or Law coverage is an endorsement available from most Pennsylvania carriers and is highly recommended for any home built before 1990. If you don’t have it, add it at your next renewal. If you have a fire and don’t have it, talk to a public adjuster about whether any portion of the code upgrade costs might be recoverable.
Questions Worth Asking
How long does fire damage restoration take in Pennsylvania?
Small fires with contained damage: 2–6 weeks. Moderate fires involving one or two rooms with full demolition and rebuild: 2–4 months. Major fires with significant structural damage or full gut-and-rebuild: 6–18 months. These timelines are affected by adjuster inspection and settlement speed, permit processing time (varies by municipality in Lehigh Valley), and contractor availability.
Can I live in my home during fire restoration?
Generally not recommended, and often not possible. Fire damage restoration involves demolition, rebuilding, ozone or chemical treatments, and high levels of dust and debris. Even if part of the home is structurally sound, air quality during active restoration isn’t safe for continued habitation. Use your ALE coverage for temporary housing.
What happens to my belongings during restoration?
Salvageable personal property is typically packed and moved to a secure climate-controlled facility during the restoration process. A reputable restoration company maintains an inventory of everything packed. Review the inventory carefully before the crew leaves, add any items not listed. Confirm how and when items will be returned and what the process is for items damaged during pack-out.
What if I can’t afford to pay out of pocket while waiting for insurance?
Talk to your adjuster about advance payments. Most major carriers will release an initial advance on your ALE claim (for housing) quickly, often within a day or two of the claim being opened. For structural repairs, most restoration companies will work directly under a signed scope of work and invoice the insurance company rather than requiring you to pay out of pocket first. Don’t proceed with major restoration work without confirming this arrangement in writing.
What if my insurer denies the fire damage claim?
Fire damage claim denials are relatively uncommon for genuine accidental fires but do occur, typically when arson is suspected, when the fire was caused by a deferred maintenance issue the insurer argues was foreseeable, or when policy premiums were not paid. If your claim is denied, get the denial in writing with the specific policy language cited. Consult with a public adjuster or a Pennsylvania insurance attorney before accepting the denial.
Should I hire a restoration company or manage the project myself?
For anything beyond a very minor, isolated fire, a small kitchen fire that burned a cabinet and a section of countertop, professional restoration is strongly recommended. The water damage from firefighting, smoke migration through wall cavities, and HVAC contamination are consistently underestimated by homeowners managing DIY restoration. Unaddressed smoke and water damage after a fire leads to mold, persistent odor, and structural problems that cost more to correct later than they would have cost to address correctly during the initial restoration.