In the aftermath of a fire disaster, certain things need to be done straight away in order for you and you family to get your life back to normal. The professional assessment of the fire damage and the restoration efforts that will follow greatly depend on the initial inspection that you do as soon as the fire is gone. Fire damage can be pretty nasty and more than the obvious structural damage done to your house or building, other dangers besides that lie in wait even after the fire has burned itself out.



It is therefore very important to exercise safety precautions when doing fire damage inspection. Here are some very practical rules to follow to keep you and your family members safe:

* Keep old folks, children and pets away from the damaged property. In most cases, only one or two family members are capable enough to participate in damage inspection after a fire, so be sure that the rest of the family is safely relocated to a temporary shelter however short that stay may likely be. The remains of a devastating fire are nowhere for people to be, the elderly and kids in particular. Smoke and dust particles are prevalent in the air and these may cause allergic reactions such as eye irritation, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, or asthma attacks.

* While doing fire damage inspection, wear protective gear at all times. You never know what broken house parts might come falling down, or what objects you might accidentally touch or step on. A safety get-up may include headgear, goggles or protective eyewear, disposable body clothing or coveralls, disposable gloves or leather gloves, and rubber boots.

* Stay away from downed power lines or electrical wires. Live wires may produce electric shocks that harm people or cause more fires.

* Enter the house or building only when you are a hundred percent sure that it is still structurally stable. Extensive fire damage can render parts of the house unsteady, and these parts could give way any time, collapsing on you.

* Check if power supply is available in the house. As a safety precaution, the Fire Department usually has the utilities cut off temporarily. However, if power is still out even if the main circuit breaker has been turned on already, it is likely that the fire caused circuit breaker failure. It is time to contact the utility company and refer this problem.

* Be on the lookout for hot ashes or sparks that might possibly reignite and bring about further fire damage. Winds can easily blow embers to any part of the house so it is important to check not only the surroundings of the house but all the rooms as well including the attic and basement, and the roof too.

* Fire debris should be thoroughly doused with water to minimize fire-related health hazards such as respiratory irritations that may result from breathing ash particles and dust. People with heart or respiratory diseases are especially susceptible to these pollutants so it is important that they are not present while fire damage inspection is still being carried out.

* Properly dispose of hazardous materials such as paints, pesticides, kerosene, batteries, and cleaning chemicals to avoid health-related issues and eliminate the risk of having these elements cause further fire damage.

* Clean hands thoroughly with a disinfectant when the inspection is done.

With all these said, keep these guidelines in mind and you would well be on the way to conducting a safe fire damage inspection.