How Do You Rebuild After a Fire Claim?

When a building catches fire, the aftermath is a sensory assault of wet rubble and a thick, permeating stench that clings to everything.

Patrick Heidenberg, a restoration expert at Scene Clean with twenty years of skin in the game, calls these events “life-altering.”

To put a community or a business back together, you have to stop staring at the wreckage and start understanding the mechanics of how it happened. Then you can see how to rebuild.

What Causes Commercial Fires?

Most fires aren’t “acts of God.” They are the result of small, ignored risks that finally hit a breaking point.

• Electrical Arcing and Sparking: This can happen when circuits are overloaded or if an electrician moves insulation and fails to replace it, exposing systems to temperature extremes.
• Lithium-Ion Battery Overheating: A modern risk is leaving rechargeable batteries (like those used in maintenance tools) plugged in too long, causing them to get hot and spark.
• Neglected Kitchen Maintenance: Grease fires are often the result of not cleaning out vents or grease traps regularly.
• Rodents: It’s a common but overlooked issue: rodents chewing through wires can cause an immediate short circuit and fire.
• The “Smoking” Problem: Improperly discarded cigarettes, particularly on wooden decks or in containers that aren’t fully extinguished, continue to be a leading cause of exterior building fires.

The Professional Restoration Blueprint

Once the fire department leaves, the restoration contractor takes over. This is a specific sequence. If you mess up the order, the system becomes fragile and prone to failure. A professional mitigation process follows a specific sequence to ensure the building is safe to occupy again.

1. Rubble Removal and Debris Cleanup

The first step is a thorough clearing of all burned materials and rubble. This allows for a proper assessment of the underlying structure.

2. Structural Drying (The Water Factor)

Ironically, fire damage often involves significant water damage. Fire departments drag hoses through multiple rooms, soaking areas that the flames never touched. Professionals must dry the framing and the entire structure to prevent mold before any rebuild begins.

3. Engineering and Permits

If the trusses or joists are compromised, you need a structural engineer, and you can’t skip the permits unless you want to be uninsurable later.

4. Trade Coordination

A fire claim is a “multi-trade” event. You will need a General Contractor (GC) to sync the efforts of electricians, plumbers, and structural teams so the project doesn’t stall.

Should You Use Volunteers for Building Restoration?

Organizations often want to use parishioners for the cleanup to save money. This sounds noble, but from a practitioner’s perspective, this could be a disaster.

• Reliability: Volunteers are not paid employees; they often work when they feel like it, not necessarily when the project schedule requires it. If one phase is delayed, the entire restoration can be stalled.
• Liability and New Claims: Patrick recalls a volunteer accidentally breaking a pipe during a cleanup. The insurance company called it a “new event” caused by a non-professional. The organization was on their own for those repairs and had to file an entirely new claim to fix the fresh water damage.
• Depreciation: This is the big one. Most policies hold back 20% to 50% of the money (depreciation) until a professional GC certifies the work was done to code. If you do it yourself, you can’t provide that certification. You may never see that final check.

Restoration is about accountability and scheduling. While the heart behind using volunteers is great, a professional ensures the project stays on track and the organization actually receives the full payout it is entitled to. Don’t let a “save a penny” mentality ruin the entire recovery.

Watch a video on how to prevent fire claims here.