Stars and Bars RestorationA house fire changes everything in minutes. Even a fire that's contained to one room leaves behind smoke, soot, water damage from suppression efforts, and a home that may not be safe to live in. Knowing what to do — and what not to do — in the hours and days after a fire can protect your health, limit additional damage, and make the insurance process significantly smoother.
Stars and Bars Restoration handles fire and smoke damage restoration throughout Southern Colorado, including Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Cañon City, Trinidad, and the surrounding communities. We're IICRC certified in fire and smoke restoration, and we're reachable around the clock at (719) 676-2456.
This guide walks through the full process — from the first hour after the fire department leaves to the final stages of restoration.
Immediately After the Fire: The First 24 Hours
Do Not Re-Enter Until Cleared
The fire department will tell you when it's safe to go back inside. Don't try to beat that timeline. Fires can rekindle, particularly in walls and attic spaces where embers smolder out of sight. Smoke and carbon monoxide levels inside a recently burned structure can reach dangerous concentrations even hours after the flames are out.
Once you're cleared to enter, limit your time inside and keep it brief. Bring a face covering if you have one — soot particles are fine enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, and many contain toxic compounds from burning plastics, treated wood, and synthetic materials.
Secure the Property
If your fire department hasn't already arranged board-up services, your home needs to be secured against weather and unauthorized entry. Broken windows, damaged doors, and roof penetrations all need to be covered to prevent rain from compounding the damage before restoration begins.
Many restoration companies — including Stars and Bars — provide emergency board-up and tarping as part of their initial response. This is something to mention when you call, because rain entering a fire-damaged structure can add tens of thousands of dollars in additional damage very quickly.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Call your homeowner's insurance carrier as soon as possible — ideally within the first few hours. You'll need to open a claim, and your carrier will assign an adjuster to your case. Get the claim number and the adjuster's contact information and keep them accessible throughout the process.
Some important things to know about this call:
- You are not required to accept the first settlement offer. You have the right to dispute estimates.
- Your policy likely includes "additional living expenses" (ALE) coverage — meaning your carrier should cover hotel or rental costs while your home is being restored. Ask about this immediately.
- Document everything you can before cleanup begins. Photos and video of all damage, including smoke and soot coverage on walls and ceilings, are critical.
Find a Place to Stay
If your home is uninhabitable — and after most house fires, it is — you need to arrange housing. Most homeowner's policies cover this under ALE (Additional Living Expenses). Keep all receipts for hotel stays, meals, and any clothing or necessities you purchase in the aftermath, as these may be reimbursable.
The American Red Cross also provides emergency assistance to fire survivors, including temporary lodging. They can be reached at 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Days 2-7: Stabilization and Assessment
Hire an IICRC-Certified Restoration Company
This is the most important decision you'll make in the fire recovery process. Fire and smoke restoration is highly technical work. Soot behaves differently depending on what burned — protein-based soot from cooking fires, dry carbon soot from fast-burning fires, and oily residue from smoldering fires all require different cleaning approaches. Using the wrong method can permanently set staining into surfaces that could otherwise have been cleaned.
Look for a company certified by the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) in fire and smoke restoration. Our team at Stars and Bars holds those certifications, and we follow the IICRC S700 standards for fire and smoke damage restoration.
You can reach us at (719) 676-2456) any time — we serve Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Cañon City, Trinidad, and all of Southern Colorado.
What a Restoration Assessment Covers
When we arrive at a fire-damaged home, our first step is a complete assessment:
Structural integrity. We look for areas where fire has compromised structural members — joists, rafters, load-bearing walls. If there are questions about structural safety, a structural engineer gets involved before work begins.
Smoke and soot extent. Smoke doesn't stay in the room where the fire started. It travels through the HVAC system, migrates through wall cavities, and deposits on surfaces throughout the home — sometimes in rooms that appear completely unaffected. Thermal imaging and air quality testing help us map where smoke contamination has reached.
Water damage from suppression. Firefighting operations use a lot of water, and that water goes everywhere. Subfloors, wall cavities, and ceiling systems often hold significant water even when they don't look wet. Moisture assessment is part of every fire restoration job we do.
Contents evaluation. We assess which contents can be cleaned and restored versus what needs to be documented and disposed of. We work with you and your adjuster to make sure the scope is complete.
What You Should (and Shouldn't) Try to Clean Yourself
Do: Ventilate the home as much as weather permits. Open windows to air things out.
Do: Remove undamaged valuables from the home for safekeeping elsewhere.
Don't: Try to clean soot-covered walls, ceilings, or contents with household cleaners. Wet-wiping soot with the wrong products smears and sets it, making professional restoration more difficult or impossible.
Don't: Run your HVAC system. If smoke has entered the ductwork — and it almost always has — running the system will spread contamination to every room in the house.
Don't: Throw anything away until your insurance adjuster has documented it. Discarding damaged items before documentation can complicate your claim.
The Restoration Process: What to Expect
Soot and Smoke Removal
This is the core of fire restoration. Our team uses a combination of dry sponge cleaning, chemical sponges, HEPA vacuuming, and specialized restoration products to remove soot from surfaces systematically — working from ceiling to floor, room by room.
For contents, we use ultrasonic cleaning, ozone treatment, or pack-out to an off-site facility depending on the items involved. Clothing, soft goods, and documents often require specialized treatment.
Structural Drying
Any areas affected by firefighting water get addressed with commercial drying equipment — air movers, dehumidifiers, and desiccant systems for larger water intrusions. This happens concurrent with soot cleaning.
Odor Elimination
Smoke odor is one of the most persistent challenges in fire restoration. It's not just a surface problem — smoke particles embed in porous materials throughout the home. We use a combination of thermal fogging, hydroxyl generators, and ozone treatment to neutralize odor molecules at the source rather than just masking them.
This step is important to get right. Homes that aren't properly deodorized often still smell like smoke months later, which affects livability and resale value.
Structural Repairs and Rebuild
Once cleaning and drying are complete, repairs begin. This might range from replacing drywall sections and repainting to full roof replacement and structural rebuilding depending on the extent of fire damage. We coordinate the full repair scope and work with your insurance adjuster throughout.
Working With Your Insurance Adjuster
Throughout the restoration process, document everything and maintain an open line with your adjuster. A few things to know:
Your carrier's preferred vendor is not your only option. You have the right to hire your own restoration contractor. Get multiple estimates if you want them.
If you disagree with the adjuster's damage assessment or settlement offer, you can invoke your policy's appraisal process, hire a public adjuster to represent you, or consult an attorney specializing in property insurance claims.
Our wildfire smoke damage restoration guide covers some overlapping territory on smoke cleanup and insurance considerations — worth reading if wildfire smoke was a factor in your situation.
Colorado-Specific Considerations
Colorado's altitude and dry climate create some unique factors in fire restoration:
Dry air accelerates soot adhesion. Soot particles can bond to surfaces faster in low-humidity environments, making prompt professional cleaning more important.
Wildfire smoke infiltration is common. During wildfire season — which increasingly runs from May through October in Southern Colorado — homes can accumulate significant smoke damage from external sources even without a structure fire. This is a separate issue from fire restoration but involves overlapping techniques.
Altitude affects drying times. Water evaporates faster at Colorado's elevation, which can actually help with structural drying — but it also means moisture readings need to be interpreted with altitude correction in mind.
You Don't Have to Navigate This Alone
A house fire is one of the hardest things a family goes through. Between the loss, the displacement, the insurance process, and the logistics of restoration, it can feel completely overwhelming.
We've helped families through this in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Trinidad, Cañon City, and communities across Southern Colorado. Robert and the team at Stars and Bars are straight with people — we tell you what we see, what needs to happen, and what it'll cost. No runaround.
Call us any time at (719) 676-2456) — we're available 24/7 for emergency response and happy to answer questions even if you're just trying to figure out your next step.
Stars and Bars Restoration | IICRC Certified | Veteran-Owned | Colorado City, CO | (719) 676-2456 | services@sb-resto.com