Recovering from a fire may take a long time and many of
the things you have to do will be new to you. If you are not insured, your recovery from a
fire loss most likely will be dependent upon your own resources. The Pasadena Fire
Department may be able to help you. Call (626) 744-4655. Private organizations that can
help include the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. You also could talk with your
church or synagogue. Local civic groups such as the Lions or Rotary Clubs also can be of
help.
If you are insured, your insurance will be the
most important single component in recovering from a fire loss. A number of coverage's are
available such as - homeowner's, tenant's or condominium owner's insurance policies.
Your insurance policy is a contract between
you and the insurer. The insurer promises to do certain things for you. In turn, you have
certain obligations. Among your duties after a fire loss would be to give immediate notice
of the loss to the insurance company or the insurer's agent.
Protect the property from further damage by
making sensible or necessary repairs such as covering holes in the roof or walls. Take
reasonable precautions against loss, such as draining water lines in winter if the house
will be unheated for some time. The insurance company may refuse to pay losses that occur
from not taking such reasonable care.
Make an inventory of damaged personal property
showing in detail the quantity, description, original purchase price, purchase date,
damage estimate and replacement cost.
Cooperate with the insurer or his/her adjuster
by exhibiting the damaged property.
Submit, within a stated time period (usually
30 - 60 days), a formal statement of loss. Such a statement should include:
The time and cause of loss
The names and addresses of those who have an
interest in the property. These might include the mortgage holder, a separated or divorced
spouse or a lien holder.
Building plans and specifications of the
original home and a detailed estimate for repairs.
The damage inventory mentioned above.
Receipts for additional living expenses and
loss of use claims.
A pre-fire inventory along with a videotape of
all your property could prove to be a valuable record when making your claim.
When adjusting your fire loss or in claiming a
casualty loss on your Federal income tax, you will have to deal with various viewpoints on
the value of your property. Some terms used are listed below:
Your "personal valuation" is your
attachment to and personal valuation of your property lost in a fire. Personal items have
a certain sentimental value. This term is not meant to belittle their value to you but is
used to separate feelings about the value from objective measures of value. It will be
objective measures of value which you, the insurer, and the Internal Revenue Service will
use as a common ground.
The "cost when purchased" is an
important element in establishing an item's final value. Receipts will help verify the
cost price.
Fair market value before the fire also is
expressed as "actual cash value." This is what you could have gotten for the
item if you had sold it the day before the fire. Its price would reflect its cost at
purchase and the wear it had sustained since then. Depreciation is the formal term to
express the amount of value an item loses over a period of time.
"Value after the fire" is
sometimes called the item's "salvage value."
The cost to replace the item with a like,
but not necessarily identical, item is the replacement cost.
"Loss adjustment" is the process of
establishing the value of the damaged property. This is the result of a joint effort among
a number of parties. Basic parties to the process are the owner or occupant and the
insurance company and its representatives.
The owner or occupant is required by the
insurance contract to prepare an inventory and cooperate in the loss valuation process. An
insurance agent may act as the adjuster if the loss is small. The insurer may send an
adjuster who is a permanent member of the insurer's staff, or the company may hire an
independent adjuster to act in its behalf. It is the insurance adjuster's job, as a
representative of the insurance company, to monitor and assist in the loss valuation
process and to bring the loss to a just and equitable settlement.
Either you or the insurer may hire the
services of a fire damage restoration firm or fire damage service company. These firms
provide a range of services that may include some or all of the following:
Securing the site against further damage
Estimating structural damage
Repairing structural damage
Estimating the cost to repair or renew items
of personal property
Packing, transportation, and storage of
household items
Securing appropriate cleaning or repair
subcontractors
Storing repaired items until needed
It is important to coordinate with the
insurance adjuster before contracting for any services. If you invade the insurer's
responsibility area by contracting without its knowledge or consent, you may be left with
bills to pay that otherwise would have been covered by the insurer.
Clothing - Smoke odor and soot
sometimes can be washed from clothing. The following formula often will work for clothing
that can be bleached:
4-6 tbsp. of Tri-Sodium Phosphate
l cup Lysol or any household chlorine bleach
l gallon warm water
Mix well, add clothes, rinse with clear water
and dry well.
Be aware that Tri-Sodium Phosphate is a
caustic substance used as a cleaning agent. It should be used with care and stored out of
reach of children and pets. Wear rubber gloves when using it. Read the label carefully. To
remove mildew, wash the fresh stain with soap and warm water. Then rinse and dry in sun.
If the stain has not disappeared, use lemon juice and salt, or a diluted solution of
household chlorine bleach.
Cooking Utensils - Your pots,
pans, flatware, etc., should be washed with soapy water, rinsed and then polished with a
fine-powdered cleaner. You can polish copper and brass with special polish, salt sprinkled
on a piece of lemon or salt sprinkled on a cloth saturated with vinegar.
Electrical Appliances -
Appliances that have been exposed to water or steam should not be used until you have a
service representative check them. This is especially true of electrical appliances. In
addition, steam can remove the lubricant from some moving parts. If the fire department
turned off your gas or power during the fire, call the electric or gas company to restore
these services - DO NOT TRY TO DO IT YOURSELF.
Food - Wash your canned goods
in detergent and water. Do the same for food in jars. If labels come off, be sure you mark
the contents on the can or jar with a grease pencil. Do not use canned goods when cans
have bulged or are dented or rusted.
If your home freezer has stopped running, you
still can save the frozen food. Keep the freezer closed. Your freezer has enough
insulation to keep food frozen for at least one day - perhaps for as many as two or three
days. Move your food to a neighbor's freezer or a rented locker. Wrap the frozen food in
newspapers and blankets or use insulated boxes. Do not re-freeze food that has thawed.
To remove odor from your refrigerator or
freezer, wash the inside with a solution of baking soda and water, or use one cup of
vinegar or household ammonia to one gallon of water. Some baking soda in an open
container, or a piece of charcoal can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to absorb
odor.
Flooring and Rugs - When water
gets underneath linoleum, it can cause odors and warp the wood floor. If this happens,
remove the entire sheet. If the linoleum is brittle, a heat lamp will soften it so it can
be rolled up without breaking. If carefully removed, it can be re-cemented after the floor
has completely dried. Small blisters in linoleum can be punctured with a nail and
re-cemented if you are careful. Dilute regular linoleum paste thin enough to go through a
hand syringe and shoot adhesive through the nail hole. Weigh down the linoleum with bricks
or boards. It usually is possible to cement loose tiles of any type. Wait until the floor
is completely dry before beginning.
Rugs and carpets also should be allowed to dry
thoroughly. Throw rugs then can be cleaned by beating, sweeping or vacuuming, and then
shampooing. Rugs should be dried as quickly as possible. Lay them flat, and expose them to
a circulation of warm, dry air. A fan turned on the rugs will speed drying. Make sure the
rugs are thoroughly dry. Even though the surface seems dry, moisture remaining at the base
of the tufts can quickly rot a rug. For information on cleaning and preserving carpets,
call your carpet dealer or installer or qualified carpet cleaning professional.
Mattresses and Pillows -
Reconditioning an innerspring mattress at home is very difficult, if not impossible. Your
mattress may be able to be renovated by a company that builds or repairs mattresses. If
you must use your mattress temporarily, put it out into the sun to dry. Then cover it with
rubber or plastic sheeting. It is almost impossible to get smoke odor out of pillows. The
feathers and foam retain the odor.
Leather and Books - Wipe
leather goods with a damp cloth, then a dry cloth. Stuff purses and shoes with newspapers
to retain shape. Leave suitcases open. Leather goods should be dried away from heat and
sun. When leather goods are dry, clean with saddle soap. You can use steel wool or a suede
brush on suede. Rinse leather and suede jackets in cold weather and dry away from heat and
sun.
Wet books must be taken care of as soon as
possible. The best methods to save wet books is to freeze them in a vacuum freezer. This
special freezer will remove the moisture without damaging the pages.
If there will be a delay in locating such a
freezer, place them in a normal freezer until a vacuum freezer can be located.
Locks and Hinges - Locks
(especially iron locks) should be taken apart, wiped with kerosene and oiled. If locks
cannot be removed, squirt machine oil through a bolt opening or keyhole, and work the knob
to distribute the oil. Hinges also should be thoroughly cleaned and oiled.
Walls and Furniture - To
remove soot and smoke from walls, furniture and floors, mix together:
4 to 6 tbsp. Tri-Sodium Phosphate
1 cup Lysol or any chloride bleach
1 gallon warm water
Wear rubber gloves when cleaning. After
washing the article, rinse with clear warm water and dry thoroughly.
Walls may be washed down while wet. Use a mild
soap or detergent. Wash a small area at one time, working from the floor up. Then rinse
the wall with clear water immediately. Ceilings should be washed last. Do not repaint
until the walls and ceilings are completely dry.
Wallpaper also can be repaired. Use a
commercial paste to repaste loose edges or sections. Contact your wallpaper dealer or
installer for information on wallpaper cleaners. Washable wallpaper can be washed like an
ordinary wall, but care must be taken not to soak the paper. Work from bottom to top to
prevent streaking.
Do not dry your furniture in the sun. The wood
will warp and twist out of shape. Clear off the mud and dirt by scrubbing with a stiff
brush and a cleaning solution. You can also rub the wood surface with a 4/0 steel wool pad
dipped in liquid polishing wax, wipe with a soft cloth and then buff. Remove the drawers
and let them dry thoroughly so there will be no sticking when you replace them. Wet wood
can decay and mold, so allow it to dry thoroughly. Open doors and windows for good
ventilation. Turn on your furnace or air conditioner, if necessary. If mold forms, wipe
the wood with a cloth soaked in a mixture of borax dissolved in hot water. To remove white
spots or film, rub the wood surface with a cloth soaked in a solution of a half cup of
household ammonia and a half cup of water. Wipe dry and polish with wax, or rub the
surface with a cloth soaked in a solution of a half cup turpentine and a half cup of
linseed oil. Be careful because turpentine is combustible.
Money Replacement - Handle
burned money as little as possible. Attempt to encase each bill or portion of a bill in
plastic wrap for preservation. If money is only half-burned or less (if half or more of
the bill is intact), you can take the remainder to your local Federal Reserve Bank for
replacement. Ask your personal bank for the nearest one. Or you can mail the burned or
torn money via FIRST CLASS REGISTERED MAIL to:
U.S. Treasury Department
Main Treasury Building, Room 1123
Washington, D.C. 20220
Mutilated or melted coins can be taken to the
Federal Reserve Bank, or mailed via FIRST CLASS REGISTERED MAIL to:
Superintendent, U.S. Assay Office
32 Old Slip
New York, NY 10005
If your U.S. Savings Bonds have been mutilated
or destroyed, write to:
U.S. Treasury Department
Bureau of Public Debt
Division of Loans and Currency
537 South Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60605
Attn.: Bond Consultant
Include name(s) on bonds, approximate date or
time period when purchased, denominations and approximate number of each.
