What You Need to Do When There's a Fire at Your Business

8/23/2018 (Permalink)

Most likely, you'll never have to face the results of a commercial fire.

If you're a business owner in Brentwood, TN, you need to know how to proceed if a fire impacts your company. If disaster strikes, you have to be prepared for the substantial monetary loss from the cost of fire restoration and the time lost while repairs are being done. The good news is that you can save a lot of time and money by moving quickly and following the plan below.

1. Notify Your Insurance Agency

Your fire insurance company should be notified as soon as possible. When you file a claim, they will send someone out to look at the damage and get you the money needed to for cleanup and repairs.

2. Call a Fire Restoration Company

As soon as you've spoken with your insurance agency, you need to get in touch with a qualified fire restoration company. The restoration company will immediately come out to assess the situation and begin any emergency repairs needed to prevent further damage. After this, they will start the process of smoke cleaning, removing water from carpets and furniture, and drying and disinfecting the building. When this phase is finished, the final restoration and repair can be completed.

3. Assessing Damage and Salvaging Property

As soon as the fire department allows you to re-enter the building, you will need to assess the damage done to valuable items inside, such as computers, documents, phones, and other office or manufacturing equipment. (Don't go inside without taking precautions first; wear a breathing mask, as there may still be harmful smoke in the air.) Your insurance company will need a list of what items have been damaged in order for you to be reimbursed. Try to save everything you can. Some items may still be working, or may work after being professionally cleaned.

4. Call in Arson Investigators

Even if you don't believe any foul play was involved, it's important to enlist the services of a fire forensics team. The insurance company will want to know for certain what the cause of the fire was, and if it was indeed arson, find the perpetrator and recover costs from them.

Most likely, you'll never have to face the results of a commercial fire. But if it does happen, by following the steps above you'll know how to take quick action to get the fire restoration process started and get your business back on track in much less time. For more information, visit http://www.SERVPROwilliamsoncounty.com/.