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- Best Overall: COIT Cleaning and Restoration
- Best for Residential: BELFOR Property Restoration
- Best for Commercial: DKI
- Best for Customer Service: Rainbow International Restoration
- Best for Environmentally Friendly Practices: Paul Davis
- Best for Property Managers: PuroClean
Fires are unexpected events that can cause major damage to your home, personal belongings, or commercial property. The damage can cost potentially thousands of dollars. The first few hours after a fire are crucial to help minimize the damage to your property, and fire damage restoration services can help.
While they vary slightly from company to company, there are some important key components that each one offers. They typically dispatch a team within hours of the original call, board up the damaged property for protection, install a roof tarp if needed, offer odor and soot removal, cleanup, and, most importantly, host services to restore your belongings.
In the event an emergency arises, we’ve rounded up the top fire damage restoration companies to make your selection process easier.
We looked at more than 20 different fire damage restoration companies and narrowed down the list to the businesses that offer coverage across the country, a 24/7 emergency hotline, and services for both residential and commercial properties.
For example, we chose COIT Cleaning and Restoration for our best overall category because of its extensive services for residential and commercial properties. We selected DKI as the top commercial pick because it serves multiple sectors from healthcare facilities to hospitality companies. Finally, Rainbow International Restoration stood out as the best choice for customer service given its live chat support and quick response time.
Most fire damage restoration services include emergency tarp-up, boarding, soot and smoke odor removal, deodorization, sanitation, a thorough clean-up of the property, and content restoration of items that can be saved. Some companies offer repairs or full reconstruction services.
You should use fire restoration services following a fire in your home or commercial property where damage and soot are visible and smoke odor is present. The first few hours are crucial to reduce and help remedy any damage to the property. Only re-enter your property when the fire department has given you the green light to safely go back inside. These companies can also help you decide if you need professional help if the fire is small.
The cost of fire restoration services will depend on the severity of the fire, the extent of the damage of the property and its contents, and the location of the property. Most companies offer free onsite estimates, or you can get an estimate online by filling out a form or via the phone.
For example, according to two estimates received over the phone during this research process, a two-bedroom apartment with a medium-sized kitchen fire can cost more than $30,000. For minor fires where the main need is to remove smoke odor, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars. Fire damage restoration companies emphasize the importance of keeping your property insurance up to date to offset these costs, given that these expenses can add up.
Most homeowners insurance companies offer protection of your property structure due to a disaster, such as fire, and also cover 50% to 70% of personal belongings that were inside the premises. To make sure your loss is covered by your property insurance, call your provider as soon as it is safe to do so after a fire and find out what’s included.
Source: The Spruce
