Fire & smoke

What to do after a fire. What the carrier pays for.

A house fire is a documentation problem before it’s a money problem. The first 24 hours set the ceiling on every later argument — and the carrier’s first adjuster will show up fast, with a low number and a release form. Below is the playbook we run on every fire file: what to do (and what not to) in the first day, the five-step LightHouse process, a sample recovery band, and the carrier pushbacks we argue back. Reach out the moment the fire department leaves; the earlier we’re on the file, the more coverage we can pull through.

The first 24 hours

What to do. What to avoid.

The first day sets the ceiling on every later argument. Half of this column is the work most policyholders never think to do; the other half is the work that quietly hands the carrier its strongest denials.

Do

    Get everyone out, then call 911.Safety first. The fire report establishes the loss date — the single fact the carrier keys everything else off of.
    Photograph every room before you touch anything.Smoke patterning on ceilings, soot on contents, charred framing — the carrier will minimize all of it unless we have dated, geo-tagged media the day of the fire.
    Save every receipt from hour one.Boarding, tarping, mileage to temporary housing, laundromat runs, even takeout. Additional living expense (ALE) is documented or it didn’t happen.
    Give us a call before you sign the carrier’s release.An adjuster may show up within 48 hours with a low-ball and a release form. Don’t sign anything before a licensed public adjuster has read the policy.

Avoid

    Don’t throw away damaged contents yet.The carrier will use an empty bin to argue the loss is smaller. Inventory first, photograph the pile, then dispose only after the adjuster and we have agreed.
    Don’t clean soot or smoke residue yourself.A wire brush on charred framing wipes out the structural-damage argument. Save the deep-clean for our remediation crew so the documentation trail stays intact.
    Don’t accept the first ACV number.Actual cash value (depreciated) is not what your policy pays. Replacement cost is. The difference on a kitchen fire routinely runs six figures.
    Don’t let the carrier’s preferred contractor scope it.Their roster serves their indemnity, not your rebuild. We pull our own licensed contractor in where the code-upgrade, contents, or ALE argument is on the line.

The LightHouse 5-step process

From the fire department leaving to a signed settlement.

Every fire loss is different, but the structure of a strong claim is the same. Here’s what working with LightHouse on a kitchen, electrical, or wildfire-smoke fire looks like, start to finish.

  1. Step 01

    Emergency response + on-site scope

    Within 24 hours of engagement we coordinate mitigation, secure the structure, and start the date-stamped photo log. Fire losses move fast — the first 72 hours set the ceiling on every later argument.

  2. Step 02

    Policy review + coverage mapping

    We read the policy end-to-end: dwelling, other structures, contents (replacement cost vs. ACV), ALE, code-upgrade, debris removal, fire department service charge, and any loss-of-use endorsements. The framework drives the claim, not the carrier’s first letter.

  3. Step 03

    Full loss documentation

    Line-item inventory, contractor scope, contents priced at current replacement cost (not ACV), smoke/odor evidence the first adjuster missed, and code-upgrade line items carved out from cosmetic repair.

  4. Step 04

    Third-party estimate

    We commission an independent, licensed estimator’s Xactimate-style scope. Carriers litigate their own numbers; they negotiate harder against an independent scope, which moves the recovery up.

  5. Step 05

    Negotiation + settlement

    Filed, rebutted, re-opened, escalated as many times as it takes. You review and approve the final number — we don’t sign until you do.

A sample recovery

What a typical fire recovery looks like.

Anonymized to county-level only — no policyholder names, addresses, claim numbers, or exact figures. The point of this row is to show how the work lines up on a fire matter, not to advertise a specific settlement. The full recovery gallery lives at{' case results .

Montgomery County, PA
Kitchen fire
$280K structure + ALE extension through rebuild

Full interior rebuild funded at replacement cost with contents priced separately and an ALE extension carried through the entire rebuild window.

Illustrative · Anonymized · Recovery bands shown, exact figures withheld.

Carrier pushbacks we argue back

The four denials we see most often on a fire file.

The carrier’s playbook on a fire claim follows a pattern. Below are the four pushbacks we argue back most often, and how our rebuttal frames the line item back open.

  • Carrier tactic

    ACV only — refuse contents at replacement cost

    Our rebuttal

    Contents coverage on most homeowner policies pays replacement cost once the item is actually replaced. We inventory every room, document the depreciation the carrier assumed, and re-open the line at settlement.

  • Carrier tactic

    Smoke only, no structural damage

    Our rebuttal

    Soot penetrates framing, insulation, and HVAC ductwork — surface cleaning doesn’t erase the loss. We commission air-quality and charred-framing testing the carrier won’t run themselves.

  • Carrier tactic

    Pre-existing condition exclusion

    Our rebuttal

    Carriers love a “this was already worn” denial. We rebut with date-stamped pre-loss photos, the fire marshal’s report, and depreciation schedules that peg the loss to the event date.

  • Carrier tactic

    ALE cutoff short of rebuild completion

    Our rebuttal

    ALE runs until the family is “back to normal” — not until the carrier’s preferred contractor finishes. We track the rebuild Gantt and keep the ALE open through every delay we can document.

Start your fire claim

Tell us what happened. We’ll come back within one business day.

The intake takes sixty seconds and is non-binding. We’ll pre-fill your loss category so the form opens with the right context — a licensed public adjuster on our team replies personally, never a call center, and tells you straight up whether representation will move the number on your claim.

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