Its 2 AM, your home is on fire and you're left out in the cold with nothing left to do but watch and count your blessings.
But what do you do after the fire is out? Typically, you will be able to lean on the support of your local American Red Cross to help nurture you through the first moments of coping.
However, you might be surprise to know that the Salvation Army is also an excellent source of assistance after the fire; but is often overlooked.
After taking inventory of your family, your pets and of anything else of great importance that was salvaged from the disaster, it's now time to move ahead.
The first thing that you will want to do is to board up the windows and doors.
Do this as soon as the fire department gives the ok.
Secure the building as soon as possible in order to prevent further damage that can make restoring your home more costly and more time consuming.
An emergency board up is crucial.
In fact, there are many fire departments that won't even allow their firefighters leave the home until a board up company is on the site and at work securing the area.
This is because leaving the home, which is now unprotected and open to explorers, is just asking for people, mostly kids, to come in and explore the damage.
This is termed an "Attractive Nuisance" and is an unnecessary liability to the homeowner and a senseless risk for the kids that are exploring the rubble.
Upon entry, the risk of injury is extremely high! Consider the dangers of exposing kids to open wires, unsupported overhead structures, nails, glass and weakened floors.
Something bad is bound to happen! After that, lawsuits are bound to arise and claims are likely to be paid by the homeowner and/or insurance company.
This is real liability and extreme irresponsibility.
It's also highly preventable.
Once you do the intelligent thing, by securing your property as soon as possible, the next step is to put together a plan for restoring the property.
Please be aware, this step requires very careful consideration! This is certainly the time to get to know a company and only proceed with somebody that you trust.
Be sure to stay clear of companies that "over-promise" (because you can be sure that they will under-deliver).
You will likely also find somebody who has some strategy that obviously takes more from the insurance company than you know you are due, this is a common practice that does ANYTHING but return your life back to normal as quickly as possible.
In fact, it's an almost certain recipe for headaches and a huge extension of the expected recovery period.
Recovering from a fire is fraught with difficulties and is something that you wouldn't choose for your worst enemy.
As you proceed towards your recovery, remember that it's the disruption of the lives of your family that hurts the most.
Good Advice: Don't lose focus of your priorities and don't get swept up in the fracas.
When it's time to cope loss, do it right and put yourself on the surest, smartest path to a recovering your lifestyle and go back to living.
Your friends at 1-800-BoardUp wanted to share this perspective with you.
If you have the misfortune of, one day, becoming a victim of fire or disaster, we hope this article comes of some service to you.