Hour one belongs to safety and clearance. Do not go back inside until the fire department releases the home, and take their guidance on what is off limits. Fires rekindle, structures weakened by heat and water fail without warning, and smoke residue is not safe to breathe for long. If anyone feels unwell, that is a medical issue first and a property issue second.
In Orange, name your side of the city in the first hour. An Old Towne loss means telling the crew the walls are plaster with open cavities before anyone scopes the smoke, because cavity smoke changes the estimate. A hillside smoke loss means photographing the attic vents and the ash line at windows before any cleaning, because that record is what makes a no-flame loss legible to an adjuster. Either way, board-up and the insurer call come before cleanup opinions.
The first calls, in order, are your insurer to open the claim, and a restoration contractor for board up if windows, doors, or the roof are open. Photograph everything you safely can before anything moves. Do not wipe soot, do not wash walls, do not run the furnace or air conditioning, and do not throw away damaged belongings before they are documented, even the ones that are obviously ruined.
By the end of the first day you should have three things: a claim number, a secured house, and a scheduled assessment. The assessment produces the written scope that everything else, the insurer's estimate, the cleaning plan, the rebuild timeline, is measured against. Keep every receipt from the first night onward; loss of use coverage reimburses from documentation, not memory.
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