After a fire, your belongings are in a race with the soot. Acidic residue discolors, etches and corrodes within days; odor bonds deeper every week. The contents crew's job is to get what can be saved out of the smoke fast, document what cannot, and bring everything back clean when the house is ready.
The inventory
Before anything is moved, every item in every room is photographed and listed, with its condition and a disposition: salvageable, to be tested, or a loss. This inventory is the basis of your personal property claim, which is paid on what is documented, and it is kept in a format your adjuster can review. Items you consider irreplaceable are flagged for extra care.
Priority retrieval
The night of the fire, once the structure is released and safe to enter, the first retrieval is what you need to function: medications, documents, wallets and keys, phones and chargers, glasses, children's essentials and pet supplies. Everything else waits for the inventory.
Pack-out
Salvageable items are packed by room, labeled, loaded and moved to a contents facility; fragile items are wrapped, furniture is blanketed, and the chain of custody is recorded. Non-salvageable items remain photographed and listed and are disposed of only after the adjuster has what they need, or held if the adjuster wants to see them.
Cleaning
Hard goods are cleaned by hand with agents matched to the residue or in ultrasonic tanks that lift soot from every surface of dishes, toys and decor. Garments, bedding and drapes are processed with ozone chambers and specialty laundering. Electronics are inspected for corrosion and cleaned or sent for evaluation, never powered on first. Documents, books and photographs are treated to the extent their exposure allows. Items that do not come clean move to the loss list.
Storage and return
Cleaned contents are stored in climate-controlled space for the weeks or months the structure takes. They return only after the house has passed its odor check with the windows closed and the heat on, because contents put back into a house that still smells will smell again.
On the claim
Inventory, pack-out, cleaning by item category, storage and return are itemized in the estimate and billed directly to your insurer on covered claims. The loss inventory supports your contents claim, which pays under its own limit and terms; the guide on contents inventory explains actual cash value, replacement cost and depreciation.
