Homeowners insurance covers repairs for certain types of water damage, typically those that are sudden and accidental. You should consult with your insurance agent or a licensed adjuster with any specific questions about your insurance policy coverage.
Standard homeowners insurance policies cover mold remediation only if the mold is caused by a “sudden” or “accidental” event. You should consult with your insurance agent or a licensed adjuster with any specific questions about your insurance policy coverage.
You should immediately contact a certified restoration firm to diagnose and determine the extent of damage. And if you plan to file an insurance claim, you should report water damage to your homeowners insurance right away.
It’s important to stop the source of water damage as soon as possible. Shut off your water main or contact a plumber to stop the leak or overflow right away.
Water mitigation is the process of reducing or preventing the damage caused by water after a leak, flood, or other water-related incident. The goal of water mitigation is to stabilize the situation quickly, minimize further damage, and prepare the property for full restoration.
Every loss is different. It’s critical to call a restoration company immediately to mitigate the damage to minimize any secondary damage. Mitigating the property from water damage quickly can help reduce the cost. The good news is our damage inspections are completely free 24/7/365, and we use Xactimate for pricing, which is the industry standard pricing software for most insurance companies.
Delaying action can create secondary damage and lead to mold growth. Mold remediation is often more expensive than water mitigation.
Regular maintenance of plumbing, roofing, and appliances can help prevent common causes of water damage.
Mold can cause serious health issues and even structural damage to your home or business.
Yes, taking photos or videos of the damage before clean up can provide crucial evidence for your claim. Make sure that you work with a restoration company that focuses on providing your insurance company with the right documentation for your claim.
Our typical drying period is 3-5 days, but this timing can vary depending on the severity of the water damage and other project-specific factors.
Fire damage restoration is the process of returning a fire and smoke-damaged property to its pre-loss condition, involving assessment, cleanup, and rebuilding.
After ensuring safety and the fire department clears entry, the first steps include a professional damage assessment, securing the property (boarding up windows/doors), and addressing any water damage from firefighting efforts.
The duration varies by damage severity. Depending on the extent of damage and the complexity of a project, it can take weeks to months to complete the mitigation part of the process. Once the property is fully mitigated and cleaned, you can then begin the rebuild portion of the project.
The most common causes of house fires include cooking accidents, heating equipment (like space heaters or fireplaces), electrical issues (faulty wiring or overloaded outlets), smoking indoors, and candles left unattended. Many fires are preventable with proper maintenance, safe practices, and working smoke detectors.
Most standard homeowners insurance policies cover fire damage, including the structure and personal belongings. You should consult with your insurance agent or a licensed adjuster with any specific questions about your insurance policy coverage.
Water used by firefighters can cause significant damage to a home or business after a fire. Restoration teams can perform immediate water removal using pumps, vacuums, fans, and dehumidifiers to prevent mold growth and further structural issues.
Crews deep clean walls, ceilings, and surfaces to remove smoke residue and use specialized techniques like ozone smoke removal and air scrubbers to eliminate odors.
Yes, many salvageable items, including furniture, clothing, and electronics, can be restored through specialized cleaning and deodorization methods, such as ultrasonic cleaning.
Securing the property, by boarding up windows/doors and covering roof openings, prevents unauthorized access, vandalism, further weather damage, and animal intrusion.
Immediately after the fire department clears your home for entry, it’s advisable to contact a professional restoration service to begin assessment and mitigation.
inspect walls, ceilings, and floors for hidden damage, assessing the structural integrity to ensure the home is safe for reconstruction and identifying any weakened support beams.
Detailed documentation of damages, including photos, videos, and measurements, is vital for supporting your insurance claim and streamlining the process.
Once the fire department clears the property, make two calls: your insurance carrier to open the claim, and a certified restoration contractor to begin emergency services like tarping, board-up, stabilization and initial loss documentation.
Do not throw anything away and do not start cleaning. Your adjuster may request to inspect any damaged content and improper cleaning can drive soot deeper into surfaces. FastPro’s 24/7 hotline in Phoenixville, PA dispatches certified professionals who can be on-site within 90 minutes, depending on where you live.
FastPro dispatches a crew of certified professionals within about an hour and is typically on-site within 90 minutes across Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Our hotline rings directly to our own Phoenixville call center, not a national franchise routing service, so there is no handoff between your call and your crew.
Because damage keeps compounding after the flames are out. Soot is acidic, and combined with firefighting water and dry chemical residue, it corrodes metal, etches glass and appliance finishes, and permanently stains porous materials within hours to days. Emergency board-up, tarping, water extraction, and dehumidification in the first few days determine how much of your home and belongings you can save.
Securing the structure against weather, intrusion, and further loss: boarding windows and doors, tarping damaged roofing and siding, containing affected areas to prevent cross-contamination, and eliminating safety hazards throughout the property.
Standard homeowners and commercial property policies may cover fire damage, including the smoke and water damage caused by fighting the fire. What varies is your deductible, contents limits, and whether the policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value. Your adjuster is ultimately the person who makes the coverage decision and approves any mitigation, contents, reconstruction or other restoration-related costs. FastPro writes estimates with an insurance-approved pricing software (Xactimate) and works daily with all major carriers, so the claim documentation we submit is in a format your adjuster is used to.
Yes. We document the entire restoration from the first insurance document through the day you walk back through your front door, photos, moisture and residue readings, scope of work, and contents inventory. We coordinate directly with your adjuster so you are not translating between contractors and carriers, and you stay the decision-maker throughout.
Timelines for fire damage mitigation are dependent on the extent of damage and insurance approvals. Minor losses generally run one to two weeks. Moderate damage with water intrusion and significant smoke penetration typically runs three to five weeks. Major structural losses requiring reconstruction can run six to twelve weeks or longer, depending on permitting and material lead times. These estimated timelines apply to mitigation, the first step in the restoration process. Insurance approvals can also affect this timeline, which is why we typically walk through the loss with your adjuster.
Far more is salvageable than most homeowners expect. We triage contents item by item, then route them to the right method: cleaning for hard goods, dry cleaning for clothing, specialized treatment for upholstery, and off-site storage while the structure is restored. Items we cannot restore are inventoried and documented for your claim before they are discarded.
Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina. In Pennsylvania that includes Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia, Bucks, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Dauphin, Schuylkill, and Carbon counties. In New Jersey: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Mercer, and Hunterdon. In Delaware: New Castle and Kent.
Smoke damage refers to the lingering effects of smoke and soot on a property, often after a fire, including discoloration, odor, and corrosive residue that can affect materials and contents.
There are four common types: dry smoke (from fast-burning fires, powdery residue), wet smoke (from low-heat, smoldering fires, sticky residue), protein residue (from low-heat fires involving organic material, greasy and odorous), and fuel/oil residue (from petroleum products or furnace puffbacks, dense and sticky).
Smoke and its residues penetrate porous surfaces deeply, staining them and producing lingering odors. Materials like drywall, wood, upholstery, rugs, curtains, and clothing readily trap smoke.
Soot presents many health hazards, including risks of cancer (skin, esophagus, lungs, bladder), respiratory diseases (COPD, asthma, emphysema), and cardiovascular dysfunctions. Microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs.
Smoke residue can corrode internal components, cause electrical shorts, and lead to overheating, shortening the lifespan of devices. Soot’s acidity can degrade plastic, metal, and glass parts.
Most standard homeowners insurance policies include coverage for smoke damage, typically as part of fire damage coverage for both the dwelling and personal belongings. You should consult with your insurance agent or a licensed adjuster with any specific questions about your insurance policy coverage.
Professionals use techniques like thermal fogging and ozone generators to neutralize odors deep within porous materials and the air.
Smoke particles embed deeply and require specialized tools and expertise for thorough and safe removal, preventing further damage and health risks.
Once safe, contact your insurance company and a professional restoration service.
Yes, smoke is a far-reaching threat that can travel throughout a property, settling in untouched rooms, vents, and attics.
Wash washable items with a good detergent and odor remover; dry clean delicate items. Avoid washing oily soot in a washing machine as it can clog.
Long-term effects can include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and emphysema.
Untreated smoke damage can lead to permanent stains and corrosion on surfaces, deeper odor absorption into porous materials, and increased health risks due to lingering toxic chemicals.
Thorough documentation, including photographs and receipts, is essential for a successful insurance claim.
Smoke travels where flames never reach. Residue moves through wall cavities and around door frames, settling in rooms and adjacent units that look completely untouched. A small, contained fire can still produce smoke and odor damage across an entire floor or building.
Usually not until the property has been assessed and cleaned. Smoke residue carries fine particulates and combustion byproducts that irritate the airways, and children, older adults, and anyone with asthma or heart or lung conditions are at highest risk. Treat any persistent smoke smell as an active exposure, not a nuisance, and get the property evaluated before reoccupying.
It can but it’s case by case depending on your coverage and the cause of loss. Your adjuster will review photos of the loss and may ask you how the fire started. They ultimately make coverage decisions and you should ask them if your loss would be covered under your insurance policy.
Because surface cleaning was done without source removal or deodorization. Odor molecules stay embedded in porous materials like drywall, insulation, carpet pad, upholstery, wood framing and in HVAC ductwork that redistributes them every time the system cycles. Real odor elimination requires removing or sealing the source and treating the air and contents, not masking with fragrance.
Four, and each demands a different cleaning method. Dry smoke from fast, high-temperature fires leaves a powdery residue. Wet smoke from slow, smoldering fires leaves a sticky, heavily smelling film. Protein residue from kitchen fires is nearly invisible but intensely odorous.
Fuel oil soot from furnace failures is greasy and staining. Using the wrong method sets the residue permanently; the ANSI/IICRC S700 standard governs this classification.
A puff-back is a delayed ignition in an oil furnace or boiler that blasts oily soot through your ductwork and across every surface in the home. It is greasy, black, and spreads everywhere. Cleanup requires full HVAC and duct decontamination, specialized degreasing agents on hard surfaces, contents cleaning, and deodorization, plus service on the heating system itself so it does not recur.
The correct approach depends on the type of smoke residue, affected materials, extent of contamination, and occupancy conditions. Effective odor removal comes from cleaning the source first and using deodorization technology as part of the overall restoration process—not as a replacement for cleaning.
Yes, and often after the visible cleanup is finished. Soot is acidic and conductive, so it corrodes circuit boards, contacts, and wiring and can cause failures weeks or months later.
Do not power on affected electronics. We document and evaluate them during contents triage and specify professional decontamination or replacement for your claim.
Most can. Smoke-affected clothing responds to specialized dry cleaning and upholstered furniture to controlled cleaning and deodorization. Ordinary home laundering usually fails; it sets odor and can fix staining permanently. Bring items to us before washing them, and we will triage what is restorable and document what is not.
Mold damage refers to the deterioration of materials and structures in a building due to the growth of mold. Mold remediation involves returning a property to its original condition by removing mold and affected materials.
Mildew and mold can develop within 24-48 hours of water exposure and will continue to grow until the moisture source is eliminated.
Common causes include leaky foundations, walls, roofs, windows, pipes, poor construction, high indoor humidity, insufficient ventilation (e.g., in kitchens or bathrooms), and damp basements or crawl spaces.
Yes, molds have the potential to cause health problems. They produce allergens, irritants, and sometimes mycotoxins, which can lead to allergic reactions or respiratory issues in sensitive individuals.
Most homeowner policies cover mold damage only if it results from sudden and accidental water damage (e.g., a burst pipe), but typically not from gradual leaks, seepage, or floods. You should consult with your insurance agent or a licensed adjuster with any specific questions about your insurance policy coverage.
Mold can appear as fuzzy, discolored, or slimy patches that grow in size. It often has a musty or earthy smell.
The process typically involves assessment, addressing the moisture source, isolating contaminated areas, removing damaged items, cleaning affected areas with biocides and HEPA vacuums, encapsulation, and final inspection and testing.
Common types include Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys chartarum (black mold).
Black mold can cause symptoms like coughing, red eyes, post-nasal drip, and nasal congestion, and can trigger or worsen asthma.
Yes, mold can grow in dark areas and on hidden surfaces such as the backside of drywall or wallpaper.
DIY kits offer quick results but may lack accuracy and scope. Professional inspections provide expertise, comprehensive assessments, and accurate results using specialized equipment.
Control indoor moisture by keeping humidity below 50%, ensuring good ventilation, fixing leaks promptly, and regularly cleaning damp areas.
Crawl spaces are prone to mold due to dampness, lack of light, humidity, condensation, and poor ventilation. Water damage from leaks or floods is a major contributor.
Mold significantly reduces buyer confidence, raises structural integrity concerns, increases health risks, leads to higher remediation expenses, and complicates insurance and mortgage processes.
Specialized cleaning involves using professional-grade biocides, HEPA-filtered vacuums, and techniques like wet wiping, sanding, or abrasive blasting to thoroughly remove mold and prevent its return.
Immediately after ensuring safety, contact your insurance provider to report the damage and contact a restoration firm to begin the mitigation process.
Yes. Water damage is the second most common home insurance claim, behind wind and hail. Roughly 14,000 U.S. residents experience a water damage emergency each day, making it one of the most frequent and costly issues homeowners face.
Document the damage thoroughly with photos and videos, make a list of damaged items, and keep receipts for any immediate repairs or temporary living expenses.
Yes, you should take reasonable steps to prevent further damage to your property (e.g., boarding up windows after a fire, stopping a water leak), but keep receipts.
The timeline varies based on complexity and size of the loss, but generally, it can take weeks to months.
An insurance adjuster assesses the damage to your property, determines the cause, and estimates the cost of repairs.
We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you to the FastPro team!