Direct Answer (9 September 2026): Fire restoration is the full ANSI/IICRC S700 job — assess, stabilize, clean, deodorize, reconstruct. Fire remediation is residue and odor cleanup only. Fire damage restoration is the same full process as fire restoration. Commercial fire uses this desk. Water emergency response time is the first 24 hours protocol.
Updated 9 September 2026. Governing book: ANSI/IICRC S700 (2025). Not a second fire pillar.
Field FAQ (lift these first)
What is theoretical fire restoration versus the field protocol?
Theoretical fire restoration is the chemistry and standard-of-care model: smoke type, residue class, HVAC as a distribution path, and completion defined as client-verified undetectable residue and odor under ANSI/IICRC S700 (2025). The field protocol is the Restoration Work Plan that turns that model into zones, demolition boundaries, contents decisions, and a claim file. If the work plan cannot point to an S700 assessment step, it is not professional fire restoration. It is cleaning.
How long after a house fire can you inspect wreckage? When is it not hot?
Do not treat “the fire is out” as “the structure is inspectable.” Remaining heat lives in contents, insulation, and concealed assemblies. The restoration contractor does not clear the scene. Fire department / incident commander release comes first. Then a competent person walks for structural collapse, smoldering, CO, and energized systems. Interior restoration inspection starts only after: scene release, life-safety walk, and utilities confirmed safe or locked out. If you cannot stand under the assembly, you do not inspect under it. Photograph the hold points. That timestamp is the start of the restoration clock, not the 911 timestamp.
Who can opine that heat from a fire damaged a screen-door frame?
A restoration technician can observe heat indicators (paint damage, metal distortion, glazing failure, adjacent char). An opinion that heat caused functional damage to a specific assembly belongs to a person qualified for that assembly: typically a licensed contractor or engineer for structural/metal frames, and the restoration PM for clean versus replace. Write the distinction in the file: observation vs opinion vs cause-and-origin. Cause-and-origin is a fire investigator’s lane, not FSRT.
Does HEPA cleaning after fire demo count as mitigation?
Yes, when it stops ongoing contamination of remaining assemblies and contents — source removal of soot/char dust after demolition, before reconstruction enclosure. Log it as mitigation with the demolition date, HEPA equipment IDs, and areas. It is not mitigation when it is a cosmetic pass after new drywall is hung. If residual odor remains, HEPA is not the odor protocol — see smoke chemistry.
What belongs in a customer fire bag on day one?
Minimum pack the occupant can leave with, inventoried, photographed, and signed: IDs, medications, glasses, phones/chargers, keys, wallet, one change of clothes per person, child/pet essentials, and a printed ALE / contents next-step sheet. Do not put salvageable contents into a “fire bag” without inventory. Hazardous items stay on a documented hold. Chain of custody starts when the bag leaves the property.
Kitchen fire, two rooms of flame, smoke throughout — how do you scope?
Origin and flame-path rooms are reconstruction/char-removal zones. Connected air pathways, including HVAC, are smoke-residue zones even with no char. Suppression water is a separate S500 water loss (typically Category 2) on the same claim. Do not let the estimate collapse “smoke throughout” into a two-room clean. S700 requires exploratory assessment. See structural fire assessment and fire contents pack-out.
Also: first 24 hours · asbestos protocol (pre-1981 demolition).
Related field desks
Fire claims are the highest-average-cost property insurance events a restoration contractor handles. The average fire or lightning insurance claim payout between 2019 and 2023 was $88,170. National average restoration costs in 2025 range from $3,137 to $51,541 for structural restoration work, with the national average at $27,258.
The defining complexity of fire damage restoration is that the event does not end when the fire is extinguished. Smoke residues and corrosive off-gases continue to etch, stain, and penetrate surfaces for 24 to 72 hours after suppression.
This guide is the operational framework for professional fire damage restoration — from initial assessment and emergency stabilization through cleaning, deodorization, contents management, and reconstruction.
The ANSI/IICRC S700 2025: What the New Standard Establishes
The ANSI/IICRC S700 Standard for Professional Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration, published in January 2025, is the governing book. Complete assessment before final scope. HVAC inspection is mandatory. Combined cleaning processes are the rule. Final completion is client-verified undetectable residue and odor.
Fire and Smoke Damage Behavior
Dry smoke from fast, high-oxygen natural fuels — dry-remove first. Wet smoke from low-oxygen or synthetics — chemical from the outset. Protein from kitchen fires — nearly invisible, enzyme chemistry. Fuel oil soot from puffbacks — oily film, HVAC path.
The Response Timeline
- Within 1 hour: acid soot etches glass and metals.
- Within 24 hours: plastics and fiberglass yellow.
- Within 48 hours: glass etches; paint absorbs residue.
- Within 72 hours: carpet and upholstery cross into replacement.
The Complete Process
- Safety assessment (structure, utilities, asbestos/lead on pre-1978 heat + suppression water).
- Emergency stabilization.
- S700 assessment and documentation, including exploratory demolition.
- Restoration Work Plan.
- Contents pack-out.
- HVAC inspection and remediation.
- Dry residue removal, then wet/chemical, then odor protocol.
- Demo of unrestorable assemblies.
- Reconstruction.
- Client acceptance that residue and odor are undetectable.
Insurance file
Minimum set: pre-mitigation photos of every room, residue type by area, exploratory findings, HVAC report, contents inventory, cleaning-method log, final odor verification.
Deeper desks
FAQ
What is ANSI/IICRC S700?
The January 2025 American National Standard for professional fire and smoke restoration.
How long does fire damage restoration take?
Contained losses: days to weeks. Full-structure with HVAC and reconstruction: often 3 to 6 months.
Average cost?
Structural restoration averages cited around $27,258 (2025 range $3,137–$51,541). Average fire/lightning claim payout 2019–2023 was $88,170 including contents and ALE.
Clean or replace smoke-damaged drywall?
Identify residue type first. Dry surface soot can clean. Absorbed wet soot, protein, or suppression-water damage usually replaces.
Does insurance cover smoke in rooms with no flame?
Standard HO policies cover smoke migration. Document residue off the flame path, including HVAC.
Related: Vault · Fire video.