A fire is one of the few jobs where our advice starts with waiting. Fire damage clearance done in the wrong order costs people their insurance claim, and occasionally costs them things they would have wanted to keep. When you do get to the clearing stage, our Skelmersdale skip hire service can usually get a container to you quickly, and we will work around whatever timescale the insurer sets rather than pushing you.
Nothing moves until you have been told it can
Two things have to happen before a clearance starts. The fire service has to confirm the building is safe to enter, and the insurer or the loss adjuster has to see it.
The second is the one people get wrong, usually with the best of intentions. The instinct after a fire is to start putting things right immediately, and clearing a property before it has been assessed can undermine a claim entirely. Photograph everything, room by room, before anything is touched, and then wait for the go-ahead.
There is also a structural question after any significant fire. Heat affects timber, steel and masonry in ways that are not always visible, and a floor or a ceiling that looks intact may not be. If the damage is more than superficial, that assessment needs making by someone qualified before people are walking about inside.
What smoke does that fire does not
Most of what gets cleared after a house fire was never touched by flame. Smoke travels through a building far beyond the fire itself, and it gets into everything porous.
Soft furnishings, mattresses, carpets, curtains and clothing absorb smoke and hold it. Some of it can be professionally cleaned and a good deal of it cannot, and the decision is usually the insurer’s rather than yours. Do not throw anything away on the assumption it is beyond saving until that has been established.
The other layer is water. Putting a fire out puts a great deal of water into a building, and by the time the clearance starts the water damage is frequently more extensive than the fire damage. Plasterboard, chipboard flooring and insulation that has been soaked will need to come out regardless of whether they were anywhere near the flames.
Recovering what matters first
Before the clearance proper, go through the property for the things that cannot be replaced. Documents, photographs, jewellery and anything of sentimental value. Smoke damaged paper and photographs can sometimes be recovered by a specialist if they are dealt with early rather than after weeks in a damp house.
Take your time over this stage. Once a room is being cleared into a skip, things move quickly and decisions get made in a hurry.
What cannot go in the skip
Fire damaged electrical items are still electrical items and do not belong in a general load. Anything with a battery in it is a particular concern after a fire, because damaged cells are unstable. Our guide to sorting electrical waste before your skip arrives covers what needs pulling out and where it goes.
Fridges and freezers need separate handling for the coolant regardless of their condition. Aerosols, part used chemicals and paint tins that have been through a fire are unpredictable and need proper disposal rather than a skip.
There is also an asbestos question in any older property. A fire that has damaged ceilings, soffits, flue components or old floor tiles may have disturbed materials that were perfectly safe while intact. Our guide to hazardous waste and why it cannot go in a skip explains what needs a licensed contractor instead. If there is any doubt, ask before anything is disturbed further.
Sizing and running the clearance
Fire clearances are bulky rather than dense. Furniture, soft furnishings, carpets and boxed contents take up enormous room, so size for volume. An 8 tonne builders skip is the usual starting point for a domestic property, and most jobs of any size need more than one.
Where the property is a rental or a business premises, the duty of care over the waste sits with the owner or operator rather than being treated as ordinary household waste, and our skip hire duty of care guide sets out what documentation should exist. We are a licensed waste carrier and the transfer note comes as standard.
Wear proper protection while clearing. Soot is fine, greasy and unpleasant, and a fire damaged interior produces a great deal of airborne dust. Gloves, a proper mask and old clothes you are prepared to throw away.
Where the skip goes
Get it as close to the door as the access allows, because everything is being carried out by hand and the volume is considerable. Where the skip has to go on the road, Lancashire County Council acts as highway authority at £36 per month, covered in our guide on whether you need a permit to place a skip on the road in Lancashire.
We cover the surrounding area regularly, running Appley Bridge skip hire and Parbold skip hire jobs alongside Skelmersdale, and everything comes back to our own recycling centre for sorting rather than being passed on. Our environmental and recycling page explains that side.
Ring us on 01695 769123 when you are ready, and if you are not ready yet, ring us anyway and we will hold a booking rather than you feeling rushed. Our contact page is there if that is easier.
