After a fire, smoke and soot can cover walls, floors and belongings, and a smell can stay for a long time. A cleanup company can clean what the fire did not destroy and work on the smell.
We connect you with a local cleanup company. Services vary by company, so ask each one what it does.
Smoke and soot
Soot is a fine black dust. It sticks to walls and ceilings and gets into cloth, carpet and air ducts. Wiping it can smear it. A cleanup company has the tools to remove it.
The smoke smell
The smell of smoke can stay in walls, carpet and furniture after the soot is gone. Many companies work on the smell at its cause, not just cover it up. See odor removal.
If someone died in the fire
The fire department and other officials look into what happened first. Cleanup starts once they release the home. A cleanup company can clean the area with care, including any blood or body fluids. See death cleanup.
Repairs come after cleanup
Rebuilding walls, floors and roofs is restoration work. Some companies do both cleanup and restoration. Others do one or the other. See repairs after cleanup.
Insurance and price
Call your insurance company early and ask what your policy covers. Ask the cleanup company for a written price before work starts.
Who to call first
In an emergency, call 911.These official offices may be part of the first steps. They are government pages, not ours.
- County medical examiners and coroners After a sudden or unexpected death, cleanup waits until the county's office is done.
- Washington Crime Victims Compensation Program (L&I) (opens in a new tab)If a crime happened, it may help with some costs, such as funeral expenses. It doesn't pay for cleanup.
- Verify a contractor (L&I lookup) (opens in a new tab)Look up whether a company is a registered contractor before work starts.
- Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab)State health rules, such as for drug lab cleanup and hantavirus.