Hour one belongs to safety and clearance. Do not go back inside until the fire department releases the home, and take their guidance on what is off limits. Fires rekindle, structures weakened by heat and water fail without warning, and smoke residue is not safe to breathe for long. If anyone feels unwell, that is a medical issue first and a property issue second.
In El Cajon, the first day is a fire day, in this order: fire department clearance, board-up of every opening before nightfall, and the soot decision. Do not wipe soot, do not run the HVAC, and do not throw away damaged contents before they are inventoried; each of those first day instincts makes the fire phases harder. Photograph the openings before the crew covers them, start extraction on firefighting water the same day, and let the packout crew list contents item by item. The claim and the cleanup both run on that first day's record.
The first calls, in order, are your insurer to open the claim, and a restoration contractor for board up if windows, doors, or the roof are open. Photograph everything you safely can before anything moves. Do not wipe soot, do not wash walls, do not run the furnace or air conditioning, and do not throw away damaged belongings before they are documented, even the ones that are obviously ruined.
By the end of the first day you should have three things: a claim number, a secured house, and a scheduled assessment. The assessment produces the written scope that everything else, the insurer's estimate, the cleaning plan, the rebuild timeline, is measured against. Keep every receipt from the first night onward; loss of use coverage reimburses from documentation, not memory.
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