Why fire work is its own specialty
Plenty of contractors in the south metro do water damage, roofing or remodeling well. Fire and smoke restoration overlaps with all three but adds its own skills: identifying soot types, choosing cleaning methods that will not set stains, tracing smoke through ducts and wall cavities, deodorizing without masking, and managing a large contents inventory. Experience with those tasks is what you are really screening for.
It also helps to know who you are talking to. Some firms handle emergency services and cleanup and hand off reconstruction; others carry a job from board-up to final paint, often with subcontractors for trades like electrical and roofing. Neither model is wrong, but you should know which one you are hiring and who answers for each part.
Take notes during each conversation. When you compare two or three contractors later, the differences in their answers are often more telling than the differences in their prices.
About experience and qualifications
- How many fire and smoke jobs, not water jobs, have you done in the last year?
- Do your technicians hold IICRC certification in fire and smoke restoration, and can I see it?
- Who will supervise my job day to day, and how do I reach that person?
- Which parts of the work do you subcontract, and to whom?
- Can you give me references from recent fire jobs of a similar size?
- Do you carry liability and workers' compensation insurance, and will you send certificates?
About scope, paperwork and payment
- Will you give me a written, itemized scope before work beyond emergency services starts?
- What estimating software do you use, and will I get a copy of what goes to my insurer?
- How are change orders handled and approved?
- Who pays you, and when? Will you need me to sign anything giving you rights to my claim?
- Who pulls permits, and from which building department?
- What records will I get at the end: photos, moisture logs, test results, inspection sign-offs?
Answers that tend to build or erode confidence
Reassuring
- Specific, recent fire job references
- A clear split between emergency and rebuild paperwork
- Written scopes with room-by-room line items
- Willingness to explain the order of work and why
Worth a second look
- Pressure to sign a full repair contract the first night
- Vague answers about subcontractors or permits
- No written scope, or one with only lump sums
- Discouraging you from talking to your adjuster directly
Before you sign
- Read every page, including small print about cancellation and payment
- Confirm the company name on the contract matches the one you checked
- Keep a signed copy
- Look up the business with the Colorado Secretary of State and check online reviews
- Ask your adjuster if they have any concerns with the estimate
Common questions
Is it a red flag if a contractor shows up uninvited after the fire?
Not automatically, since some monitor emergency calls. But do not let urgency replace checking. Ask the same questions you would ask anyone else and take time before signing beyond emergency work.
General information for Centennial, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.