Hear from Our Customers
The first few hours after a fire determine how much of your home you’ll actually save. Smoke keeps spreading. Soot keeps settling into fabrics, walls, and HVAC systems. Water from firefighting efforts starts soaking into subfloors and drywall.
You need someone on-site fast—not tomorrow, not in four hours. Someone who knows exactly what to document for your insurance claim, what to contain to stop further damage, and what equipment to bring to start drying and deodorizing immediately.
That’s what fire restoration actually is. It’s stopping the damage from getting worse while you’re still processing what just happened. It’s having a crew show up in 60 to 90 minutes with industrial air scrubbers, moisture meters, and a clear plan you can understand. It’s not waiting around hoping things don’t get worse.
When the work is done right from the start, you’re looking at weeks of restoration instead of months. You’re dealing with one contractor instead of three. And you’re not fighting your insurance company over what should’ve been covered if only it had been documented correctly.
We’ve been handling emergency fire and smoke restoration across Hamilton County and the greater Indianapolis area since 2016. We’re IICRC-certified in water restoration, applied structural drying, and microbial remediation—certifications that matter when you’re dealing with fire damage that almost always includes water damage and potential contamination.
We’re not a franchise. We’re a locally owned company that answers our own phones, shows up in our own trucks, and stands behind our own work. BBB accredited, EPA certified where it counts, and experienced with the insurance process that trips up most homeowners.
Boxley and the surrounding Hamilton County area has a mix of older homes and newer construction, and we’ve worked on both. We know what Indiana’s humidity does to fire-damaged structures if they’re not dried properly. We know how smoke behaves in forced-air systems common in this region. And we know the local adjusters, the timelines they work on, and how to get claims moving.
First, you talk to a real person—not a voicemail, not an answering service. We ask a few questions about what happened, what you’re seeing, and whether you’re safe to stay in the home. Then we’re on the way, usually within 60 to 90 minutes.
When we arrive, we do a full safety and damage assessment. We’re looking at structural integrity, checking for hazards like compromised electrical or airborne particles, and mapping out what’s affected by fire, smoke, or water. We take photos and moisture readings right then—this documentation protects you when the insurance adjuster shows up.
Next, we set up containment and start mitigation. That means HEPA air scrubbers to pull smoke particles out of the air, physical barriers to keep soot from spreading, and extraction or drying equipment if there’s water damage. We’re stopping secondary damage while we wait for approvals.
Once your claim is moving, we handle the restoration work—cleaning soot from surfaces, removing smoke odor with hydroxyl generators or thermal fogging, repairing or replacing damaged materials, and cleaning your HVAC ducts so you’re not recirculating smoke residue every time the heat kicks on. We update you every 48 hours and walk you through the space before we call it done.
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Fire restoration isn’t just about cleaning up what you can see. It’s about addressing what you can’t—the smoke in your ductwork, the soot behind your baseboards, the water in your subfloor from the fire hoses.
Our fire and smoke restoration service includes structural drying and dehumidification, soot and smoke residue removal from all surfaces, odor elimination using professional-grade equipment, content pack-out and storage if needed, HVAC duct cleaning and sanitization, and full reconstruction of damaged areas. We also coordinate directly with your insurance company using Xactimate pricing software, so the estimate we give you matches what your adjuster expects to see.
Hamilton County has seen significant home price increases over the last few years—your property is worth protecting correctly. Boxley might be small, but the homes here and throughout Adams Township represent serious investments. A rushed cleanup or a contractor who doesn’t understand fire damage science can leave you with lingering odors, hidden moisture problems, or a claim that gets partially denied because the documentation wasn’t right.
We’ve handled fire damage in older Indiana homes where knob-and-tube wiring or asbestos insulation required extra safety protocols. We’ve worked in newer builds where engineered lumber and open floor plans meant smoke traveled farther and faster. Every fire is different, but the process stays the same—assess, contain, document, restore.
You should call a fire restoration company the same day the fire department clears you to re-enter—ideally within a few hours. Smoke and soot are acidic and corrosive. The longer they sit on surfaces, the more permanent the damage becomes. Metal fixtures can start to pit and tarnish. Plastics and finishes can discolor.
Water damage from firefighting efforts is just as time-sensitive. Drywall starts breaking down after 24 hours of saturation. Mold can begin growing within 48 to 72 hours in Indiana’s humidity. The faster you start mitigation, the more of your home and belongings you’ll be able to save.
Most insurance policies also require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a loss. Waiting too long can give your insurer a reason to reduce your payout or deny parts of your claim. Calling early protects both your property and your coverage.
Most homeowners insurance policies in Indiana cover fire and smoke damage, including the cost of cleanup, repairs, and even temporary housing if your home is unlivable. But coverage depends on your specific policy, your deductible, and how well the damage is documented.
Insurance companies want to see detailed proof—photos, moisture readings, a scope of work, and an estimate that aligns with industry pricing. That’s why we use Xactimate software and assign a dedicated claims liaison to work with your adjuster. We know what documentation they need, and we provide it upfront.
You’re required to notify your insurance company within 24 to 48 hours of the fire in most cases. Don’t wait to file. Even if you’re not sure about the extent of the damage, getting the claim started protects your rights. We can walk you through that first call if you need help knowing what to say.
It depends on the size of the fire and how much of your home was affected. A small kitchen fire with localized smoke damage might take one to two weeks. A larger fire that damaged multiple rooms and required structural repairs can take several weeks to a few months.
Mitigation—the emergency work to stop further damage—usually starts the same day and wraps up within three to five days. That includes water extraction, drying, air scrubbing, and containment. Restoration—the actual cleaning, rebuilding, and finishing work—takes longer and depends on material availability, insurance approvals, and the scope of reconstruction.
We give you a realistic timeline during the initial assessment and update you every 48 hours as work progresses. If something changes—a delay in materials, an insurance holdup, additional damage we uncover—you’ll know right away. No surprises.
It depends on the extent of the damage and whether the home is safe. If the fire was small and contained to one area, you might be able to stay in unaffected parts of the house while we work. We’ll set up containment barriers and air filtration to keep smoke and dust out of your living space.
If the fire caused structural damage, compromised your electrical or plumbing systems, or left heavy smoke contamination throughout the home, it’s usually not safe to stay. Smoke particles can irritate your lungs, and soot contains chemicals you don’t want to breathe long-term—especially if you have kids, elderly family members, or anyone with respiratory issues.
Your insurance policy likely includes coverage for additional living expenses if you need to temporarily relocate. We’ll document the conditions that make your home unlivable and provide that information to your adjuster so you can get reimbursed for hotel or rental costs.
Fire damage is the direct destruction caused by flames—burned materials, charred wood, melted plastics, and structural compromise. Smoke damage is everything the smoke touched, which is usually a much larger area than where the fire actually burned.
Smoke travels through your HVAC system, seeps into closets and cabinets, and settles on walls, ceilings, and belongings far from the fire itself. It leaves behind soot residue and an odor that doesn’t go away with regular cleaning. Different types of smoke—wet smoke from smoldering low-heat fires vs. dry smoke from fast, hot fires—require different cleaning methods.
Most fire restoration projects involve far more smoke cleanup than fire damage repair. You might have a small fire in the kitchen, but smoke odor in every bedroom. That’s why we clean ductwork, seal surfaces, use hydroxyl generators or ozone treatment, and sometimes remove and replace porous materials that can’t be fully deodorized. It’s detailed work, and it matters.
We don’t file the claim—that’s something you need to do directly with your insurance company—but we handle almost everything else. We document the damage with photos and detailed notes. We create an estimate using the same Xactimate software your adjuster uses. We communicate directly with the adjuster to answer questions, schedule inspections, and clarify scope.
If there’s a dispute about what’s covered or how much something should cost, we provide the backup documentation and explain why certain repairs are necessary. We’ve worked with most of the major insurance carriers in Indiana, and we know how to present information in a way that moves claims forward instead of stalling them.
You’ll always know what’s happening with your claim. We’re not a middleman who keeps you in the dark—we’re a resource who makes the process less confusing and less stressful. You stay in control, but you don’t have to figure it out alone.
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