Your first hour after the fire
- Get everyone out and call 911. The Red Cross says if a fire starts, get out, stay out and call for help.
- Stay out until the fire department says it is safe. If you smell gas, call 911 and then DTE at (800) 947-5000 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 from outside.
- Call your insurer. MiReady says to ask for detailed instructions on protecting your property, taking inventory and contacting restoration companies.
- Ask the Red Cross for help if you need shelter: contact your local chapter, or 800-733-2767.
- Photograph what you can see from outside or when you are allowed in, and list what was lost. Keep receipts for temporary housing and supplies.
- Once the building is released, request a company on the form, and do not agree to a contract on the spot.
What fire and smoke restoration involves
A fire job has two halves. Cleanup removes soot, smoke residue, burned debris and the water the fire department used, and it often includes sealing and deodorizing. Reconstruction replaces what burned. IICRC S700, the Standard for Professional Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration, is now in its first edition, from 2025, and it excludes wildfires and chemical or industrial fires. Contents restoration covers belongings.
Debris from a home should not be burned. EGLE says that includes structural materials, roofing, insulation, carpet and furniture; only trees, logs, brush and stumps may be burned.
What fire and smoke restoration costs in Michigan: estimates, not quotes
Our estimate for smoke and fire restoration in Michigan is $6,375 to $19,400 per job, or $3 to $8 per square foot. It is a model, not a quote, built from one national published range. Fire claims are rarer and larger than water claims, and the national figure in the table shows it. That figure is a trade body's number for paid claims, not a price.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $6,375 to $19,400 per job | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Michigan hazardous materials removal worker median wage ratio (0.94). No Michigan restoration company price is shown, because none of the companies we looked at published a price we could count. |
| Estimated range per square foot, not a quote | $3 to $8 per square foot | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Michigan hazardous materials removal worker median wage ratio (0.94). No Michigan restoration company price is shown, because none of the companies we looked at published a price we could count. |
| Hazardous materials removal worker wage, Michigan median | $22.30 an hour (middle half of workers: $19.66 to $26.65) | What the nearest federal occupation is paid (BLS May 2025, read through O*NET OnLine), not what you are charged. BLS has no water or fire restoration occupation. |
| Same occupation, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn median | $22.30 an hour (middle half: $19.83 to $27.17) | Pay, not price. Mapping to restoration crews is our inference. |
| Same occupation, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood median | $21.82 an hour (middle half: $19.66 to $27.50) | Pay, not price. |
| Insurer fire and lightning claims, national average paid | $88,170 per claim; 0.23 claims per 100 insured homes | Insurance Information Institute, ISO data 2019 to 2023. National, not Michigan. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row is a model, not a quote. It takes one published national range for this job (cost guides from third-party sites that we have not verified and do not cite) and multiplies them by Michigan's hazardous materials removal worker median wage ratio to the US (0.94, BLS May 2025 data read through O*NET OnLine), the nearest federal occupation to a restoration crew. The wage rows in the table are what that occupation is paid, which is not a price. Restoration is priced from measured damage and equipment and is often paid by an insurer, so a real quote can land outside the range. We have not collected quotes, and we found no Michigan restoration company that publishes a price we could count. Full method. Prices as of Oct 19, 2026.
Fire claims: the clocks and the withholding rule
DIFS says there is no time limit for an insurer to complete a fire investigation, so stay in contact, and consider a DIFS complaint if the delay seems unreasonable. MCL 500.2833 requires fire policies to make loss payable within 30 days after proof of the amount of loss, and to allow suit within 1 year after the loss or the period the policy states, whichever is longer. The policy decides if that governs a given claim, so check the policy and ask an attorney.
Many municipalities take part in a fire insurance withholding program. DIFS says part of a settlement, 25 percent, can be held in escrow until the structure is repaired, replaced or demolished, when damage exceeds 49 percent of the insurance on the real property and the insurer has no evidence of a licensed contractor within 15 days after final settlement. We could not confirm which cities take part, so ask your city or insurer.
Asbestos and lead in an older burned house
Anyone hired to remove or encapsulate friable asbestos on another person's property must be licensed by the state asbestos program, with exempt trades allowed limited work if trained and accredited. EGLE requires advance notification for renovation and demolition under the federal asbestos rule. For pre-1978 homes, EPA's lead rule applies to paid work that disturbs painted surfaces. Ask a company how it handles both before it demolishes anything.
When fire and smoke damage cannot wait
- Flames or smoke are present: call 911 first.
- The structure looks unsafe, or the fire department has not released it.
- You smell gas.
- You have nowhere to sleep tonight.
- Smoke odor in rooms the fire did not reach, once the building is released.
- Soot on surfaces that you have photographed for the insurer.
Permits and licenses after a fire in Michigan
No Michigan page we read states one rule for fire repair permits, and most city pages say nothing about fire, so check with your city building department before any structural work. Michigan's residential license applies to paid repair of a one- or two-family home from $600, and electrical, plumbing and mechanical repairs fall to those licensed trades. The permit office is named on your city page.
Ask which licenses your state requires for the work, and check them with your state's licensing office before any work starts. A credential from a private body, such as IICRC, is not a license.
A tool for this job
First hour checklist
Pick what happened and say if any hazard applies, and you get a short numbered list that fits one phone screen. It sits beside the request form and does not replace it. Nothing you tap here is sent anywhere.
Open the toolQuestions people ask
Can fire damage be repaired?
Often yes, in two stages: cleanup, then reconstruction. What can be saved depends on the damage, and that is the insurer's and the company's assessment, not ours.
Who cleans up after a house fire in Michigan?
You hire a restoration company, usually after your insurer gives instructions. DIFS says the insurer may recommend contractors but you have the right to choose, and to be wary of anyone who asks you to sign an insurance check over to them.
How long does fire damage restoration take?
No figure is available, and DIFS says insurers have no time limit to complete a fire investigation. Stay in contact with the insurer and keep records.
What help is there if my home is not insured?
DIFS says to contact your local Red Cross at 800-733-2767 or a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at 800-621-3362. Michigan 211 also connects callers with housing and disaster recovery programs.
What can be saved after a house fire?
Ask the company which items it can clean, which it recommends discarding and why, and photograph everything before it moves. No sourced list exists to check its answers against.
- O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL/ETA), BLS 2025 wage data: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers (SOC 47-4041), Michigan Read Oct 19, 2026. Our reading of the source, not something it states outright. Confirm before you rely on it.
- RestorationMatch: how we estimate costs (editorial policy) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Triple-I: Facts + Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance Read Oct 19, 2026. Confirm with the source before you rely on it.
- MI Ready (MSP/EMHSD): Fires Read Oct 19, 2026.
- American Red Cross: Home Fire Safety Read Oct 19, 2026.
- S700 (IICRC) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- FAQ: Storm Recovery (EGLE) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- DIFS Disaster Prep: Fire Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 500.2833 Read Oct 19, 2026.
- DIFS: Fire Insurance Withholding FAQ Read Oct 19, 2026.
- DIFS Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Asbestos Abatement Contractor Licensing (MIOSHA) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Asbestos NESHAP program (EGLE) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Lead RRP Program (EPA) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 339.2401 Definitions Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 339.2403 Exemptions Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Michigan 211 Read Oct 19, 2026.
- DTE Energy: Natural Gas Emergency Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Consumers Energy bill insert: What to do if there's a natural gas emergency (Oct 2020) Read Oct 19, 2026.