Staten Island is a borough of houses. In St. George, Stapleton and Port Richmond, along the South Shore in Great Kills, Eltingville and Tottenville, and on the hills of Todt Hill and Grymes Hill, many homes are detached or semi-detached houses, often with an attic, a basement and a yard. A fire in a house is a different event from a fire in an apartment: there is no managing agent to call and no building to board it up, and the smoke has the whole house to fill. This page covers fire damage restoration on Staten Island for homeowners and the people who rent from them.
NYC Fire Damage Restoration is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving New York City, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.
Fire damage to a Staten Island house? Send the request, and an independent local provider can contact you.
The first day for a homeowner
NYC Emergency Management’s guidance after a fire is the homeowner’s checklist. Check with the fire department that the house is safe to enter. Do not attempt to reconnect utilities. Inventory the damaged property and do not throw anything away until the inventory is made. If you are insured, contact your insurer for detailed instructions on protecting the property, conducting the inventory and contacting fire damage restoration companies. If you have a mortgage, notify the mortgage company.
Securing the roof and windows
In a house, a fire that reaches the attic or the walls can leave the roof open, and windows broken or forced. With no building management to send workers, securing the house falls to the owner, under the insurer’s instructions. Rain through a roof opening adds water damage to everything below it. The guide to emergency board up explains what is usually covered, and what to photograph before the boards go up.
Smoke through every floor
Many houses have open stairs, and some have forced-air heating and cooling with ducts running to every room. Smoke from a fire on one floor can reach the bedrooms upstairs, the basement and the closets in between. The EPA advises against running a heating or cooling system you know or suspect is contaminated with mold, which can follow wet firefighting; ask the provider who inspects whether the ducts need cleaning before the system is used again. See smoke damage restoration NYC and smoke odor removal.
Power, gas and generators
- Main power. The CDC advises switching off the main power only if the panel can be reached from a dry place, never touching switches or tools while standing in water, and having an electrician check the system before the power is turned back on.
- Gas. If you smell gas, the CDC says to turn off the main gas valve, open the windows and leave the house at once.
- Generators. The EPA says portable generators go outside, at least 20 feet from the house, never in a garage, basement or shed. Their carbon monoxide can kill in minutes.
Water in the basement
Water from firefighting runs down, and in a house it can end up in the lowest rooms. A finished basement can be soaked even when the fire was upstairs. The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. The guide to fire and water damage restoration covers drying, and what to do while the power is off.
If you rent part of the house
Some Staten Island houses have a second unit. If a tenant lives in yours, they have their own belongings and perhaps their own renters insurance, and both of you should photograph and list the damage separately. If DOB or HPD vacates the house or part of it, DOB says no one can enter while the order is in effect, the owner must correct the conditions and request that it be lifted, and each agency that issued an order inspects and rescinds it. DOB lists a Construction Enforcement Unit for Staten Island on its Vacates Order page.
Neighborhoods across Staten Island
The request form covers the whole island: St. George, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, Port Richmond, West Brighton, Mariners Harbor, Graniteville, Bulls Head, Todt Hill, Grymes Hill, New Springville, New Dorp, Midland Beach, Great Kills, Eltingville, Annadale, Huguenot, Rossville and Tottenville. When you send it, say what burned, the building type and whether you can get back in. An independent local restoration provider can contact you, inspect and quote directly. For the rebuild, read fire damage repair, and for the fire department’s records, how to get an FDNY fire report.
Questions people ask
Who boards up a house after a fire on Staten Island?
In a house you own, securing it is yours to arrange, under your insurer’s instructions. NYC Emergency Management advises contacting the insurer for detailed instructions on protecting the property.
Can I use a generator after a house fire?
Only outside and at least 20 feet from the house, the EPA says, never in a garage, basement or shed. Its carbon monoxide can kill in minutes.
Does NYC Fire Damage Restoration cover all of Staten Island?
The request form covers the whole island. Your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving New York City, who can contact you.
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