How to Help a Neighbor After a Fire

7/8/2024 (Permalink)

Imagine this. You’re sitting at home relaxing after a long day of work when suddenly you hear the telltale sound that something serious has just happened- firetruck sirens. You get up and look outside to see the engines have stopped in front of your neighbor’s house. What do you do then? Run outside? Go back to what you were doing and ask them or another neighbor about it later? Or do you panic and wonder what you can do to help? Well, here are some quick and easy ways you can help a neighbor after a fire.

• Gather Essentials. If there’s a fire in your home, the last thing on your mind is going to be if you remembered to grab the toothpaste. Raid your stash of minis you took from hotels, and toothbrushes you get every time you go to the dentist and see what you can assemble. Items such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, even extra floss that you have lying around could help someone feel the slightest bit more normal after a fire.
• Bring them some food. A meal, groceries, even some extra nonperishables you have tucked in the cupboard. Anything helps. We know we all can’t be Gordon Ramsay level chefs, so a nice home cooked meal may feel like less of a gift and more of a curse but it’s the thought that counts. If you still aren’t comfortable, there’s always take-out, again, it’s the gesture that’s important.
• Start a fundraiser. It can be anything from going door-to-door asking other neighbors to pitch in supplies, to a GoFundMe to raise money to help offset some of their financial burden. Another great place to get community support, or even ideas on how to help, is through local Facebook groups.
• Check in. Even if you haven’t spoken in ages, a simple “Hey, I’m thinking of you” can go a long way. When you go through a catastrophic, life-changing event, knowing people are there and thinking of you truly makes a world of difference, trust us. 
• Respect the Chaos. Odds are good that their phones are blowing up with messages from everyone they know. If you can, let them know they don't have to respond immediately. Acknowledge they have a lot going on and that responding to you does not have to be top priority.
• Offer to listen (and mean it.) No one needs to hear about how your Great-Aunt Helen’s friend’s daughter’s boyfriend’s shed caught on fire 17 years ago, especially if they were just the victim of a fire themselves. Let them talk. Let them cry if they need to. Don’t try to fix everything. Just be there for them. At the end of the day, that’s what counts.
• Give them our number. We know what kind of damage a fire can cause, and our team of trained professionals know what it takes to properly cleanup and restore their home back to normal.