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Fire DamageRestoration Colorado Springs
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Smoke · Soot · Water · Odor · Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs fire damage restoration,done in the right order

After a fire, the order of work matters as much as the work itself: secure the house, dry it, lift soot without smearing it, then deal with the smell. One call connects you with an independent restoration contractor who serves Colorado Springs and can talk through your situation right away.

Call Now(719) 789-8600

Call-in referral service. You speak with an independent contractor on the same call; nothing starts until you agree.

  • House fires and wildfire smoke
  • Soot and smoke residue
  • Water left by firefighting
  • Board-up and odor removal
  • Fire, smoke and waterHouse fires, wildfire smoke and the water left behind by firefighting.
  • Independent contractorsYou speak directly with a local restoration contractor and decide everything yourself.
  • Across Colorado SpringsFrom the foothill neighborhoods on the west side to the newer subdivisions in the east.

Key facts: Home

  • Fire damage restoration covers securing the house, removing firefighting water, cleaning smoke and soot, removing odor and restoring belongings.
  • Colorado Springs saw two of the state's most destructive wildfires: Waldo Canyon in 2012 and Black Forest in 2013.
  • Soot is lifted with dry methods first; water or cleaners applied first can smear it permanently into paint.
  • The ANSI/IICRC S700 standard sets out how professional fire and smoke damage restoration should be done.

Where to start

What does your home look like after the fire?

Start with what you are seeing or smelling. Each tile opens the page that explains the cause and the right first step.

Services

Fire restoration services you can be connected with

Each page explains how the work is done, what you can safely do yourself and what to ask a contractor.

Not sure? Call(719) 789-8600
  • Workers carrying plywood sheets to cover a window opening on a two-story house

    Board-Up and Tarping

    Broken windows, forced doors and roof vents leave a burned house open. Securing it protects what is left from weather and intruders.

    Explore service
  • Restoration workers packing labeled boxes and wrapping a chair in plastic inside a smoke-stained living room

    Contents Pack-Out and Cleaning

    Furniture, clothing, documents and keepsakes are inventoried, packed, cleaned off-site and stored while the house is restored.

    Explore service
  • Technician in a respirator placing a hydroxyl air treatment unit in a bedroom with drapes removed

    Odor Removal

    Smoke smell lives in residue. Removing it means finding where that residue hides, cleaning it out, then treating what is left.

    Explore service
  • Technician wiping a gray smoke film from a painted living room wall with a dry sponge

    Smoke Damage Cleanup

    Smoke travels far past the burned room. Cleanup follows residue into closets, attics, ducts and wall cavities so it does not keep resurfacing.

    Explore service
  • Gloved hand pulling a dry soot sponge down a blackened wall, leaving a lighter stripe

    Soot Removal

    Black, oily deposits near the fire need the right first touch. Soot is lifted dry, then cleaned, sealed or replaced material by material.

    Explore service
  • Industrial fans and a dehumidifier drying a stripped room with wet subfloor and cut-away drywall

    Water Damage From Firefighting

    Hoses put out the fire and soak everything below it. Drying fast and opening wet cavities keeps mold and rot from following.

    Explore service
  • Smoky orange sky over foothill homes with pine-covered slopes behind

    Wildfire Smoke Damage

    Homes near a wildfire can fill with fine ash and smell without any flames reaching them. Cleanup targets air, ducts, fabrics and surfaces.

    Explore service

Before anything else

Restoration can wait until everyone is safe. These come first.

  1. Do not go back inside until the fire department says the house is safe.
  2. If you smell gas, leave without using switches and call the utility from outside.
  3. Keep children, pets and anyone with breathing or heart problems away from smoke residue and ash.
  4. Do not wipe soot, run the furnace or turn on fans in sooty rooms.

Why fire damage spreads further than the flames

Most of the damage after a house fire is not char. Hot smoke rises and spreads through hallways, stairwells, ducts and wall cavities, leaving residue in rooms the fire never reached. Firefighting water runs down through floors into the rooms and basement below. Broken windows and roof vents let in weather. A small kitchen fire can leave a film on every wall upstairs; a fire on the second floor can soak a finished basement.

That is why restoration follows a sequence. The house is secured with board-up and tarping, standing water is removed and drying begins, residue is lifted with soot removal and smoke damage cleanup, belongings are cleaned or packed out, and only then is lingering smell treated through odor removal. Skipping ahead, by repainting over residue or spraying fragrance, usually means doing the work twice. The full list of fire restoration services shows each stage in detail.

Hallway with a smoke-stained ceiling and an open door leading to a clean bedroom

How it works

One call, then a contractor who does this work

This site is a referral line, not a restoration company. When you call, your call is connected to an independent restoration contractor who works in Colorado Springs, and you speak with them on that same call about what happened and what needs to happen next.

Any visit, assessment or work is arranged directly between you and the contractor. We do not collect your details for later contact, and nobody calls you back unless you arrange it with the contractor on the call.

  • Independent local contractors
  • Nothing starts without your OK
  • Ask about their experience and standards
  • Written scope you can share with your insurer
Restoration contractor talking with a homeowner in front of a boarded window

Before and after

What careful soot and smoke cleanup can do

A soot-blackened fireplace wall and the same room after dry soot removal, cleaning and sealing.

Before and after: a soot-blackened stone fireplace surround cleaned to natural stoneBeforeAfter
Illustrative image. Results depend on what burned, the materials and how quickly cleanup starts.

Before and after

Restoration jobs, side by side

Common jobs after fires in Colorado Springs homes, each shown from the same angle before and after.

  • Before and after: a grease-fire kitchen with sooty cabinets restored to clean white cabinets
    BeforeAfter

    Kitchen after a stovetop fire

    Protein residue degreased from cabinets, ceiling and walls, then sealed and painted.

  • Before and after: a ceiling striped with soot along the joists cleaned to even white
    BeforeAfter

    Ceiling soot stripes

    Soot along the joists lifted with dry sponges before cleaning and sealing.

  • Before and after: a flooded finished basement dried and rebuilt with new drywall
    BeforeAfter

    Basement after firefighting water

    Wet pad and lower drywall removed, the room dried, then rebuilt.

  • Before and after: a smoky closet of clothes cleaned and returned on fresh shelves
    BeforeAfter

    Closet contents

    Clothing packed out, cleaned and returned to a cleaned and sealed closet.

Illustrative images. Every job depends on the property and the damage.

The process

How fire damage restoration usually unfolds

  1. 1

    Fire department release

    The fire department releases the house; utilities are checked before anything is turned back on.

  2. 2

    Cover the openings

    Windows, doors and roof openings are covered against weather and trespass.

  3. 3

    Document the damage

    Every room, closet and the exterior is photographed before cleanup, for you and your insurer.

  4. 4

    Remove water and dry

    Standing water is extracted, wet materials removed and the structure dried with recorded readings.

  5. 5

    Clean smoke and soot

    Residue is removed with dry methods first, then cleaning matched to each surface, with air filtration running.

  6. 6

    Contents and odor

    Belongings are cleaned or packed out, ducts cleaned if needed, and remaining odor treated.

  7. 7

    Repair and return

    Damaged materials are replaced, permits pulled where required, and belongings returned.

Neighborhoods

Fire restoration across Colorado Springs neighborhoods

Fire risk and housing differ across the city, from foothill wildfire areas to historic districts and newer east-side subdivisions.

All service areas
  • Log-sided home on a large lot among tall ponderosa pines with a gravel drivewayService area

    Black Forest

    Ponderosa pine country on large lots north of the city (ZIP 80908), where the 2013 Black Forest Fire destroyed about 500 homes.

    Learn more
  • Large stucco home with a tile roof among mature trees below the slopes of Cheyenne MountainService area

    Broadmoor

    Large older homes on the Cheyenne Mountain slopes in ZIP 80906, a high wildfire-exposure area with detailed finishes to restore.

    Learn more
  • Two-story homes on a curving street below scrub oak and pine-covered foothillsService area

    Mountain Shadows

    Northwest foothill homes rebuilt after the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire, inside the city's wildland-urban interface (ZIP 80919).

    Learn more
  • Row of two-story red brick storefronts with arched windows on a sunny west-side avenueService area

    Old Colorado City

    The 1859 west-side town (ZIP 80904) with brick commercial blocks, small frame houses and older materials that change restoration.

    Learn more
  • Three-story Victorian house with a turret, wraparound porch and tall trees on a wide streetService area

    Old North End

    Large 1890s Victorian houses north of downtown (ZIPs 80903 and 80907) with plaster, tall stairwells, attics and historic finishes.

    Learn more
  • Row of two-story suburban homes with vinyl siding beside a grassy open space under a wide skyService area

    Stetson Hills

    Newer east-side subdivisions (ZIP 80923) next to grassland, where a 2022 grass fire forced about 500 homes to evacuate.

    Learn more

Local fire history

Major fires that shaped Colorado Springs

Two wildfires a year apart changed how the city thinks about fire.
FireWhenWhat happened
Waldo Canyon FireJune to July 2012Burned 18,247 acres west of the city and destroyed 346 homes, mostly in Mountain Shadows; two people died.
Black Forest FireJune 2013Burned more than 14,000 acres north of the city and destroyed about 500 homes; two people died.
Grass fire in Stetson HillsMay 2022Burned about 30 acres inside an east-side neighborhood and forced about 500 homes to evacuate.

Colorado Springs

Fire damage in Colorado Springs is not one problem

Colorado Springs stretches from the pine-covered foothills of Pikes Peak to the grasslands of the plains, and its homes range from 1890s Victorians to houses built last year. Restoration has to fit the house and the place. In foothill neighborhoods such as Mountain Shadows and Broadmoor, the city's wildland-urban interface rules affect exterior repairs. [5] In Black Forest, wood stoves, wells, propane and outbuildings are part of the picture. In the Old North End and Old Colorado City, plaster, old woodwork and lead paint change how cleaning is done. On the east side, in places like Stetson Hills, grass fires, attached garages and finished basements are the common themes.

Across all of them, the dry Front Range air helps wet materials dry but lets fine soot and ash drift easily, so containment and air filtration matter. And because forced-air furnaces run much of the year at this elevation, the heating system is one of the first places restoration crews check for residue.

Guides

Guides for the days after a fire

Plain-language guides to the decisions homeowners face first.

All guides
  • Hallway with a smoke-stained ceiling and an open door leading to a clean bedroomGuide

    Is it safe to stay after a fire

    How to decide whether your family can stay in the house after a fire or smoke event, and who should leave first.

    Read the guide
  • Person holding a sweater to their face to smell it beside an open closetGuide

    Smoke odor that won't go away

    Why smoke smell keeps coming back after cleaning, where it usually hides, and how to track down the source.

    Read the guide
  • White ceiling with regular gray stripes along the joists above a smoky roomGuide

    Soot on walls and ceilings

    How to read soot patterns on walls and ceilings, what is safe to try yourself, and when to stop and call.

    Read the guide
  • Family standing on a sidewalk wrapped in blankets looking at their smoke-stained house at duskGuide

    What to do after a house fire

    The first hours and days after a fire, in order: safety, shelter, insurance, securing the house and starting cleanup.

    Read the guide
  • Clipboard with an inventory checklist on a table in a smoke-damaged living roomGuide

    Working with your insurance adjuster

    How to prepare for the adjuster's visit after a fire, what to document, and how to keep the claim moving.

    Read the guide

FAQ

Fire damage restoration questions

Still have a question?

A two-minute call usually answers it.

Call Now(719) 789-8600

What does fire damage restoration include?

Securing the house, removing firefighting water and drying, cleaning smoke and soot, cleaning or packing out belongings, removing odor and repairing damaged materials. Most jobs involve several of these.

How soon should restoration start after a fire?

As soon as the fire department releases the house. Securing openings and drying wet materials are the most time-sensitive steps, because weather and mold can add damage within days.

Can I clean smoke damage myself?

Light, dry residue on a few hard surfaces, sometimes. Heavy soot, residue that smears, smell from the vents and anything in an older home with possible lead paint are better left to a professional.

Does homeowners insurance cover fire damage restoration?

Many policies cover fire, smoke and firefighting water damage, but terms vary. Report the loss promptly, document it before cleanup and confirm coverage with your adjuster.

Does this site do the restoration work?

No. This is a call-in referral service. Your call is connected to an independent contractor, and any work is agreed directly between you and them.

Do you help with wildfire smoke damage?

Yes. Calls about smoke and ash from wildfires are connected with contractors who clean homes after smoke events, including ducts, fabrics and attics.

Restored, sunlit living room with Pikes Peak visible through the window

Talk it through

Talk to a Colorado Springs fire restoration contractor

Call to be connected with an independent restoration contractor who serves your part of Colorado Springs. Describe what happened and what you are seeing, and talk through the next steps on the same call.

Call now(719) 789-8600

Sources and citations

  1. [1]Wikipedia — Waldo Canyon Fire
  2. [2]Wikipedia — Black Forest Fire
  3. [3]KRDO — Grass fire near Stetson Hills Boulevard forces evacuations (2022)
  4. [4]IICRC — ANSI/IICRC S700 Standard for Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration
  5. [5]City of Colorado Springs — Wildland-urban interface construction requirements
  6. [6]U.S. Fire Administration — After a fire

Keep reading

Related services and guides

Call Now(719) 789-8600