Documenting the Damage
Had a tough job a while back, needed to get pictures of a house after a fire. Wasn’t my place, thank goodness, belonged to a friend of a friend. They were just completely overwhelmed, you know? Couldn’t even think straight, let alone deal with insurance paperwork and all that mess. So, I offered to go over and just document everything with my camera. Seemed like the practical thing to do.
First things first, safety was key. Didn’t just barge in there. The fire department had already been through and made sure the worst hotspots were out, but you still gotta be careful. Place was a wreck. I made sure I had:
- Solid boots, thick soles. Didn’t want to step on nails or hot embers.
- Work gloves.
- A decent dust mask. That soot and smoke smell gets into everything, and it can’t be good to breathe.
Getting the Shots
I didn’t bring any fancy gear. Just used my phone, honestly. It’s got a decent camera, and it’s easy to handle. Started outside, walked around the whole house first. Took wide shots from each corner, showing the whole structure and how the fire hit it. Then I got closer, focusing on specific damage – where the roof caved in, windows blown out, siding melted off.
Moving inside was harder. The smell hits you right away, sharp and chemical. It was dark in most rooms, even during the day, because of all the soot covering everything. Had to use the phone’s flash quite a bit. I tried to be methodical. Went room by room.
Took pictures of everything I could think of:
- Walls, ceilings, floors – showing the charring and smoke damage.
- Structural bits – burned support beams, damaged doorways.
- Melted appliances, destroyed furniture. This part felt grim, seeing people’s belongings just ruined.
- Tried to get shots inside closets and cabinets if they weren’t totally destroyed, showing the contents.
- Took way more photos than I thought I’d need. Different angles, close-ups, wider views of each damaged area. Figured more is better than not enough for the insurance adjusters.
Had to watch my step constantly. Floors felt spongy in places, debris everywhere. Took my time, didn’t rush. Spent a couple of hours there, just slowly working my way through.
Wrapping Up
Once I felt I had covered every area pretty well, I got out. Backed up all the pictures right away onto my computer and a flash drive. Gave the drive to the homeowners. They were really grateful, said it was one less thing they had to face right then.
It’s not pleasant work, looking through the aftermath of something like that. It’s messy, it smells terrible, and it’s sad seeing the destruction. But someone’s got to do it, and getting good, clear pictures is super important for getting things sorted afterwards. Just gotta remember to be safe, be thorough, and maybe take a deep breath before you go in.
