# Fire damage restoration guides

> Guides for Minneapolis homeowners after a fire: first steps, smoke smell that returns with the heat, soot on plaster, staying home and your adjuster.

URL: https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/  
Section: Home > Guides  
Last updated: 2026-10-31

Disclosure: Fire Damage Restoration Minneapolis is a call-in referral service. Your call is connected to an independent, licensed local contractor who speaks with you on that call; we do not perform the work ourselves.

Practical guides built from U.S. Fire Administration, EPA, Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Commerce sources, written for Minneapolis homes. Each one ends with a short list of details to mention when you call, so the contractor understands your situation quickly. Start with whichever fits today. Each is written for Minneapolis homes.

## Choose the guide for where you are now

Right after a fire, read the first-steps guide, which includes what to do if the house has no heat. If you are back home and the smell keeps returning, the odor guide explains where it hides. If plaster ceilings show black lines, read the soot guide. The safety guide covers whether you can stay, and the insurance guide covers the adjuster and the proof-of-loss form.

Each guide ends with the details worth mentioning when you call. For quick answers, the [questions and answers page](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/faq/) collects them in one place, and the fire restoration services pages explain how each kind of work is done. Sources are listed at the end of every guide.

The guides are general information. They do not replace the Minneapolis Fire Department, a licensed electrician or heating contractor, or your insurer, who make the formal decisions about safety and coverage.

We review them when the underlying sources change.

## Every guide

Five guides covering the questions homeowners ask most in the first weeks after a fire.

- [Is it safe to stay after a fire](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/is-it-safe-to-stay-after-a-fire/): Deciding whether you can stay in a Minneapolis home after a fire: structure, heat, utilities, smoke, water and who lives there.
- [Smoke odor that won't go away](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/smoke-odor-that-won-t-go-away/): Why smoke smell comes back when the heat runs, where it hides in older Minneapolis houses, and what clears it for good.
- [Soot on walls and ceilings](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/soot-on-walls-and-ceilings/): What black marks on plaster walls and ceilings mean, why some trace the framing, and how soot is removed without setting it.
- [What to do after a house fire](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/what-to-do-after-a-house-fire/): The first hours and days after a Minneapolis house fire, in order: safety, shelter, heat and pipes, insurance and cleanup.
- [Working with your insurance adjuster](https://firedamagerestorationminneapolis.com/guides/working-with-your-insurance-adjuster/): How a fire claim works in Minnesota: the adjuster's role, proof of loss, documenting hidden damage, contents lists and where to get help.

## Question not covered here?

Call to ask an independent local restoration contractor directly on that same call.

## Talk to someone

Call (612) 471-0995 (+16124710995). Your call connects to an independent local contractor who speaks with you on that call.