When recovering from fire damage, most of your items can be salvaged, disinfected, and cleaned. However, you will need to pay attention to some safety rules when trying to determine what to keep and what to discard. Make sure you document everything you throw away.
Food
You will have to be very careful when dealing with food. If food is burnt or even partially burnt, throw it out. Throw out any food that has been exposed to heat, smoke or soot. The high temperatures of fire and its byproducts can make food unsafe. Do not use any canned foods where the can has bulged, is badly dented or has rusted.
Refrigerated Food
If your refrigerator was not damaged in the fire, check its content. Confirm that the food is still cold and that no soot penetrated it. If in doubt, discard the food.
Your refrigerator will keep cold for 4 hours if it is well sealed. In case that the power was turned off during the fire and the refrigerator was turned off for more than 4 hours, discard the food.
Frozen Food
The food that was in the freezer can be used if it still has ice crystals on it and if it still feels cold and hard. If not, discard it. Again, whenever in doubt, discard the food.
Medicines and Cosmetics
Clothes and textile can often be cleaned and disinfected.Once you document you may then discard any burnt materials. Be extra cautious with baby and children clothes.