The first 24 hours after water, fire or mold

Water

Stop the source, cut power to wet areas, move what you can, and call. Drying starts within a day or mold does. Photograph everything before it is moved.

Fire

Wait for the fire department to release the house. Do not run the HVAC (it spreads soot). Call your insurer and a restoration Pro for board-up, and stay out of rooms with structural damage.

Mold

Small patches on hard surfaces can be cleaned. Anything larger than about 10 square feet, anything inside walls, or anything that keeps coming back needs a professional and, above all, the moisture source fixed.

Your insurer

Report the loss promptly. Mitigation, the emergency work that stops further damage, is expected of you and normally covered. Repairs come after the adjuster sets a scope. Restoration Pros usually work directly with the adjuster.

What restoration does

Extraction, drying with monitored equipment, removal of what cannot be saved, cleaning and deodorizing, and then rebuilding. Ask whether the technicians are IICRC certified and whether the company handles the rebuild or hands it off.