Do not re-enter the property until firefighters declare it safe. Photography is important, but it is never worth entering an unsafe room, climbing over debris, or opening a damaged door to get a better angle. If you were exposed to heavy smoke, seek medical attention promptly before starting any documentation work.
Good documentation follows a simple pattern: wide, medium, then close. Start each room with a wide shot from the doorway showing the whole space, then medium shots of each wall and major item, then close-ups of specific damage such as scorch marks, melted materials, water stains, and broken fixtures. This sequence lets anyone reviewing the photos later understand where each close-up belongs. Take the wide shots first, before anything is moved, cleaned, or removed, because the original state of the room is the hardest thing to recreate later.
Work room by room and keep the order consistent. Photograph the exterior first, including the roof, windows, doors, and any board-up work, then move through the home in a logical order and label your notes to match. Inside, include ceilings and floors in your shots, since soot settles upward as well as outward, and water from firefighting often damages floors and lower walls in rooms far from the fire itself. Open cabinets, closets, and drawers only if it is safe to do so, and photograph inside them, because soot and odour reach closed spaces and contents damage is easy to miss from the doorway.
For individual items, photograph the item in place, then photograph any label, brand mark, model number, or serial number if it is visible and safe to capture. That detail helps identify the item later and supports your inventory list. If an item is part of a set, photograph the set together and note how many pieces are damaged. For electronics, appliances, and furniture, include a shot that shows scale, such as the item beside a doorway or a standard object, so size is clear. Avoid using flash as your only light source if it washes out soot patterns; natural light from a doorway, plus the room light if it is safe to switch on, usually gives a truer record.
Video can add useful context that still photos miss. A slow walk-through video, narrated briefly with room names and what you see, helps reviewers follow the layout of the home. Keep videos short per room, hold the phone steady, and pause at damaged areas rather than panning quickly. Video does not replace still photos for detail, so use both: video for layout and flow, stills for specific damage and labels.
Your written inventory should grow alongside your photos. For each room, list items, their condition, and the photo that shows them, using simple descriptions such as "soot-covered, drawer warped" rather than guessing values on the spot. Note items that were removed, where they went, and who moved them, and keep a separate list for items discarded for health reasons, such as spoiled food. Our contents claim inventory checklist offers a room-by-room structure you can copy for this list. If items are packed out for cleaning, contents cleaning and pack-out information explains how that process is usually recorded.
A few practical habits make the record much stronger. Keep the original photos unedited, and store a copy in a second place, such as cloud storage or a trusted family member's device, in case your phone is damaged or lost. Do not delete blurry photos until you have a clear replacement, and do not apply filters that change colours, since soot colour and depth are part of the damage record. Note the date and time of each session, and photograph any new damage that appears later, such as water stains spreading or mould appearing in a damp area, with the date noted.
Common mistakes are easy to avoid once you know them. Photographing only the worst room and skipping rooms that "look fine" leaves gaps, since smoke travels. Photographing only close-ups without wide shots makes it hard to place damage in the home. Cleaning before photographing removes evidence of the original condition. Throwing items away before listing them creates an incomplete inventory. And relying on memory for brand names and model numbers, rather than photographing labels, slows everything down later.
If the home is large, or if damage is extensive, you do not need to finish in one session. Photograph the most damaged rooms first, then work outward, and take breaks outdoors. Wear gloves and a mask in soot-covered rooms, wash your hands after handling damaged items, and keep children and pets out of rooms being documented.
A clear photo record does not decide anything on its own, but it makes every later conversation simpler: with your insurer, with independent providers, and with anyone helping you plan repairs. It also protects you against forgetting an item in a room you rarely use, which is one of the most common gaps in fire inventories.
For an overview of this referral service, visit the home page and see Fire Damage Restoration Help and Smoke Damage Cleanup Help for related guidance.
If you would like help understanding what happens after documentation, we connect callers with independent providers who can assess the damage and explain the next stages. Call (817) 285-5098 to be connected.