# Fire Damage Cleanup Boulder CO | Debris, Soot & Water Removal | Boulder Fire Restoration Pros > Fast fire damage cleanup in Boulder — debris removal, soot wipe-down, and water extraction in the first 24 hours. IICRC-certified. Call 24/7. URL: https://boulderfirerestorationpros.com/fire-damage-cleanup-boulder/ ![HEPA vacuum removing ultrafine ash from a horizontal surface in a Boulder home](/images/misc/hepa-vacuuming-ultrafine-ash-from-horizontal-surfa.webp) # 24/7 Fire Damage Cleanup in Boulder, CO Debris removal, soot wipe-down, and standing water extraction in the first 24 hours — before soot etches surfaces and trapped water starts mold. Last updated: July 3, 2026 Call (303) 963-9968 [tel:+13039639968 →](tel:+13039639968) Free Assessment [/contact/ →](/contact/) BBB A+ Accredited Business IICRC FSRT Certified Firm 60-Min Response — 24/7/365 ## Fire damage cleanup starts within the first 24 hours Has your house just gone through a fire, and now you're staring at soot-covered walls and soaked carpet? That first day feels overwhelming. You want the mess gone, but you don't want to make it worse. For over 20 years, our IICRC-certified crews have handled that exact first 24 hours across the Colorado Front Range — including the area FEMA sent its first-ever wildfire Mitigation Assessment Team to study after the Marshall Fire hit Boulder County.[1] Fire damage cleanup covers everything that happens before rebuilding starts: debris removal, soot wipe-down, water extraction, and securing what's left. Get this stage right, and the rest of your recovery moves faster. Rush it or skip a step, and you risk mold, permanent stains, and a smaller insurance settlement. So let's walk through what actually needs to happen first. Soot is acidic or alkaline, depending on what burned. Left on glass, brass, or aluminum for 24 to 48 hours, it starts to etch and corrode the surface for good.[1] Water from firefighting doesn't wait either. Mold can start growing on a wet surface inside that same 24 to 48 hour window. So the clock on cleanup starts the moment the fire department clears you to go back inside. In Boulder, that clock matters even more in winter. A hard freeze can lock standing water into a crawlspace or basement before extraction equipment ever gets there, trapping moisture in the framing for weeks. But speed isn't the same as rushing. A trained crew still runs a full safety check — gas, electrical, structural — before anyone touches a surface. ## What fire damage cleanup actually covers Cleanup isn't one job. It's five, done in order. First, we walk the property in full protective gear and document every room with photos before anything gets touched or thrown away. Insurance adjusters want to see the damage exactly as the fire left it. Next comes debris removal — charred materials, spoiled food, and anything with fire or heavy soot damage that can't be saved. Then we pull standing water left behind by the fire hoses, since that water sits on top of ash and turns into a toxic slurry if it isn't extracted fast. After the bulk of the mess is out, we run a wipe test on hard surfaces in every room. That test tells us whether you're dealing with light, moderate, or heavy soot, and it decides whether a room gets a simple wipe-down or a full HEPA vacuum and degreasing pass.[1] One thing we see constantly on Boulder County calls goes back to the Marshall Fire. Entire homes never touched by flame still had smoke pulled deep into the HVAC system and ductwork — so the cleanup crew had to treat rooms that looked untouched on the surface. Once the property is stable, commercial dehumidifiers bring the structure down to a dry standard (see our [structural dry-out guide](/guide/structural-dry-out-after-firefighting/)), and any deeper soot staining moves into a full cleaning pass. ## Why DIY cleanup after a fire usually backfires Grabbing a mop and a bottle of all-purpose cleaner feels productive. But wiping soot with the wrong method just grinds it deeper into drywall, grout, and fabric. Running your HVAC to "air the place out" does the same thing to your whole duct system. Every vent becomes a soot delivery system instead of a fix. And hauling wet, ash-soaked debris to the curb yourself skips the documentation your adjuster needs. Missing photos here can mean a smaller settlement later. So the safest move is the boring one. Stop touching things, call a crew, and let the wipe test decide the plan before anyone starts scrubbing. If windows or doors were damaged, get the property secured right away — an unsecured property invites weather damage and theft on top of everything else. ## Our 100% Smoke Odor Guarantee backs every cleanup job Every cleanup project we run rolls into our 100% Smoke Odor Guarantee. If odor returns within 30 days of completion, we come back and re-treat the property at no charge. That guarantee only holds because cleanup gets done right the first time — full soot removal, full water extraction, full HVAC check. Skipping any one of those steps is how odor sneaks back in weeks later. We're BBB Accredited A+ and EPA Lead-Safe Certified, which matters on older Boulder homes where lead paint can end up mixed into the debris stream. ## Boulder County and Front Range cleanup coverage We dispatch 24/7 across Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Erie, Superior, and Broomfield. Response time matters most in the first hours after a fire, before soot sets and water soaks into framing. Our crews aim for a 60-minute response window across Boulder County. Whether it's a single-room kitchen fire or a Marshall-Fire-scale event that hit a whole neighborhood, the first move is the same. Get in, assess, and stop the damage from spreading. ## From recent projects ![HEPA vacuuming attic insulation after the Marshall Fire](/images/misc/crew-hepa-vacuuming-attic-insulation-marshall-fire.webp)![Standing water in a basement after fire suppression](/images/misc/standing-water-in-basement-after-fire-suppression-.webp)![Technician using a chemical sponge to remove dry soot](/images/misc/technician-using-chemical-sponge-to-remove-dry-soo.webp) ## Our process 1 ### Safety Walkthrough & Documentation Full PPE, a gas/electrical/structural check, and room-by-room photos before anything is touched or removed. 2 ### Debris & Unsalvageable Item Removal Charred materials, spoiled food, and anything beyond saving get cleared and logged for your claim. 3 ### Standing Water Extraction Fire-hose water gets pulled fast, before it sits on ash and soaks into subfloors and framing. 4 ### Soot & Ash Wipe-Down A wipe test on hard surfaces sorts each room into light, moderate, or heavy soot — and sets the cleaning method. 5 ### HVAC Shutdown & Protection Vents get sealed and the air handler stays off until soot is cleared, so the system can't recontaminate clean rooms. ## Why choose us ### Specialists, not generalists Fire and smoke cleanup is our core craft — IICRC FSRT and OCT-certified technicians, not a one-day generalist crew. ### 100% Smoke Odor Guarantee If odor comes back within 30 days of completion, we re-treat at no charge. No fine print. ### Equipment depth HEPA vacuums, extraction pumps, commercial dehumidifiers, and HVAC decontamination gear — all on one truck. ## Fire Damage Cleanup — common questions What's the first step in fire damage cleanup? + The first step is a safety walkthrough — checking gas, electrical, and structural risks — then documenting every room with photos before anything gets moved. That documentation protects your insurance claim. How long does fire damage cleanup take? + Most cleanup phases finish in 2 to 5 days, depending on how much debris and standing water there is. A single-room kitchen fire can wrap up faster; whole-house water and soot can run closer to a week. Can I clean up fire damage myself? + Light smoke with no visible soot is usually safe for a homeowner to handle. Anything with visible soot, standing water, or structural damage needs a professional crew, since the wrong cleaning method can make the damage permanent. Does insurance cover fire damage cleanup? + Yes, most homeowner policies cover fire damage cleanup as part of a standard fire claim. We document everything and bill most carriers directly using Xactimate. ## Fire Damage Cleanup guides ### What to Do Immediately After a House Fire The first 24 hours after a house fire — safety checks, documentation, and the calls to make before cleanup starts. [What to Do Immediately After a House Fire →](/guide/what-to-do-immediately-after-house-fire/) ### Types of Soot and How Each Is Cleaned Dry, wet, protein, and oil soot each need a different cleaning method. Using the wrong one spreads the stain instead of removing it. [Types of Soot and How Each Is Cleaned →](/guide/types-of-soot-and-how-cleaned/) ### Why Fire Causes Water and Mold Damage Firefighting water is the overlooked second disaster after a fire — why it has to be extracted fast to avoid mold. [Why Fire Causes Water and Mold Damage →](/guide/why-fire-causes-water-mold-damage/) ## Related guides ### The Structural Dry-Out Process After Firefighting How structural dry-out works after a fire — water extraction, thermal moisture mapping, commercial dehumidification, and monitoring to a dry standard. [The Structural Dry-Out Process After Firefighting →](/guide/structural-dry-out-after-firefighting/) ### Documenting Fire Damage for Your Insurance Claim Strong documentation maximizes your fire claim — photo evidence, line-item inventory, and Xactimate scoping adjusters require. [Documenting Fire Damage for Your Insurance Claim →](/guide/documenting-fire-damage-for-insurance/) ### What's Salvageable After a Fire? Many smoke-damaged items can be saved, and some can't. Which categories — electronics, documents, textiles, sentimental items — are restorable. [What's Salvageable After a Fire? →](/guide/what-is-salvageable-after-fire/) ## Need help right now? 24/7 emergency response across Boulder County. Call now or request a free assessment. Call (303) 963-9968 [tel:+13039639968 →](tel:+13039639968) Free Assessment [/contact/ →](/contact/) --- [1] FEMA Marshall Fire Mitigation Assessment Team, *Homeowner's Guide to Risk Reduction and Remediation of Residential Smoke Damage* (revised April 2025): [fema.gov](https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_rsl_marshall-mat-homeowners-guide-to-risk-reduction-and-remediation-of-residential-smoke-damage_042025.pdf)