First Steps

Insurance

Your first action is to contact your insurance as soon as possible after the fire to direct your following steps. Your next steps will be dependent on what your insurance policy offers.

For example, some insurance policies provide cover for temporary accommodation.

Some insurance companies may provide a case manager to assist you with the recovery process of your home.

If you are insured:

Renting: check your Contents Insurance cover.

House owner: Contact your insurance company if you have not already done so.   Give them your temporary address and contact details if relevant.

In the meantime:

• Take care not to disturb anything at the site of the fire.
• Take photos (borrow a mobile if you have to) of the damage and note what has been affected by fire and water damage.
• Do not throw away damaged items without checking with the insurance company.
• Secure the site to prevent robbery, vandalism.

Note: If deemed necessary, a member of the fire brigade may remain on your property for some time to ensure that the incident site remains safe.   After that, the responsibility for a safe site is yours.

• Keep invoices of everything: those invoices which you may still have from purchasing items affected by the fire and new purchases after the fire.

The following are questions to ask your insurance company:

• Who is your case manager or point of contact for future communication?
• When will the assessor visit?
• What does the assessor need from you?

• What should you do to keep your property safe from further damage if you have decided not to stay while repairs are carried out?

• When can you begin the clean-up process?

• What is covered by your insurance policy?
• Accommodation
• Solar panels
• Water tank
• Clean up – can they suggest any good companies?
• Restoration
• Rebuilding
• Outbuildings
• Temporary fencing

If you are not insured

You will not be able to claim any expenses associated with the cleaning, repair, restoration, or rebuilding of your home.    You can talk to your bank and make financial arrangements for the future, and talk to DHHS on 180 226 226 (Melbourne) and ask about emergency re-establishment assistance within seven days of the incident.

*- ??- snez to include own experience.

Accommodation

Although you may finding it challenging to process and manage everything, your most urgent task is to find a temporary home and create a safe place to live. The following information may be of assistance.

Even though you may be allowed to return to your home, damaged parts of the house may mean that you need to find temporary accommodation.

Short term accommodation may be available from:

• Family and friends
• Your insurance company may provide up to twelve months of funding for temporary accommodation if it is included within your policy. Call and check.
• Rental accommodation: Contact an estate agent of your choice to find a rented home.  Search List of Real Estate Agents to start you off.
• DHHS Crisis Accommodation on 1800 825 955 (Melbourne)
• Salvation Army: Crisis Accommodation or free Call 1800 627 727

Once you have made new arrangements provide your temporary address and new contact details to:

• family and friends
• council
• insurance company
• police if required
• mobile phone company
• utilities
• bank

Rental Accommodation

If you are already renting:

• Contact your landlord/managing estate agent if a tenant.   Ask what steps they would like you to take.

• Give them your temporary address and contact details.

• Contact your insurer to discuss your cover for contents to help with the replacement of items.

Determine the cause of the fire

You can be sure the Police and/or fire investigators employed by your insurance company will be visiting your home site to determine the cause of the fire. This means:

• You won't be able to access your home site until they permit you to do so
• The police will make contact with you to hear your account of what happened and ask you questions as part of that investigation (add a link to your story about this experience here)
• This process can be confronting and stressful; see the story from John, fire survivor, below.

'John quote'

Utilities: Gas, electricity, water and sewerage

You may need to undertake several actions concerning the utilities connected to your home site. These include:

• Arrange to have the gas, electricity, water and sewerage connections inspected and repaired if required or shut off completely (this is your responsibility to organise)
• If necessary, call your provider/s to negotiate payment plans to suit your circumstances
• Call each utility service provider and provide them with your temporary contact details (if required)
• DHHS has an Emergencies Financial Crisis Support website. Click HERE for the website. Under Concession and Benefits, you will find a section on Hardships. In addition, you may get relief for energy and water bills.

Site Safety

Once you have been given permission to enter the site of the fire, the safety of the site becomes your responsibility.

When considering the safety of your site:

• Are your utilities safe to use? E.g. access to clean water, sewerage facilities?
• What kind and how many meters of safety fencing will you need? Gates?
• Is it a hard hat area?
• Tarpaulins
• Access for deliveries and tradespeople.
• Telecommunications
• Demolition considerations

See Your Doctor

If you haven't already, make an appointment with your GP for a general check-up of your physical and emotional health.

You may think you are okay; however, your local GP's support can identify other areas of support you may need immediately or over the coming months.

In your appointment:

• Get a general check-up for smoke inhalation, burns and any other injuries that the fire incident may have sustained.

• Replace prescribed medications. These are also available from your My Health Record.

• Get some help if you or your family are not coping or need support for children.

You may be experiencing shock (or trauma), which can affect your ability to make simple decisions. Ask your doctor for some help if you or members of your family are not coping.

• ADD PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FROM SNEZ

Emotional & Practical Support

Dr Rob Gordon is a clinical psychologist specialising in managing people's emotional response to disasters and has been a psychological consultant to the Victorian State Emergency Management Plan since 1986. Dr Rob says:

"Remember you have experienced trauma. Your adrenalin has been activated and may still be high – making decisions is more difficult."

Rob Gordon has produced several emergency recovery videos that provide helpful advice and practical strategies to assist people who have experienced trauma caused by emergencies, such as a house fire.

The best starting point with these videos is Rob's '6 Tips For Disaster Recovery'.

6 Tips for Disaster Recovery

1. A fast recovery is not necessarily a good recovery.
2. Assess your energy levels.
3. Identify and focus on the things you can control.
4. Ask yourself, what am I NOT doing that I used to do?
5. Maintain daily routines or create new ones.
6. Deal with minor problems before they become more significant.

You can watch the full video by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlvwaDg97XM

This video will give you practical coping strategies in plain language using easy to understand steps. You may need to watch it multiple times to refresh your memory so you can stay on track.

Family and friends

Letting people know what has happened to you and your current circumstances is an implicit invitation for help and support in your recovery.

Accepting help in the initial stages is a vital step in your recovery. Family and friends may be a good short-term choice for crisis accommodation.

Give your family and friends this web address and point them to Help for Families and Friends, which gives them advice on supporting you.

Council

Your Council is a primary player in your recovery because they have an Emergency Recovery Manager who can coordinate services you may require. These may include

• An Emergency Hardship Grant from DHHS
• Temporary accommodation
• Material aid
• Personal support
• Your house site safety assessment

You should receive a call from the Recovery Manager (or a member of their recovery team) first thing, but they are not always notified of the fire by the fire brigade. So if you don’t hear from your Council within two days of the fire, call them and ask to speak to the Emergency Recovery Manager.

Your Council can be located from this list... https://knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au/

In that phone conversation with the Council Recovery Manager, discuss the following points:

• Request that this person acts as your single point of contact on any issues that may arise, so you don’t have to repeat your story to different callers
• Explain your situation and then ask them to outline what assistance they can provide you
• Provide your temporary address and contact details if relevant
• Confirm when the Council Building Surveyor will be visiting your home site to assess the structural integrity of the building and determine if there are any safety hazards (such as asbestos). The surveyor will tell you whether you can return to your home or not.

NOTE: The emergency recovery knowledge and response may vary from Council to Council. Therefore, they may not offer you all of the support measures or a variation of the support measures listed above.

Your Pets

Go to the Help Pages for advice on what to do about your pets.

Important Calls to Make

Your Childs School, Kinder or Child Care Centre

• Give the school your temporary address and contact details if relevant.
• Child/ren may have emotional difficulties: speak to the teacher/s about back-up support/counselling at school.
• You will find helpful advice here.

Your Mobile Phone Provider

• If you have lost your mobile in the fire, call your provider.
• Ask about replacement mobile – ask to use the same number because of your circumstances.
• Make account payment arrangements.
• Give them your temporary address and contact details if relevant.

Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) As soon as possible after your fire, contact DHHS on 1800 226 226 (Melbourne) for assistance under the Personal Hardship Assistance program. People are eligible for emergency relief assistance if meeting immediate needs have caused or are likely to cause hardship for an individual or a family. Hardship is demonstrated when:

• a person or family requires financial assistance to meet their immediate needs;
• these immediate needs are not being met by other relief services.

Your Employer/s

• Provide your temporary address and contact details if relevant.
• Organise leave of absence if needed.
• Make an appointment with the relevant person in your organisation to explain your circumstances. They may be able to organise a program of return to work to give you time to deal with your recovery.
• If appropriate, ask for financial help.

Your Bank

• Make an appointment o that you see the right person to help you in your circumstances.
• Give them your temporary address and contact details if relevant.
• Negotiate with the bank if you need financial assistance. Some banks have financial hardship services. You may be able to negotiate changes to your mortgage plan.
• Organise a new credit card if required. Negotiate terms.
• Request a copy of your last bank statement if you do not have access to this information.

Red Cross

Further recovery information that may be helpful is available on the Red Cross web site.

Financial assistance

DHHS has:

• Personal Hardship Assistance program
• Good Money financial services- low-income Victorians can access safe and affordable financial services
• Emergencies: Financial Crisis Support
• Concessions and Benefits: unexpected hardship may allow for help with energy and water payments
• Loans- Victorians suffering financial hardship may be eligible for a no-interest loan for the purchase of essential goods and services

Other Financial Assistance Available

• National debt helpline- if you are having trouble managing debt or paying bills, you can get helpful advice on managing debt and finding extra funds.
• Salvation Army financial assistance and financial counselling
• Speak to your bank. They may have a hardship program you can access.
• Good Shepperd Microfinance
• ATO (Australian Taxation Office) (New link) may help with tax payment if there are financial difficulties or severe hardship.