Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My tenant had to call the fire department cause he was locked out of his house and fire alarms were going off and he saw smoke. He ended up calling us and I asked him if he called 911 and he said no and that he is going to meanwhile my husband raced out the door to assist with a key and the fire department had already been there. We are going to do a walk through to asses any damages with our property manger and I was wondering if there is a particular document that I should be using for damages for this incident to keep for our records. I will be trying to get a fire report from the department. Turns out his kids left hot dogs boiling on the stove and the water evaporated and the hot dogs were burning. He tells me theres no other damage than when the fire department had to break a window in front door to get in. but who knows. thanks kim munro

Homeowners or renters insurance should cover the cost of the damages that happened. Also keep in mind that there may not be any other visible damages but there is most likely smoke damage of some sort. Depending on the severity of the smoke it may be able to just be aired out with proper ventilation.

Posted by Patty H, on Monday, February 8, 2016