Property adjusters beware: Fire danger ahead

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there were approximately 490,500 structure fires reported in the United States in 2020, with an average of a home structure fire reported every 89 seconds. The cost in 2020 (not including wildfires) was over $12.1 billion in damages. You can imagine that this frequency of fires creates a tremendous volume of property damage claims for insurance companies and their field adjusters.

Once a structure fire is extinguished, it isn’t long before a claim is filed and insurance adjusters are on scene. In some cases, adjusters can show up within hours after a fire has occurred to begin the process of documenting the damages. The assumption is that once the fire department is finished, the building should be relatively safe to enter.

The moment an adjuster enters the building, they often find themselves exposed to all sorts of health and safety hazards as they begin to walk through the debris to take photos, measure rooms and draw diagrams. In most cases, fire-damaged buildings are poorly lit, which makes working or even walking around dangerous. Roofs, walls and floor structures may appear stable, but in fact be on the verge of collapse. Falling debris, exposure to asbestos and lead, and breathing high concentrations of toxic VOCs are just a few examples of the hazards insurance adjusters face just on their first initial site inspection.

Then, after the preliminary damage assessment is completed, adjusters may spend long hours during subsequent visits going through and itemizing damaged personal property, preparing total loss inventories and writing repair estimates. In most cases where buildings have sustained fire or smoke damage, adjusters may spend numerous hours and sometimes days inside a fire-damaged building, all the while being exposed to a wide range of hazards.

What is most concerning is the fact that many insurance adjusters have no idea what health and safety risks they may be exposed to in burned-out buildings or what toxic combustion byproducts may be present that could cause acute or chronic illness or disease. This holds especially true for large loss adjusters who may have to handle the most severe or largest fire losses.

Current discussions among industry health and safety professionals go as far as considering post-structure fire environments may be what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) classifies as Immediately

Dangerous to Life and Health or IDLH. The definition of IDLH reads: “IDLH or Immediately dangerous to life or health means an atmospheric concentration of any toxic, corrosive or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat to life or would cause irreversible or delayed adverse health effects or would interfere with an individual’s ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.”

It is almost unheard of for adjusters to do a risk or job hazard assessment before they walk into a fire loss or have an independent environmental professional test for hazardous substances other than maybe lead or asbestos and this may only be done after the adjuster has already been exposed.

In over 43 years of working in the construction and restoration industry, I have rarely witnessed an insurance adjuster wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE) at a fire loss. I have seen adjusters come out of damaged buildings with soot and ash all over their hands, faces and hair, their shoes and pants covered in black muck, and then get in their cars to take it all home. I don’t know if these adjusters were given the proper PPE and training and decided to disregard it, or if they were never given any training or PPE to begin with. This has to change as lives and livelihoods depend on it.

Conversely, OSHA requires employers to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards. In the case of entering a burnt building, OSHA would expect the adjuster to have PPE to protect them and training on the use of that PPE.

How would an adjuster understand specifically what is needed before entering a fire-damaged building? That involves a few basic steps. Some of the minimal considerations would include:

• Completion of a Job Hazard Assessment (JHA) for the adjuster’s tasks
• Being provided and wearing the PPE that is identified in the hazard assessment
• Training on the use of that PPE
• A written respiratory protection program based on the likely need to wear a respirator
• Using a proper fit-tested respirator

Let’s briefly discuss the completion of these steps. A JHA can be found in an employer’s safety program or through a Google search. The JHA form identifies work tasks, hazards associated with those tasks and controls to prevent injuries from the hazards. One of the controls for hazards is wearing PPE – the JHA will identify the PPE necessary for each work task (i.e., respiratory protection for VOCs and particulate). OSHA’s PPE Standard 1910.132, referenced below, should then be followed for PPE training. Finally, as mentioned above, OSHA does require a written respiratory protection program if employees wear respirators.

I recognize that some of these steps, especially developing a written program, may be beyond the capabilities of the average adjuster or company. In that case, it would be best to turn to a safety professional in the company (e.g., Certified Safety Professional or Certified Industrial Hygienist) or hire a consulting firm with OSHA compliance experience and certified individuals on staff.

As daunting as this may seem, the process of working through the requirements with a certified professional actually simplifies the complexity. The safety professional can use the expertise of the adjusters to identify the types of losses (and subsequent hazards) that are commonly encountered. Based on the hazards of those losses, the PPE, specific safety practices, and necessary training can be derived. From there, written programs can be created and routine training established.

The assumption that ‘all is clear’ just isn’t true when an adjuster enters a burnt building. There is personal risk involved, and OSHA has requirements for controlling the myriad of risks that may be encountered. With the adoption of the steps mentioned in this article, adjusters can be more OSHA-compliant and protect their long-term health.

Sean M. Scott is the author of Secrets of the Insurance Game and The Red Guide to Recovery – Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors. Scott has also written numerous articles and papers on smoke and fire-related issues. Contact him at info@ChampionConstructionInc.com.

Barry Rice is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with over 20 years of experience. He is the Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Director for a family of companies that includes Signal Restoration Services, PuroClean and others. Contact him at barrynrice@gmail.com.

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