IICRC S700 and Smoke Damage: What Fire Restoration Should Include

After a fire, the damage you can see is only part of the problem. Smoke and soot travel through the building, settle on surfaces, get into HVAC systems and wall cavities, and leave odors that can come back months later if the source was not removed. Insurers and restorers often disagree about how much cleaning is needed, what can be sealed, and which belongings must be replaced. In 2025 the industry got a new American National Standard for this work: the ANSI/IICRC S700, Standard for Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration.

What the S700 covers

The IICRC announced the S700 in early 2025. According to the IICRC’s announcement, it covers how to assess fire residues and odors affecting a building, its systems including HVAC, and its contents after a fire. The fire can start inside the building, in an adjoining building, or in a nearby one. It also covers restoration cleaning, odor management, contractor qualifications, documentation, the restoration work plan, and compliance with local authorities.

Its major sections, as listed in the announcement, include:

• Contractor qualifications
• Administrative requirements and documentation
• Fire and smoke damage assessment
• Equipment, tools, and materials
• Mitigation
• Source removal
• HVAC and air conveyance systems
• Odor management
• Contents restoration
• Post-restoration evaluation
• Limitations, complexities, complications, and conflicts

Like other IICRC standards, the S700 is voluntary unless a contract, regulation, or court adopts it. It is copyrighted, so expect contractors to summarize it rather than hand you pages. Its value on a claim is that it gives you and the adjuster a recognized framework for what a complete fire restoration includes.

Assessment comes first

A fire restoration scope should be based on an assessment, not a guess. A good assessment looks at:

• Where residue went. Smoke moves with heat and air pressure. It can reach rooms far from the fire, closets, attics, crawlspaces, and the inside of cabinets.
• What kind of residue it is. Different materials burn differently, and the type of residue affects the cleaning method.
• The HVAC system. If the system ran during or after the fire, it may have spread residue through the building. The S700 has a dedicated section on HVAC and air conveyance systems.
• Odor sources. Odor usually comes from residue that is still present somewhere. Finding the source is part of the assessment.
• Contents. What can be cleaned, what needs specialty cleaning, and what is not restorable.

Ask for the assessment in writing, with photos. If the adjuster’s scope covers only the room where the fire happened, ask how the rest of the building was evaluated.

Why “just paint over it” is a dispute point

One of the most common disagreements in smoke claims is whether walls and ceilings need cleaning before sealing and painting, or whether paint alone is enough. Sealing has a real place in fire restoration. Special sealers can lock in residual odor and block stains after cleaning. The problem is using sealing as a replacement for cleaning.

When residue is left in place and painted over, stains and odor can bleed through later. The S700’s structure reflects the industry’s emphasis on removing residue: it treats source removal and odor management as separate steps and ends with a post-restoration evaluation to check the result.

If your estimate lists painting but not cleaning, ask:

• What cleaning will be done before sealing or painting, and with what method?
• Have all affected surfaces been included, including ceilings, inside closets, and cabinet interiors?
• How will the result be checked for odor and residue before the job is closed out?

Red flag: An estimate that paints over smoke-damaged surfaces with no cleaning line items, and no plan to check for odor afterward, invites a second claim when the odor returns. Ask for the reasoning in writing before work starts.

Contents: clean or replace

Most fire claims involve a large contents component: clothing, furniture, electronics, dishes, books, and personal items. Contents can often be professionally cleaned. Sometimes replacement makes more sense. The decision usually turns on:

• How heavy the residue is and what kind it is.
• Whether the item is porous and holds odor.
• Whether cleaning is likely to succeed.
• Whether the cost of cleaning is more than the item is worth.
• Whether the item has close contact with people, such as bedding, infant items, or food-contact surfaces.

Keep an inventory of everything that is cleaned, everything that is thrown out, and why. Photograph items before disposal. If the insurer’s contents vendor says an item is “restorable,” you are entitled to see the result. If it comes back with odor or residue, document that and report it. For more on replacement cost and depreciation for contents, see ACV vs. replacement cost and depreciation.

Wildfire smoke claims

The S700 announcement states that it applies to fires other than wildfires. Wildfire smoke is a separate area, and the science and the claim rules are still developing.

Two technical documents come up often in wildfire smoke disputes:

• The AIHA guide. The American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Technical Guide for Wildfire Impact Assessments for the OEHS Professional (2nd edition, 2025) helps industrial hygienists and other investigators design wildfire impact assessments for structures that survived the fire and can be restored. It discusses the types of wildfire residue, such as char, ash, and soot, and how deposits change with distance from the fire.
• The restoration industry white paper. In November 2025, the IICRC, the Restoration Industry Association, and the Cleaning Industry Research Institute released a Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration. It takes the position that most wildfire smoke residue on surviving homes can be cleaned and that wholesale demolition is generally not supported by industry guidelines, while recognizing that some heavily affected porous items may need to be discarded.

Both documents are posted on the California Department of Insurance website with its wildfire smoke materials. Expect insurers and restorers to cite them, sometimes for opposite conclusions.

California’s 2026 smoke damage law

On September 15, 2026, Governor Newsom signed AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act. According to the California Department of Insurance, the law:

• Presumes that smoke damage within a wildfire impact zone resulted from the wildfire.
• Requires insurers to pay for necessary testing and sampling.
• Bars insurers from ending Additional Living Expense benefits until qualifying homes are restored and safe to live in.
• Keeps the policyholder’s right to choose a restoration contractor.
• Requires training for adjusters handling smoke damage claims and sets inspection and claim-handling timelines.

Check the law’s effective date and any regulations that implement it before relying on a specific provision. California also requires an insurer that settles based on its own estimate to give you a copy and to make sure it would restore the property to its pre-loss condition (10 CCR § 2695.9(d)). For more on California wildfire rights, see disaster and wildfire claim rights in California.

Where to go from here

Ask for a written assessment, a cleaning plan that comes before sealing, a contents inventory with reasons for each disposal, and a final check for odor and residue. If testing is disputed, ask what method each side relies on and why. For case-specific decisions, consider a licensed public adjuster, an independent industrial hygienist, your state Department of Insurance, or an attorney licensed in your state.