Editorial policy
How we research and review this site
Every page here is meant to help someone with fire, smoke or water damage make a safe, informed decision. This page explains how the information is gathered, checked and kept current.
Sources
Where the information comes from
Statements about safety, health, standards, insurance and local history are taken from primary or authoritative sources and linked on the page where they are used: the U.S. Fire Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ready.gov, NFPA, NIST, the IICRC, the City of Colorado Springs and its fire department, Colorado Springs Utilities, the Colorado Division of Insurance, the National Park Service, and established encyclopedic and news reporting for local fire history.
Each cited statement carries a numbered marker that jumps to the source list at the bottom of the page, so readers can check exactly where a fact came from. Where sources disagree, such as counts of homes destroyed in a wildfire, the page says so and names the figure it uses.
Standards
What we will and won't publish
- We explain damage and decisionsPages describe how fire, smoke and water damage behave, what is safe to do yourself, and what professional work involves.
- We do not invent proofThere are no made-up reviews, testimonials, case studies, credentials, phone numbers or addresses.
- We leave terms to you and the contractorAny terms for work are agreed between you and the contractor, not published here.
- We name only covered placesArea pages describe neighborhoods inside the ZIP codes where calls can be connected.
- Images are illustrativePhotos show typical situations and are labeled as illustrative; they are not specific jobs.
Writing
How pages are written and reviewed
Pages are written in plain language, in our own words, with the answer to the reader's question near the top. Before publishing, each page is checked against its sources, read for accuracy and safety, and compared with other pages so that the same advice is given consistently. Dates in the page data change only when content changes.
Corrections
Corrections and updates
If you find an error, please tell us through the contact page. Corrections are made promptly, and pages are reviewed when the underlying guidance, such as an EPA recommendation or a local code requirement, changes.