ICRC, RIA, and CIRI Announce the Release of New Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration

The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC), the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), and the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) announced today the release of a new Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration, developed in response to the growing confusion and misinformation surrounding the safe restoration of fire and smoke impacted homes.

Over the past year, a growing narrative has suggested that homes affected by wildfire smoke are inherently unsafe to restore and must be stripped down to the studs and rebuilt. Unfortunately, this narrative is not supported by established science, consensus standards, or decades of successful restoration practice. IICRC, RIA, and CIRI developed this technical guide to provide contractors, consumers, policymakers, and insurers with clear, science-based direction for safely returning homes and personal property to their pre-loss condition.

The Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration was developed through a collaborative process that brought together industry stakeholders, including restoration professionals, industrial hygienists, public health scientists and other subject matter experts. It incorporates well established restoration protocols and industrial hygiene principles.

“Restoration is not only possible in the vast majority of wildfire smoke losses – it is a well-established, science-based practice,” said James Tole, IICRC president and chairman of the board. “This technical guide provides clarity at a critical time and ensures that decisions about homes and personal property are grounded in evidence, not speculation.”

“Homeowners and communities deserve information they can rely on,” said Kristy Cohen, RIA CEO. “We are proud to work alongside the IICRC and CIRI to provide restoration professionals, policymakers, and consumers with guidance they can trust – grounded in research, validated by experience, and aligned with industry standards.”

“CIRI was founded by individuals that wanted to know what the science is behind different aspects of the cleaning and restoration industry. This document shows that science should direct the cleaning and restoration process after wildfire and is something the industry will point to as the way things should be done.” said Kevin Pearson, CIRI president.

The Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration is designed to support restoration contractors, consumers, regulators, insurers, and public adjusters with science-based approaches to wildfire loss recovery.

The Technical Guide for Wildfire Restoration is available here.