Fire Damage Restoration Cost in Gulfport, MS: What Homeowners Actually Pay (2026)

TL;DR: Fire damage restoration in Mississippi typically runs $1,500 to $4,000 for smoke and soot cleanup in a single room, $15,000 to $50,000 for damage that reaches wall studs and wiring, and $60,000 or more when a home needs a full structural rebuild. The final number depends on how far the fire and smoke traveled, whether firefighting water soaked the structure, and how many contents need cleaning instead of replacing. Most homeowners insurance policies cover fire damage restoration as a named peril, though the deductible and documentation shape what you pay out of pocket.

If the Gulfport Fire Department just left your house after knocking down a kitchen or electrical fire, you’re probably standing in a mix of soot, scorched drywall, and water from the hose lines, trying to figure out what this is going to cost before an adjuster even calls. Fire damage restoration isn’t one price. It’s a stack of separate jobs, board-up, water extraction, soot and smoke cleanup, deodorization, contents handling, and sometimes full reconstruction, and each one has its own cost driver. Here’s how those stages typically price out for homes in and around Gulfport.

How Much Does Fire Damage Restoration Cost in Mississippi?

Most Mississippi homeowners pay between $3,000 and $50,000 for fire damage restoration, with the total driven almost entirely by how far the fire and smoke traveled before the fire department put it out. A contained kitchen fire with heavy soot in one or two rooms sits at the low end. A fire that burned through wall cavities, attic space, or more than one floor sits at the high end, before any rebuild costs are added on top.

On a per-square-foot basis, smoke and soot cleanup typically runs $2 to $8 per square foot in Mississippi. Reconstruction after structural fire damage, framing, drywall, electrical, flooring, runs $15 to $60 per square foot depending on how much of the structure has to come out. An 1,800-square-foot Gulfport home with moderate fire and smoke damage might see cleanup-only costs near $10,000 to $15,000, while a home that lost a roof section or a load-bearing wall can climb well past $80,000 once rebuild work is included.

For a room-by-room walkthrough of what that work actually involves, see our fire damage restoration process guide.

What Determines the Cost of Fire Damage Restoration?

Five factors move the price more than anything else: how far the fire spread before it was extinguished, how much smoke and soot settled into porous materials, whether firefighting water soaked drywall and subfloor, how many contents need cleaning versus replacing, and how much of the structure has to be rebuilt to code.

• Fire spread and intensity. A fire that stayed contained to a stove or appliance costs far less to clean than one that traveled into the attic or between floors.
• Smoke type. Protein smoke from a kitchen fire leaves a thin, hard-to-see residue that’s actually labor-intensive to clean. Synthetic smoke from burning plastics and furniture leaves a thicker, oily soot that often forces more surfaces to be repainted or replaced.
• Water from firefighting. Hose lines routinely add hundreds of gallons of water to a structure. That water has to be extracted and the structure dried before any smoke cleanup can start, the same way it would after a standalone water damage loss.
• Contents volume. A household with a lot of upholstered furniture, electronics, and textiles costs more to clean or pack out than a sparsely furnished one.
• Code upgrades. Once walls or electrical systems are opened up for repair, Mississippi building code can require upgrades (wiring, smoke detectors, egress) that weren’t part of the original fire damage but become part of the rebuild scope.
• Age and construction. Older homes in neighborhoods like Historic Gulfport near Jones Park often have plaster walls and original wiring that add labor time to both the cleanup and the electrical inspection most insurers require before reconstruction can start.

What Does Homeowners Insurance Pay Toward Fire Damage Restoration?

Standard Mississippi homeowners policies list fire as a named peril and typically cover the cost to clean, repair, and rebuild up to your dwelling coverage limit, minus your deductible. What they don’t automatically cover is additional living expenses beyond your policy’s ALE limit or upgrades that go beyond a like-kind-and-quality repair.

The Mississippi Insurance Department advises homeowners to request a certified copy of their policy and document damage with photos and a written inventory before cleanup begins, since adjusters price claims off what can be verified. For a broader look at how named-peril coverage works, the Insurance Information Institute breaks down what a standard homeowners policy typically includes.

In practice, this means the restoration company’s documentation matters almost as much as the work itself. A detailed scope of work, photos of pre-existing damage versus fire damage, and an itemized contents inventory are what move a claim from a fight to a straightforward payout.

What Happens During the Fire Damage Restoration Process?

Fire damage restoration moves through five phases: emergency board-up and water extraction, soot and smoke removal, deodorization, contents cleaning or pack-out, and reconstruction, each one scoped and billed separately rather than as one flat fee.

1. Board-up and water extraction. Broken windows and compromised roof sections get boarded and tarped immediately, and any water from firefighting is extracted before it causes secondary damage. See our emergency board-up and tarping service for how this step works.
2. Soot and smoke cleanup. Technicians follow the ANSI/IICRC S700 Standard for Professional Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration, using dry sponges, HEPA vacuums, and chemical sponges matched to the type of soot residue present.
3. Deodorization. Thermal fogging or hydroxyl generators neutralize smoke odor trapped in porous materials like drywall, insulation, and framing, which is often the step a DIY cleanup misses entirely. See our odor removal service for specifics.
4. Contents cleaning or pack-out. Salvageable items are inventoried, cleaned off-site or in place, and either returned or placed in storage during reconstruction through our contents restoration process.
5. Reconstruction. Charred framing, drywall, flooring, and electrical systems are rebuilt to current code, the step that accounts for most of the cost on a major loss.

Fire Damage Cleanup vs. Reconstruction: What’s the Difference in Cost?

Cleanup covers removing soot, smoke residue, and odor from surfaces and contents that can be saved. Reconstruction covers rebuilding anything charred, structurally compromised, or too smoke-saturated to clean, and the two are priced and often insured differently.

Cleanup is typically billed per square foot or per item, which is why the ranges stay in the low thousands for contained fires. Reconstruction is priced like a renovation project, by materials, labor, and code requirements, which is why a fire that reaches the studs costs several times more than one that stays on the surface. Knowing which category your damage falls into early helps set realistic expectations with your adjuster before the scope is written.

Every fire is different, and the only way to know your actual number is a written scope after an on-site assessment, not a phone estimate. Call HomeLyft Restoration MS at (228) 284-5200 to schedule that assessment, or review the full scope of work on our fire damage restoration page.

About HomeLyft Restoration MS

HomeLyft Restoration MS is an IICRC Certified Firm serving Gulfport and the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 2022 (License RO 2728). Their technicians hold IICRC FSRT fire and smoke certification along with water, structural drying, and mold credentials, and the company handles fire damage restoration, smoke damage restoration, odor removal, contents restoration, and emergency board-up and tarping across the region, with a 5.0 rating from 70 Google reviews. This guide was prepared with the HomeLyft Restoration MS team by Terry Robinson.