house fire: smoke damage?

So we had a medium sized house fire. Nobody hurt but lots of mess.

So do I need to worry that my cameras or lenses could have damaged by smoke? It was all in cupboards or bags so did not get fully contaminated, but it smells smokey so it must have had some exposure.

Opinions and experience appreciated.

If you have contents insurance, then you might as well claim for eveything.

I can claim if I can provide evidence of damage. What should I look for?

I suppose you ought to take it to a camera dealer and get them to give you an assessment of the damage , if there is contamination residue inside i guess they will probably write it off.

Yikes! I'm glad no one is hurt! Stuff is replaceable, but your family isn't. There could be heat damage to the components within the cameras and lenses. In big fires, I hear you can feel the heat from even several feet away, so I guess it would depend on far away your gear was from the fire. I think that idea of claiming sounds like the way to go. I hope the damage to your home is reparable and that its finished quickly!

I doubt if there was much heat near the kit. It was on the floor above the fire in camera bags. the smoke was thick and I am worried about dirt getting inside bodies and lenses.

magwai wrote in post #17395274
I can claim if I can provide evidence of damage. What should I look for?

Ask your insurer before doing anything. They may have an adjustor familiar with cameras or they may send you to someone who regularly provides expertise for them. If you do not agree with their assessment you always have the option to seek out your own expert in the form of an authorized service centre. A repair estimate or diagnosis should be at little or no cost to you.

The problem with smoke is that it contains a fair bit of chemicals that - together with moisture (like humid air) - can create acids and other aggressive reagents. The effects of smoke contamination will only appear over time, sometimes months later as the acids are very slow but gradually affecting the electronics (switch contacts, corrosion on soldering joints in SMD components and connectors).
So I am pretty sure that when you ask a specialist repair shop or service centre for an evaluation they tell you: write the gear off.
Lenses contains a lot of electronics these days so these are equally affected.

Good to hear there were no casualties! Gear is replaceable.

Thanks that is helpful. Most of my kit is old so it would be of great benefit to buy new for old. However given it works right now I need to justify that.

See if you're insurer will pay for a cleaning of all gear. While they're at it, they can tell you if anything is really damaged. I'd be most concerned about what it looks like in a year or so. Cannot be good.

By the by, glad everyone is ok.