The first question is not about the job
When someone texts about a fire, the only thing that matters first is whether the fire is out and everyone is safe. EveryContact establishes that before it asks anything about the property — then handles board-up, smoke and contents the way your intake sheet does.
What goes wrong today
Calls come mid-crisis
People text while the fire department is still on the street. They need calm, not a sales script.
Board-up is time-critical
An open structure overnight means theft, weather and a bigger claim.
Insurance makes it complex
Adjusters, contents, pack-out. Getting the basics recorded early saves days later.
Intake
The questions it actually asks
These come from the fire and smoke restoration intake template, which you can edit. EveryContact asks them conversationally, one or two at a time — not as a form.
Required before a lead counts as qualified
- Ask first whether the fire is out. If it is still burning, this is a 911 situation before anything else.
- Ask whether the fire department has cleared the property for entry.
- Ask whether the damage is mostly smoke, mostly fire, or both.
- Ask which areas of the property were affected.
- Ask whether the property is secure, or whether windows and doors are open to the outside.
- Ask who you are speaking with.
- Confirm the best callback number.
- Ask for the address of the property that needs service.
Plus 3 optional questions it asks when the conversation allows.
Default services for this trade
- • Emergency board-up and securing
- • Smoke and soot removal
- • Odor treatment
- • Contents cleaning and pack-out
- • Structural cleaning
- • Fire damage reconstruction
Editable during setup. It only offers services you keep.
Fire damage intake
Illustrativewe had a kitchen fire tonight, fire dept just left
Is everyone out and safe, and has the fire department cleared the property for entry?
yes everyone is fine, they said we can go in but not stay
I'm glad everyone's okay. Is the structure open to the outside — windows out, door forced, hole in the roof?
they took out the kitchen window and the back door is broken
That needs securing tonight. What's the address, and will someone be there to meet a crew? I'm flagging this for the on-call team now.
It asks whether responders have cleared the property before discussing entry — that question is in the fire intake template, not improvised.
Urgency handling for this trade
- Dispatcher acknowledgement window
- 10 min
- Emergency urgency threshold
- 3
If your primary contact does not acknowledge within the window, it escalates to your backup. If nobody accepts, the customer is told service is not confirmed.
Safety first, always
If the fire is still burning, or anyone cannot breathe safely, the response is to get out and call 911 — stated first, before anything else. A restoration contractor is not a substitute for the fire department.
What EveryContact does and does not do
Live AI voice answering is planned for a later release. We would rather tell you now than have you find out after you buy.
It does
- Answer and hold text conversations with customers
- Answer questions through chat on your website
- Detect a missed call and text the caller back
- Qualify the job and collect the details you need
- Flag emergencies and page your on-call person
- Request or book appointments
It does not
- Pick up the phone and talk to callers
- Replace your dispatcher's judgement
- Quote prices you have not given it
- Promise a crew before a person confirms
- Text anyone who has not authorized it
See it handle a fire and smoke restoration call
The demo is pointed at a fictional restoration company, but the intake and safety behavior are real.