The Fire Runner Playbook
Scripts, objections, and the 30-day ramp plan for your first fire runner hire — call scripts, voicemail templates, objection handling, and a hiring 1-pager. Built for restoration contractors.
Proven Call Scripts
Word-for-word scripts for insured, owner-occupied, and commercial fire damage calls — written with restoration sales leaders.
Objection Handling
The top 10 objections fire runners hear and exactly how to respond — from "we already hired someone" to "we're still in shock".
Hiring 1-Pager
Job description, interview questions, and compensation benchmarks so you can hire your first fire runner this month.
30-Day Ramp Plan
A week-by-week ramp plan to get a new fire runner closing jobs within 30 days.
Pairs perfectly with FirstLeads real-time fire & water damage alerts:
- Real-time incident alerts from 1,182+ fire departments
- Contact enrichment and owner lookup
- Territory targeting by zip, county, or radius
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Read the Playbook Online
The full playbook, right here — written for the person who answers the phone at 6:47 AM when the fire call comes in, and the new hire they just put on a territory.
Call script: Insured homeowner
For owner-occupied residential fires where a homeowner’s policy is in play. Empathy first, pitch second — in that order, every time.
“Hi, is this [Name]? I’m [Your name] with [Company Name] — I saw the incident at [Address] earlier today and I wanted to reach out directly before you got pulled in a hundred different directions.”
“Do you have thirty seconds? I know this is a terrible morning and the last thing you want is a sales call. I promise I won’t waste your time.”
“I’ve been on a lot of these scenes. The next forty-eight hours feel like a blur — insurance, family, the kids’ school, where you’re going to sleep tonight. It’s a lot.”
“We’re a local fire damage restoration company. What we do in the first day or two is the boardup, smoke and soot neutralization, and contents pack-out — all the stuff that protects your property from getting worse while insurance sorts itself out. We bill your carrier directly, not you.”
“Can I swing by tomorrow at 10 or 2, walk the property with you, and give you a written scope? You don’t have to commit to anything. Even if you hire someone else, you’ll walk away knowing exactly what your house needs.”
“Which one works — 10 or 2? Great. I’ll text you a confirmation and my adjuster coordinator’s direct line in case anything comes up tonight.”
Pro tip: Never say “I saw your fire on the news.” Say you saw “the incident.” The first makes you a voyeur. The second makes you a professional.
Call script: Rental / absentee owner
For non-owner-occupied properties. The owner is remote, probably at work, and thinks in cash flow and ARV — not living rooms.
“Hi [Name], this is [Your name] with [Company]. I’m calling about your property at [Address] — there was a fire there this morning. Do you have a minute?”
“I know you’re not there, and I figured a call beats an email for something like this. Your tenant is safe — the fire department cleared the scene at [time]. I’m going to send you photos right after this call.”
“Here’s the thing most investors don’t realize: the damage doubles in the first 72 hours if nobody tarps it. Smoke odor embeds in drywall, mold starts in wet framing, and your ARV drops every day the property sits open. That window closes fast.”
“Most landlord policies have a 48 or 72 hour notification clause and they want a mitigation contractor on site fast. We’re already on-site in your ZIP code today — we can have boardup done before sundown and a full scope to your adjuster by tomorrow morning.”
“I can send you a one-page scope, photos, and a direct line to your adjuster coordinator. If it makes sense, we start; if not, you’ve got documentation for your own files. Can I text you the link now?”
“What’s the best number for the text — this one? Perfect. You’ll have it in two minutes. I’ll call you back at 4 PM your time to walk through it.”
Pro tip: Absentee owners don’t want empathy — they want information and photos. Lead with data and a texted link. Save the soft tone for the insured homeowner script.
Call script: Commercial property
Decision-maker routing is everything. Reach the ops or facilities manager first — they own the timeline and they’ll route you to the owner if needed.
“Hi, I’m [Your name] with [Company]. I’m calling about the fire at your [Address] location this morning. Who’s handling the restoration decision — is that you, or should I be talking to the facilities or operations manager?”
“Thanks. [New name], same question — I’m [Your name], calling about the fire at [Address]. I know your priority right now is getting the business operational. I’d like to talk about how we shorten that timeline.”
“Every day you’re closed is revenue you can’t get back. What we do in the first 24 hours is emergency boardup, smoke and soot containment, and a full scope to your insurance carrier — in parallel, not sequentially. That’s typically what cuts two to three weeks off your reopening.”
“We work directly with commercial adjusters — [mention any major carriers you’ve worked with]. We handle the paperwork, the daily progress reports, and the Xactimate line items so your ops team doesn’t have to. Your role is: approve the scope, unlock the door, and get back to running the business.”
“Can we send a project manager to walk the site with you tomorrow morning? We’ll come with a preliminary scope, insurance coordination, and a 72-hour milestone plan. No commitment required to the walk-through.”
“8 AM or 10 AM better for you? Great. I’ll send a calendar invite to you and loop in our adjuster coordinator. See you tomorrow.”
Pro tip: Commercial deals close on speed of return to operations, not price. Lead with “days closed” in every conversation. Never lead with line items.
Voicemail templates
Most fire runner calls go straight to voicemail. These three scripts are timed to fit inside a 30-second window and optimized for callback rate.
Variant A — Same-day (0–4 hours post-incident)
“Hi [Name], this is [Your name] with [Company Name]. I’m calling because I saw the incident at [Address] this morning and I wanted to reach out personally. No pitch on this message — just wanted to let you know we offer a free boardup assessment and we’re already in your area today. My direct number is [number]. I’ll say that one more time — [number]. I’m happy to text instead if that’s easier. Take care.”
Variant B — Next-day
“Hi [Name], [Your name] from [Company] again. I left a message yesterday about the incident at [Address]. Just wanted to follow up — we’ve been working with [carrier / adjuster name] in your neighborhood and I can have a written estimate over to you or your adjuster within 24 hours. Direct number is [number], or reply to my text. I’ll try you once more tomorrow if I don’t hear back.”
Variant C — Day 3+
“Hi [Name], [Your name] with [Company]. I’ve tried a couple of times — calling one more time because of two things. First, most insurance carriers want a mitigation contractor on-site within 72 hours to avoid claim complications. Second, per IICRC S500, the mold window opens at the 72-hour mark on any wet materials still in place. If we haven’t gotten the boardup or pack-out done, those become real issues. Please give me a quick callback at [number]. If I don’t hear back I’ll step away — you’ve got enough going on.”
Door-knock openers
In-person is still the highest-converting first touch in restoration. Three approaches, in order of warmth.
Owner on scene
“Hi, I’m [Your name] with [Company]. I saw the fire department was just here — I’m so sorry. I won’t pitch you anything right now. I just wanted to hand you my card and let you know: if insurance asks for a boardup quote in the next day or two, we can have one to your adjuster by tomorrow morning. That’s it. Take care of your family.”
Handwritten card on door (if nobody’s home)
“[Hand-written, not printed.] [Name] — I’m [Your name] with [Company]. I drove by after the fire this morning. No need to call back unless you want to. If your insurance needs a mitigation contractor for boardup or smoke, my cell is [number]. Take your time. — [signature]”
Neighbor intro (2–4 doors down)
“Hi, sorry to bother you — I’m [Your name] with [Company]. I was at [Address] because of the fire this morning. Do you happen to know the family? I just want to make sure they have our number in case insurance needs a boardup contractor — we work a lot in this neighborhood and I’d rather they hear from a neighbor than a stranger.”
Top 10 objections + responses
Two sentences or fewer. Any longer and you're arguing.
1. “We already have a contractor.”
Totally fair — can I ask who? If it’s someone I know, I’ll step out of your way; if not, I’ll leave my card in case you want a second scope to pressure-test theirs.
2. “My insurance handles everything.”
They handle the money, not the contractor choice — that’s still yours. We just make it easy by sending the scope directly to your adjuster so you don’t have to.
3. “Not interested right now.”
Understood. The only thing that can’t wait is the boardup — if that’s not scheduled in the next 24 hours, insurance will flag it. Want me to at least send you a referral?
4. “How did you find us?”
Public incident reports — same information your insurance company sees. We specialize in getting to owners early so we can actually help before small problems become big ones.
5. “Are you ambulance-chasing?”
I get that. The honest answer is: yes, I’m reaching out because of the fire — because the first 48 hours matter. I’d rather be upfront than pretend I was in the neighborhood.
6. “Just send me an email.”
Happy to. What’s the best email — and can I also text you my cell, in case your adjuster needs to reach someone tonight?
7. “I need to talk to my spouse/partner.”
Of course. When would be a good time for me to come by and walk both of you through the scope together? That way you only have one conversation.
8. “Your price is too high.”
I’d rather not compete on price — but I’ll compete on Xactimate line items any day. Do you have the other scope? I can walk through it with you line by line.
9. “Call me back in a few days.”
I will — but do me one favor. Take a photo of the worst room and text it to me. If nothing else, you’ll have documentation for insurance either way.
10. “I don’t trust contractors.”
Most people don’t — and after a fire, for good reason. Here’s the deal: no deposit, we bill your carrier directly, and you can fire us any day. Does that change the math?
Hiring a fire runner
The job description, interview questions, and red flags — on one page.
Job description
- Role
- Fire Damage Runner. Field-based. Reports to the owner or operations manager.
- Territory
- Assigned ZIP cluster (typically 12–20 ZIPs). Expect to be on-scene or on-phone within 4 hours of any qualified incident.
- Duties
- Respond to real-time fire and water damage alerts; contact property owners by phone, text, and in-person; coordinate boardup crews; document incidents; hand off signed jobs to the project management team. Weekly KPI reporting.
- Compensation
- $45K–$65K base depending on experience, plus 1.5% commission on signed revenue, plus mileage. On-target earnings: $85K–$110K.
- Requirements
- Clean driver’s license, comfort with difficult conversations, ability to work weekends and evenings on a rotating schedule.
Interview questions (ask all 8)
- Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news in person. What did you say?
- Walk me through how you’d spend the first 30 minutes after getting a fire alert at 6 AM.
- A homeowner tells you their brother-in-law is a contractor. What do you say next?
- You knock on a door and the owner tells you to get off their property. What do you do?
- How do you feel about calling people on the worst day of their life? Be honest.
- Describe a job you didn’t close but should have. What did you learn?
- What does the phrase “IICRC S500” mean to you? (Wrong answers are fine — I want to see how you handle it.)
- If I gave you 20 incident alerts this week, how would you prioritize them?
Red flags — screen these out
- They talk more about commission than about the homeowner.
- They can’t describe a single hard conversation from their past.
- They’re already pitching you their “network” or “book.”
- They use the word “ambulance-chasing” — even as a joke.
- Their answer to question 4 is to argue with the owner.
The 30-day ramp plan
Week by week. What good looks like at the end of day 30.
Week 1 — Shadow
Observe & absorb.Shadow 3+ live incident responses with a senior runner. Read every script. Listen to recorded calls. Ride-along on at least 2 door-knocks.
Hours shadowed · Scripts memorized · Incidents observed
Week 2 — Scripted runs
Guided practice.Make phone calls with scripts in front of them, senior runner on the line. Run 2 door-knocks with backup. Debrief after every call.
30+ dials/day · 15+ live convos · 2 appointments set
Week 3 — Solo runs
Independent, narrow.Solo on phone and door-knocks within a limited ZIP subset. Daily 15-minute debrief with the owner. First close expected by end of week.
50+ dials/day · 25+ live convos · 1 signed job
Week 4 — Full territory
Full territory, own KPIs.Full ZIP cluster assigned. Owner steps back to weekly 1:1. Runner owns their own scoreboard and appointment calendar.
60+ dials/day · 35+ live convos · 2–3 signed jobs
What day 30 looks like: the runner knows their ZIPs, has signed at least 2 jobs on their own, owns their own scoreboard, and needs a 1:1 a week instead of daily coaching. If they're not there, extend to 45 days — don't extend to 60.
KPI scoreboard
Conversion benchmarks for a mature runner (month 2+) — what to track, what to expect, and where the leaks usually are.
| Stage | Good | Great | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dials → live conversation | 25% | 35% | If under 20%, fix call times — not the script. |
| Live conversation → appointment | 18% | 28% | If under 15%, the issue is usually the empathy beat. |
| Appointment → walk-through | 75% | 90% | Confirm morning-of or you’ll lose half. |
| Walk-through → signed scope | 40% | 55% | If under 35%, you’re probably over-scoping on the first pass. |
| Dial-to-close (overall) | 1.4% | 2.7% | Every 100 dials should produce 1–3 signed jobs. |
Where leaks usually hide: not in the script, but in the call time. Fire runners who call between 5–8 PM convert at 2× the rate of those who only call business hours. If your numbers stall, move the calling window before you move the words.