How SERVPRO Remediates Fire Damage in Your Home

3/6/2019 (Permalink)

Fires leave soot, smoke and water damage that requires professional restoration. Call SERVPRO to remediate your fire damaged home.

Basic Considerations During Fire Damage Remediation 

The aftermath of a home fire can be an overwhelming experience. Your comfortable home seems to disappear, leaving behind a shell of soot-covered surfaces, furnishings, fixtures, and personal belongings. It is hard to determine what to do first as the soot, and other residues are unlike any ordinary household soiling you have seen. Engaging a reliable full-service disaster restoration company is a must for proper assessment, planning, and implementation of appropriate fire damage restoration,

Homeowners are often stunned at the amount of water damage that accompanies fire damage. Extinguishing a fire requires a lot of water. When the flames subdue the first order of business is rapid and comprehensive water removal. Water is a safety hazard, causing slip and fall risks as well as exposing inhabitants and restoration crews to electrocution concerns. It also is a destructive force on its own, dissolving drywall, warping flooring, and creating a perfect environment for mold growth among other worries.

Our SERVPRO technicians hold multiple certifications in water and fire remediation disciplines, mastered through IICRC courses. Once the pumps and water extractors, air movers and dehumidifiers return spaces to near normal moisture levels, our crew changes focus and begin soot and smoke cleanup.

Property owners quickly learn soot cleaning is a complicated process. SERVPRO technicians evaluate the characteristics of the residues in different areas of the home. Paper burns fast and hot, leaving a light, ashy type of debris. Vacuuming and brushing work well to clear this soiling. Cloth and electrical cords create thick, sticky soot that might need an abrasive cleaning product or tool to dislodge.

Protein fires, frequent in the kitchen, lay down a thin but hard to budge coating that is almost like shellac. SERVPRO technicians change tactics and use a solvent or cleaner rich in wetting agents and surfactants to loosen for removal.

Once the cleanup is underway, SERVPRO also begins devising a blueprint to manage other fire damage remediation tasks. Some of the crew is assigned to deodorization tasks, using strategies ranging from a thorough cleaning to advanced equipment like hydroxyl generators. Other technicians help sort through personal possessions, identifying those that we expect to respond well to cleaning tricks that turn tarnished and blackened items back to their previous appearance and function.

SERVPRO of Texarkana has the trained employees and equipment to cut fire damage restoration down to size. Contact our office day or night at (903)832-4400 to schedule a post-fire assessment as soon as possible after the event.