FIRE DAMAGE-WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By now you've read quite a bit about flood damage. Now consider the possibility of fire damage.

Fire damage is similar to flood damage in the sense that a homeowner or cleaning specialist would have to clean up after the fire hose water, fire extinguishers and so on.

This is particularly a problem when fire sprinklers are involved.

Leaving any furnishings soaked is a friendly invitation for all sorts of molds to come and contaminate your house.

Smoke Pollution

However, fire damage can also go beyond just extracting the water. The smoke itself can be a high pollutant source. Consider the different types of smoke: there is wet smoke, which is low heat and smoldering.

This type of smoke leaves behind a stick residue and is very hard to clean up. Dry smoke is the result of fast burning with extreme heat degrees. Protein smoke is almost invisible to the human eye but can discolor paint and emit a foul odor.



There is also smoke that results from fuel oil soot (usually by furnaces) tear gas, finger print powder, and smoke residue from fire extinguishers.

Removing residue from smoke is just as important as removing moisture. Chances are, you can't really see any smoke remnants, unlike say a flood damaged carpet stain. Therefore, it is important to either clean the entire area you're working with (whether speaking of a room, a carpet or a piece of furniture) or consult a professional restorer to completely remove the entire smoke residue.

Some vendors or companies offer fire and smoke damage restoration along with additional restoration such as flood damage or mold contamination. Others specialize in this form of clean up. It is to note that if smoke residue is not removed, which just a little moisture it could turn into mold. And mold contamination is definitely a problem you will notice.

Pretesting

Some companies will also offer a pretesting arrangement. This means that after a fire your home or furnishings are evaluated and tested for damage. This lets the customer know just how significant the fire damage is, what the best way to clean it will be and if parts of the property will have to be restored or even replaced.

Accidental fires do happen. If any householder has survived a fire then they are lucky to be alive and thinking about restoring fire damage. Nevertheless, cleaning up fire damage is very important and the first thing you should think about after everything returns to normal.