Get the best fire damage services
- 1. Get the best fire damage services
- 2. What is fire damage?
- 3. Fire damage issues
- 4. Fire restoration process
- 5. Fire damage cleanup & removal
- 6. Fire damage repair
- 7. Residential homes
- 8. Commercial buildings
- 9. The benefits of hiring a professional fire damage restoration company
- 10. How do I pay for fire damage restoration companies services
- 11. Talk to a contractor near you now for 24-hour help
A professional 24-hour emergency commercial or residential home fire damage restoration company can help you recover from all fire issues by providing you with the best repair, cleanup, and removal services.
Fire can harm and damage your house or business in a lot of ways, direct or indirect. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there is an average of 358,500 residential fires that happen in the country each year.
The restoration from fires often becomes too complicated for people to handle on their own, which is why it is recommended to call commercial or home fire restoration companies near you for any of your 24-hour emergency repair, removal, cleanup needs when disaster strikes.
Owing to their vast experience, the right fire damage restoration company knows exactly what is damaged and to what extent, what is salvageable, and what needs to be replaced.
The fire damage restoration services contractors, working with the support of your business or homeowner insurance, can help you recover from all the types of physical damages from burning, smoke, soot, and water, etc.
Always seek experienced restoration company help whenever faced with fire damage issues such as burning, smoke, and soot in your business or home.
Related: water damage restoration services
What is fire damage?
Fire damage is one of the most fundamental and serious causes of damage to life and property. It involves damage caused directly by burning in the flames, and other types of damage associated with it due to water, smoke, and soot, etc.
It can be caused due to many reasons like short-circuits in electrical wireless or appliances, electrical, gas leakage, misused barbeque, cooking equipment, and so on.
Whatever be the origin of the fire, it can derail a smoothly going life. It can cause an extensive loss of health and money.
It becomes impossible for your life to become normal unless you get all the debris cleaned and damages repaired by a professional company.
Fire damage issues
Alert from direct heat and burns, fire can be the beginning of many other types of damages as well. Here are the main damages you are likely to suffer due to the outbreak of fire in your house or business:
- Belongings – The most important and apparent damage that a fire can cause is the burning of furniture, the physical structure of building, carpet, fabric, documents, cash money, electrical appliances and almost anything in the building. Most of these burnt things are damaged more than what can be restored. This way a huge part of your property is destroyed by being burnt in the fire alone. However, it is not the fire alone that is responsible for all the damage, the others being smoke and soot damage, electrical damage and not to forget water damage. Water damage! Yes, you got it right.
- Water damage – Though it may seem to be a little ironical, water damage is a significant source of damage that is involved in a commercial or residential fire. The extreme heat from the fire can burn and melt pipes that carry water supply. Water used by the fire brigade for controlling and extinguishing the fire is another source of the water damage. While this water helps the firefighters in gaining control over the situation, it leads to further weakening of a building’s frame. If not dealt with immediately, this water and moisture can result in long-term damages. Rusting of the metal infrastructure makes the building dangerous over time. Mold growth also starts within 24-48 hours, which will lead to health issues and rotting in the future.
- Smoke and soot deposition – It is quite obvious that wherever the fire is present, smoke, dust, ash, and soot are almost inevitable. Especially if a burning building has various types of material burning like plastics, fibers, wood, papers and all. This produces a foul, smoky order which is likely to remain for weeks and even months after the fire incident. Moreover, the soot and ashes can stain your walls, roof, floor, furniture, and other items. The smoke penetrates every porous surface like carpets, mats, curtains, garments, and other fabric. This damage is generally not limited to the room which caught fire but spreads throughout the house. This brings sanitation problems and the odor and dust can keep irritating individuals with allergic problems and dust sensitivity.
The great news is that regardless of the type of fire issues you have there are professionals commercial and residential home fire damage restoration companies that can repair and clean up your property.
Fire restoration process
The most obvious way fire can damage your property is by directly burning materials. A major fire is enough to burn and destroy most of the things in your home or business, be it wooden furniture, floorboards, window sills, doors or the wooden frame of the building.
The heat can disfigure even the otherwise tough material like glass, metal and, concrete. If this fire somehow reaches the gas supply, then the consequences can be catastrophic and the resulting impact and fire could stretch its grasp to other nearby houses as well.
The fire can easily burn your important documents, expensive electrical appliances, collectibles, and cash money.
This damage doesn’t remain limited to fire as the tremendous heat can meltwater supply pipes. Your building was already facing the fire and now it becomes exposed to water damage as well.
The water, if not dealt with soon, may lead to further damages like rotting and mold growth. The fire also disables the electrical lines and connections of your building.
These are only the serious damages that fire can do to your property, but there are other less severe but inevitable damages as well. The fire causes not only burns, but also a lot of dust, smoke, and soot.
These can leave behind foul, choking smells everywhere in your house. Your walls and furniture can get permanently discolored and soot-stained.
Fire damage cleanup & removal
Fire damage not only leaves behind burnt furniture, walls, and floors in the room that caught fire but also stained and sullied items throughout the house. The first step of the restoration is an inspection of the damages.
- Inspection of damages– After arriving on the scene, the property restoration professionals will immediately start an assessment of the spot. They will document the various damages like a broken roof, burnt furniture, etc. to make it easy for you to claim recovery from your insurance company. They will decide which things are salvageable and which are beyond restoration and need replacement. It is important to determine the effect of fire on the main structure of the building i.e. whether it will be able to bear the required load or not. Hazardous places are sealed off to prevent any mishap. Then they will examine the water damage i.e. any standing water in the premises, rusting or other types of corrosions, and mold growth. According to this assessment, the fire damage repair pros will decide what measures will be required for the restoration purpose.
After the assessment, the cleanup process starts
- Smoke and soot cleanup– The smoke produced during the fire covers most of the surfaces stained with soot, making them non-usable. Also, the smoke due to the burning of oils, chemicals, and plastics is toxic and harmful to health. These damages contribute to form a major part of the damage. The fire damage experts, however, have ways to clean these items, making them as clean and usable as pre-damage, if not better. One of the most effective methods used to clean the litter is soda blast. This involves blasting super fine sodium bicarbonate particles on the stained surface using pressurized air. Soda blast is a non-toxic, silica free and mildly environment-friendly technique that can clean your furniture, floor, walls, etc. Then, they will clean the carpet to remove the soot particles from in-between its fibers, which is not the cup of tea of a normal domestic vacuum.
- Water cleanup – Though done with the intention of extinguishing the fire, water used by the firefighters can lead to water damage. Fire damage restoration companies extract this water using submersible pumps and the area is dried. If any moisture remains, then it can get contaminated and cause health problems. If the water has caused rusting of metals, then they are also treated. If mold has grown in the area, then there may be a need to call in a mold remediation company for removing it.
Fire damage repair
After cleaning the mess up, now comes the time for repairing the damages caused by the fire. If beds, cabinets, and other furniture have been destroyed, then the fire damage restoration service professionals will get it repaired if possible, otherwise replaced with new ones.
They will provide a replacement for any burnt drywall, insulation, floorboards, doors, windows, and likewise. Generally, the carpets are badly damaged in fires. If this is the case, then they will get them replaced too. If it is usable, however, they will get it cleaned and sanitized thoroughly.
If the electrical wires or appliances have been disturbed, then electricians or technicians will be called to get it fixed. Mildly damaged but badly stained walls will be recoated, repainted, and wallpapers will be put over them if needed. The fire restoration service contractors will make all efforts to restore your house to its brand new condition.
In fact, they may give you an option to get it renovated at the same time making small changes to make your house look even better than before.
Residential homes
Residential fires happen more often as most people know.
Residential home fire damage is one of the most devastating things that can take place in a home owner’s life.
There are a number of intermingled damages that can leave you overwhelmed.
There is debris that can contain harmful materials. The smoke, soot, and odors only add to the already critical situation.
The losses can dismantle you mentally and financially if you don’t have the support of a professional.
A home fire damage restoration company will not only repair and restore your house back to a livable condition but also help you in claiming your insurers for a recovery.
Some of them also provide removal of the debris after the work is done this way you will save by not having to look for a removal company. And in the case that they do not do removal they normally have removal companies they work with that can do that for you.
Commercial buildings
Commercial fires are far different from residential fires not only in the types of damage involved but also in the characteristic challenges of the restoration required.
In the commercial sphere, time is money, and the longer it takes for the restoration to take offices, the greater impact it will create for the business.
Also, you can’t let your employees work under hazardous conditions. So, the commercial fire damage restoration professionals hire work that needs to be done in such a way that takes minimal time and is full-proof as well.
The valuable items like computers, hard drives, business records, and documents are carefully collected and the salvageable items are restored and returned to you.
All signs and odors of fire are cleaned and the building is restored to its pre-damage condition.
The benefits of hiring a professional fire damage restoration company
Believe it, fire damage restoration is not a DIY sort of a thing. By trying to deal with these damages yourselves, you can make the situation worse and even fatal.
So, it is much wiser to let a fire disaster restoration contractor do their work. These are the benefits of taking the help of a fire damage restoration service:
- Vast experience– Having been trained for the purpose and having years of experience in dealing with such situations, a fire damage restoration expert will be able to analyze the situation in a far better way. They can help you in making important decisions as to which things should be kept and which, replaced. They decide whether any beam, roof, a staircase is safe to use or need repairing.
- Appropriate equipment– Fire damage restoration professionals bring advanced equipment to clean the soot, carpets, remove standing water pools and other such purposes. You are unlikely to be able to have of this equipment on your own.
- Useful contacts– As we have already discussed, fire damage often comes in a complicated association with other types of damage. For instance, there can be a need for water damage restoration, mold remediation, electrical restoration, and other types of restoration, all at once. It will be very tiresome for you to contact and work with all the respective restoration service providers. A damage restoration services company, however, can introduce you to these experts in one place. This can even provide you with some additional discount as you meet them by recommendation.
- Documentation of the damages– The damages due to fire can sometimes be very extensive. In such a case, if you don’t have a proper record of these damages, then you may have to go through a huge financial loss. The paperwork of these damages by a good and reputed fire damage restoration company will prove to be highly useful in getting proper recovery from your insurance.
How do I pay for fire damage restoration companies services
Most people use their property/homeowner’s insurance.
These homeowner insurances typically will help cover home and personal property damages.
Most of the policies typically come with coverages that may pay for the repair or replacement of belongings and the home.
The insurances are lifesavers during fire disasters. And knowing what your coverage covers is always important.
The professional company that you hire will typically work with your insurance provider to make the whole process easier for you.
In big fire disasters, the state and the federal government may provide some financial assistance or loans for businesses. The U.S Small Business Administration also offers loans to businesses and homeowners during fire disasters too.
Talk to a contractor near you now for 24-hour help
When you are facing a fire disaster, do not wait to contact experienced and professional commercial and home fire damage restoration companies. Call (866)724-1286 to contact us today to be connected with a 24/7 fire damage restoration services professional today!
Helpful resources
- File A Homeowner Insurance After Fire – https://www.consumerreports.org/homeowners-insurance/how-to-file-a-homeowners-insurance-claim-after-a-fire/
Updated on November 28th, 2023