One essential service we apply is fire damage restoration. An effective response with this service can stabilize a fire-damaged facility and help recover as much property as possible. It’s a highly specialized process, but what exactly goes into fire damage restoration?
What Is Fire Damage Restoration?
Fire damage restoration is returning property damaged by a fire and smoke to its pre-loss condition. It can involve the removal of debris, soot, and odours, cleaning contents, and removing any material hazards such as lead and asbestos. The restoration job can even go as far as boarding up a property and demolishing it for reconstruction. When it comes to fire damage restoration, no two jobs are alike. However, all appropriate plans begin with an assessment to see just what we’re handling!
What Are The Steps In Restoring Fire-Damaged Properties?
Once our team has access to a fire-damaged property, the restoration process can begin. There are five main steps involved:
- Assessing The Damage: Assessing the damage from a fire is the first step. It involves looking at how the flames and smoke have penetrated the structure and the extent of the clean-up and restoration. Assessments look at the contents inside the property, determining what should be thrown out and what can safely be restored. The restoration company will gain a better understanding of the work, estimate how long the job will take, and provide a rough cost.
- Securing the property: We must make sure that the property is secure and minimize cross-contamination. It can involve installing fencing around the property, removing debris around the perimeter, boarding up openings in the structure, and using a tarp to protect property not affected by the fire.
- Demolition: Prevent further damage due to mould or corrosion by removing water and drying out the property. We remove personal property from the interior, followed by any damaged drywall, flooring and other materials right down to the studs.
- Clean-Up: Properly cleaning smoke and soot from interior and exterior surfaces is tough, but we’re up for it! We target every inch of the affected area, using deodorizing agents to remove any smoke odours that may be lingering. Parts of the structure may be unsalvageable during the initial assessment and must be removed and replaced. It may be necessary to sanitize or apply antimicrobial chemicals to halt mould growth from water damage. The client may also need a duct cleaning to remove the soot, smoke or debris that has settled in ducts.
- Restoring The Property To Pre-Fire Conditions: Replacing electrical, repainting drywall, putting in new flooring materials, interior counters, and fixtures – the final step is performing any necessary fire damage repairs or rebuilding fire-damaged areas.
Depending on the extent of the damage, fire clean-up and restoration jobs can take weeks or months.
Fire Damage & Water Damage Often Go Hand-In-Hand!
In many cases, fire damage and water damage occur concurrently. As you well know, when a property is ablaze, the fire department will douse it with water to contain and extinguish the flames. Sometimes, the building’s pipes will also burst or melt during the fire, leaking water into the structure. While a lot of the damage is caused by the fire, the first task upon securing the property can often be water mitigation. We will remove any remaining moisture before it can create more damage. Whether you own a commercial, industrial or residential property, Emergency Flood Response can help with fire damage restoration! Our team is available 24/7 to provide emergency service, and we will arrive on-site rapidly and ready to act.