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Fire damage can be extensive and severe and actually affects your property in a large variety of ways, which is why it’s important to know how to recover from fire damage in your home.
The fire itself can, of course, be highly destructive and if it is left to rage uncontrollably it can burn your belongings, your furniture, and your fittings to a cinder. This can then result in other damage too such as burst pipes, ruined electrics and even collapsing structures. Just as bad though is the smoke which travels quickly and ubiquitously around your home through all adjoining rooms and stains all your belongings while leaving an unpleasant odor behind.
For all these reasons, it is absolutely crucial to ensure that you always respond to fire quickly and that you use fire damage restoration as soon after as possible.
What to do in a Fire
In any fire, the absolute priority is your safety and you should make sure that you and your family get out of the premises without hesitation. This is crucial and you should never stop to try and fight the fire or save your belongings. From here, you should call your local fire department so that they can come out quickly and prevent the fire damage from spreading further throughout your home.
Straight after your home has been saved from the fire though, you should then call your fire damage restoration company and your insurance if you have a policy. This is crucial because the longer you leave it, the more extensive the damage might become. Even after a fire is put out, damage can continue due to burst pipes, harsh weather conditions (without an intact roof) and collapsing staircases, and more. The sooner you call fire damage restoration the cheaper restoration will be and the more of your home will be saved.
Recover From Fire Damage: Fire Damage Restoration Services
When choosing a fire damage restoration company, look for one that offers emergency response and is willing to come out on short notice. This way, you can ensure that further damage is prevented immediately.
This will be the first thing that these companies will do on arriving in your home – they will preventing any leaks and reinforce the structure of your building while sealing any holes or gaps that are undermining the integrity of the building.
Once this is done, they can then take a step back to assess the extent of the damage to your property to help you recover from fire damage. Using sensing equipment and following the line of the smoke, they can find out exactly how much of your property has been affected and to what degree. Following this, they’ll then be able to come up with a plan of action and give you some kind of quote and timescale.
Recover From Fire Damage: The Process
The fire damage restoration process will often begin with the removal and disposal of items that are completely unsalvageable. Anything that has been thoroughly engulfed in smoke or in contaminated water or that has been burned to pieces will likely be removed and disposed of. This might involve the full removal of kitchen furniture, curtains, carpet, or fittings.
Water will meanwhile be removed from the floor early on using pumps. After this, the surfaces underneath will be dried as will the air by using a dehumidifier.
Once water is removed and damaged items are removed, your fire damage restoration company can then begin cleaning the surfaces. This will involve removing the soot and the smoke from anything that they have touched, as well as getting rid of lasting odors. Cleaning will be performed using a variety of tools and products including scrubbers. Professional carpet cleaning might also be necessary which will involve the use of a high-powered wet vacuum and potentially a detergent of some sort.
Anything that has been touched by contaminated water (called ‘gray’ or ‘black’ water) will need sanitization in order to prevent the spread of disease and illness.
Once everything is cleaned, it should look less like a fire has hit the room and more like the property has just been damaged. From here, the company can begin to provide restoration services such as repainting, repairing, and reinstalling. If the carpet pads have absorbed contaminated water, then they will need to be disposed of for instance and in that case, fire damage restoration companies might install new ones for you. Likewise, if paint or wallpaper has come away from the walls, they might reinstate them. New cabinets and furniture can be installed likewise and generally much of the damage caused can be fully reversed.
Look for a company that is capable of offering full renovation and remodeling services. These companies will be capable of rebuilding your rooms from scratch to not only recreate the old look but even to improve on them in some cases.
Recover From Fire Damage: Preventing Future Fires
Once everything is back to normal, the next important step to recover from fire damage is to do an autopsy to work out precisely what it was that caused the problem in the first place and to prevent it from happening again.
Often, fires will be caused by stoves, ovens, and other appliances in the kitchen. In this case, you might want to consider getting a range hood and maybe installing a fire door in that room which can prevent the progress of fire through the premises.
In other cases, fires might be caused by long, dry grass in your garden. It only takes a small spark for this sort of grass to go up in flames in summer.
Just as important as completely preventing fires is to be able to deal with them quickly and effectively as well as to recover from fire damage if it does happen. If you have recently suffered from a fire, then look into getting a smoke alarm and ensuring that it is located somewhere nearby where it will be able to serve as an early warning for flames. This might mean keeping it in the kitchen or at the top of the stairs – ideally, you should have more than one and they should be tested regularly.
Finally, make sure that you have the number of a fire damage restoration company ready and to hand so that you can deal with damage quickly and efficiently!
When you are in need of a fire and smoke damage restoration company in Arden, Fairview, and Asheville, NC contact Secure Restoration.
