Can My Home Be Returned to Like-New Condition After a Fire?

2/17/2023 (Permalink)

Regardless of the overall size or scope of the incident that took place at your home.

When You Have Fire Damage at Your Home, SERVPRO Has Proven Techniques for Impressive Results

The impact of a fire, large or small, can be extremely devastating for your family. It is not uncommon to feel lost while not knowing what steps to take next. The good news is that SERVPRO is available to come to your home for emergency service seven days a week, 24 hours a day. All you have to do is give us a call, and we will have a crew arrive at the front door of your property in as little as a few hours. We work hard to bring your home back to pre-fire condition so that you can enjoy your surroundings again. Even if you feel as though all is lost, we do have the restoration techniques and workforce to provide unmatched results.

What Should Happen After the Fire?

After the flames get extinguished, you must wait for approval from first responders on the scene to enter safely. Once you contact SERVPRO to clean up fire damage, our team arrives, and the crew chief begins the assessment. During the initial inspection and walkthrough, we note the damage to formulate a plan that utilizes the best equipment and restoration techniques for the job. We must work to restore and salvage whatever is possible to save your cherished belongings while also saving you money.

Will Air Quality Throughout My Interior Be an Issue?

Due to the soot and smoke particles left behind from a blaze, indoor air quality (IAQ) is always a concern. Along with smoke and soot, moisture left from water extinguishing the flames can bring the potential for mold and mildew. We have skilled IAQ technicians at SERVPRO who can ensure the right equipment and products are used to restore air quality throughout the project. We can ensure your interior has breathable air between our methods and industrial-grade filtration while also battling microbial contamination and stubborn smoke odors.

Some of the tools we use to balance IAQ include:

Air Scrubbers: Air scrubber equipment reduces the debris and particulates from the surrounding air while cutting back on microorganism threats that pose a problem with moist conditions. This equipment pulls in contaminated air and traps airborne debris before putting out clean air.

Hydroxyl Generators: This is equipment with dual-action, working to deodorize your home's interior by chemically altering odor-causing compounds while working on purifying the air through filtration. Some units feature onboard activated charcoal filters that embed airborne molecules.

What About the Soot on Various Surfaces?

Charring is a typical result of a fire from the heat generated by the flames. During a standard restoration project, we work to restore, resurface, and replace materials as needed. We utilize a broad range of proven techniques and specialized equipment to handle even the most stubborn residue from soot and smoke. For example, soda blasting with a combination of sodium bicarbonate and pressurized air helps to blast away slight charring and residue carefully. The bonus is that sodium bicarbonate is a deodorizer, so it serves a dual purpose of battling smoke odors. 

The nature of particles from soot and smoke is that they settle on ceilings, walls, and various flat surfaces quickly after a fire. DIY methods alone are often very time-consuming and may be extremely counterproductive. Our skilled technicians on the job bring best practices for each unique situation as we use dusting, vacuums, pressure washers, and dry or wet methods for handling the soot throughout your Hayward home. During this cleanup, our previously mentioned HEPA filtration also ensures that any particles that we loosen do not become airborne for redistribution throughout the interior.

For any areas that call for further intervention, we put controlled demolition practices into place to ensure restoration to like-new conditions.

Will All Smoke Odors Be Gone?

With the methods we use, the removal of smoke odors is something we excel with at SERVPRO. Every step breaks down residue, and we also have measures that help locate any areas where odorous particles may be hiding.

• Pack-out services for cleaning contents off-site may help prevent smoke odor transfer into your home's unaffected areas.
• We carefully clean all soot-covered surfaces, leaving no area without treatment. 
• Technicians have access to a range of EPA-approved antimicrobials and cleaning agents to facilitate cleanup faster.
• We may use thermal fogging machinery for pungent odors to recreate the situation that brought on the odor penetration.
• We can also seal off some areas to keep odors from popping up, including walls and the ductwork for your HVAC system.

Regardless of the overall size or scope of the incident that took place at your home, SERVPRO of Deltona is there for your fire damage repair needs.