Fires not only destroy homes and property, they can also lead to injuries and death. In 2019, the National Fire Protection Association recorded 1,291,500 fires that resulted in approximately 3,700 deaths and 16,600 injuries.
Trying to save your belongings when a fire breaks out is not easy since you’ll be dealing with smoke and heat. This can easily lead to suffocation, so if this happens, it is important that you stay calm. Look around and locate the nearest exit so you can get out.
Calling a Fire Damage Restoration Expert
After firefighters arrive on the scene and successfully put out the fire, calling home fire damage cleanup professionals is recommended to help ease your concerns about the condition of your property. These are experts in the field and can ably handle all aspects of home rescue and rehabilitation projects. Doing a DIY on your fire-ravaged home may sound like a good idea, but this can be time-consuming and even expose you to various health risks.
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Understanding Fire Damage Restoration Process
The first 48 hours following a fire are critical and are termed by restoration specialists as the “golden hours”. This is the period when the chances of salvaging a property are still high because the damage is still technically minimal. During this timeframe, restoration professionals can prove their efficiency by working fast and focusing on keeping soot and smoke from further spreading to other areas of your house.
Many fire damage restoration companies use the most advanced equipment available to ensure that the situation is stabilized and all signs of fire damage are effectively removed. Although it is impossible to save everything found inside your home, professional restoration experts will still make an assessment to determine if partial restoration is possible.
When making the assessment, the following factors are usually considered:
- Replacement Cost against Restoration Cost
- Loss of use
- Loss of value
- Heat and smoke problems
- Decline in life expectancy
- Sentimental value
The restoration process is quite complex and follows a strict step-by-step method that should allow you to return home quickly. Here is a summary of the process.
Step 1: Securing Your Home Foundation
The first step involves an assessment of the extent of damage that the fire caused to prevent any further destruction from taking place. Restoration professionals will usually start with the roof to see if the flames have reached this part of the house and sparked a leak or produced a hole.
According to deepwaterco.com, fire and water damage often go hand in hand. The latter can occur if your roof is charred and rainfall follows. If this happens, experts will usually place temporary roofs and tarpaulins over your roofs and windows while these are being restored.
Step 2: Cleaning up and Sanitation
The next step will focus on cleaning up smoke and soot as these two can stain your walls and floors, but can be difficult to remove if you do it yourself. Companies that specialize in water and fire damage restoration can also effectively handle smoke issues caused by fire. Initially, they will use fans, pumps, and heaters to eliminate moisture or water that has seeped into your home. A separate process will be used later to fix the smoke damage.
Fire can also result in damaged paint, but experts from fire damage restoration companies will simply remove the old paint, sand over the affected area to restore this to its original appearance, and do a repaint. For wood furniture, the restoration process will involve separating it into unfinished and finished. Unfinished wood is difficult to restore, but the finished type can be stripped and sanded.
This will be more of a personal decision as you can opt to restore your house to its original state or do a complete renovation. For this, you can refer to experienced restoration professionals on what’s best for you.
Fires can cause not only property damage but loss of life as well. It can be difficult to deal with the aftermath of a fire incident, but you don’t have to do property restoration on your own. There are many companies that specialize in fire damage restoration works. They deliver excellent restoration services and you can have your home rebuilt and your life saved faster than you can expect.
Keep in mind, however, that the process of restoration for homes ravaged by fire is not a quick-fix project. It involves a complex method that is not only limited to simple cleaning of the affected area, but also includes sanitation, repainting, and remodeling. Before all of these, a pre-assessment of the damaged property is also done to determine if there are areas that can still be saved. This part of the process is important because it can mean less expenses for the homeowner.
