What to Expect After a Fire in the Home
The extremity of a fire can vary greatly. Small kitchen fires tend to be a common and easy clean up. However, in cases of massive damage an entire tear out is needed on the structure. In this situation the contents of the home are often a complete write off. Home owners are expected to have insurance for an incident like this but many renters do not realize how valuable it would be for them as well. Renters insurance will ensure that your contents are properly cleaned or replaced. Failure to acquire insurance results in loss of property with no compensation.
Insurance companies have a variety of Disaster Restoration businesses at their service. Once a Disaster Restoration Company is dispatched to the home, it is important that no one goes inside the home and nothing is removed or touched by anyone other than Disaster Technicians. It is not a good idea to try to clean things yourself as soot is greasy and requires a special industrial cleaner. Contents will be dealt with in a professional manner following a specific order of conduct. Items are separated into groups of things that can be properly cleaned, things that need to be replaced and those that need to be sent straight into the garbage.
The contents of the home are listed as they are separated ensuring that everything is accounted for and recorded. A copy of this record is left with both the insurance company and the home owner. Contents that are sent straight to garbage are listed and replaced but are not worth holding on to or may be unsafe to do so. In this case it is up to the Technician(s) to decide. Items like electronics and expensive furniture may be held for the Insurance Adjuster to view and make his own decision concerning compensation. Anything that is salvageable is cleaned with a special cleaner that is designed specifically for smoke and fire.
Wallglide is the name of one of these most commonly used fire cleaners. High chemical content means that gloves are needed when in use and in some cases even a mask. Homeowners are discouraged from touching any special disaster chemicals. This cleaner is made to cut the grease left behind by soot and to remove smoke stains from walls, ceiling and contents. Following its use on painted drywall it is usually followed with another product called Killz which seals in any remaining smoke scent. The walls are then repainted and no sign of fire remains. For items or materials that cannot get wet there is a specially designed sponge that works by using static to pull the soot from the material. Called a Chem Sponge, this handy tool works on everything from papers to unfinished wood.
Seriously extreme fires are not so easily cleaned up. Charred and mangled walls and ceilings are in need of removal. In this case all contents are removed from the structure and dealt with accordingly. The structure itself is then taken apart right down to the frame. This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the size of the home and the extent of the damage. When the house has been completely stripped down it’s ready for rebuild. The length of time for these jobs can vary because of a number of different elements. Crew size can change as well as the demand on the Disaster Restoration Company itself. Depending on insurance coverage, disaster victims are often put up in hotels or other temporary housing.
When a fire strikes it’s always a disaster but it doesn’t have to make your world stop. Disaster Technicians are there to help and they know the best way to reach the desired outcome. Trust in their knowledge and be patient and your home will be brand new in no time.
