Fire Damage Restoration: The Process
If your home or business experienced a fire, you need to act quickly and contact a fire damage restoration company. While the fire department may have said it’s safe to enter your property, your fire experience is far from over. The U.S. Fire Administration offers a guide for personal safety and to explain the next financial steps you should take. However, you also need to begin cleaning up after the fire.
Fire cleanup is where fire damage restoration companies can help you: they take care of the cleanup and ensure your home is safe again.
What exactly does a fire restoration company do? Beyond clean up, they can check the damage to your property. They also provide additional restoration services, such as water damage restoration and mold remediation. This allows them to provide all the necessary clean up services needed for the side effects of a fire. Fire restoration companies will also prevent further damage so that you don’t have to pay more due to new damages.
There are several steps you can expect a restoration company to take as they clean up and fix your home or business.
The 7 Steps of Fire Damage Restoration
1. Emergency Service for Immediate Relief of Fire DamageYou don’t want to have to wait for your fire damage assessment. By waiting you risk increasing the damage to your property or business premise, which increases the costs of restoration. The company you choose to work with should offer some kind of emergency service or contact number to perform an immediate assessment and preventative measures.
2. Fire Damage AssessmentAfter immediately coming to your premises, a fire damage restoration company will assess the damage. This includes looking at where the fire traveled, where the smoke and soot spread, how damaged the infrastructure is, and if there is damaged furniture or appliances.
This will allow the company to know what restoration work you need and how to proceed. They will also provide a quote for how much fire restoration will cost and how long it will take.
3. Preventative ServicesOnce the assessment is complete, the restoration company will work to prevent any new damages. This includes sealing holes in the roof or walls; these are often made by firefighters trying to control the fire. It can also include using water damage restoration services to stop and prevent leaks resulting from the fire, such as a burst pipe or water tank.
4. Fire Damage Restoration Clean UpOnce the area won’t receive any more additional damage, the fire damage restoration company will begin cleaning up your home or business. They will remove smoke, soot, and dust from your surfaces to get rid of the dark-stained or charred look.
Next, the restoration company will clean up all standing water with submersible pumps. They will then dry and sanitize these areas to avoid contaminated water damage from causing health problems.
When the company finishes cleaning up after the water, they will resume the fire damage restoration process. They’ll remove any items that are unrepairable. This includes furniture or carpet that is severely burned or has absorbed too much contaminated water. The company will also remove any lingering odors throughout the property.
5. Fire Damage RepairAfter cleaning, some restoration companies will begin repairing your home or business premise. They will install new carpets and place new floorboards. They will also repair and repaint new walls, putting up new wallpaper if requested. If the kitchen is damaged, they will restore or replace the cabinets and appliances. They will work to make sure your home or office is as good as new and back to normal.
Fire damage repair also includes restoring furniture. Restoration companies can upholster and clean the fabric of salvageable couches and chairs. They can also refinish and polish antique or valuable wooden furniture. A fire doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away: many times you can restore your possessions.
6. Renovation During Fire Damage RestorationIf normal isn’t your thing, you can choose to have your home or office renovated during the repair process. Your property can look better than before the fire, and if you want a new design of the kitchen, living room, or any other room, during fire restoration is a perfect time.
7. Consultations to Prevent More Fire DamageSome fire damage restoration companies will offer consultation after repair and renovation to prevent another fire disaster. This ranges from smoke detector recommendations to design advice to sprinkler systems and other means of early fire detection notification.
Fire restoration companies exist to make the post-fire process simpler for you. Through preventing additional damage, cleaning up your property, and repair and renovation, fire restoration companies can return your home or business to normal as if the fire never happened. If you are looking for immediate service or to prepare for an unfortunate future, Aspen Environmental’s 24/7 Emergency Service can help.
Original article written by Mold Remediation Pro.