In the event of a fire on your home or property, the first thing you’ll be considering is how to stop the fire from spreading, and how to salvage your belongings. But there also needs to be some consideration for the fire damage clean up and what it entails.
What is Fire Damage Restoration?
The process of repairing your home and its contents after a fire is called fire damage restoration. Usually, the first people on the scene are the fire department. They tend to get everything under control and make sure that the home is safe. Now you need to call your insurance, and they may have a fire damage company they use, or you’ll have to find one yourself, and their job is to clean up the mess and bring your home back to what it was before the fire, or as close to it as they can.
Fire Damage Restoration Or Fire Damage Clean-up?
There is a difference between restoration and clean-up, and it’s a matter of scale. Restoration is the overall process of returning your home to the state it was in before the fire, and a clean-up usually entails simply cleaning up the damage the fire crew has done. The fire damage restoration process is often longer and more time-consuming than a post-fire clean-up.
Why Hire Professionals?
Fire is inherently destructive, so it’s not a good idea to attempt to DIY the restoration unless you happen to be a licensed builder, even then it’s not a great idea. A professional fire damage restoration company is much more helpful as they have the equipment and experience to efficiently restore your property after a fire. They can additionally help you handle insurance claims as they log the damage in a systematic way.
The professionals will also know how to help you through this stressful time in terms of your mentality and what they can do to help you feel like you’ll be back in your daily life as soon as you can.
The Fire Department Leaves Damage
In the process of trying to save your home, the fire department is likely to accidentally leave behind great amounts of water damage and foam. This will need to be fixed quickly to prevent further water damage from occurring. For example, if the fire originated in the kitchen and you were lucky enough to have the fire department contain the fire to that one location, you will notice a lot of water damage in and around the kitchen. The professionals can come in and start off by removing and reducing the damage created by the water. This will help prevent further damage from occurring.
Smoke Restoration Matters
One important part of fire restoration that is often forgotten is smoke remediation. This is because you’ll be wrapped up in the water damage left over by the fire department and finding your belongings that you won’t consider the process of removing smoke smells, ash and soot. This overall process is called smoke remediation and makes up a part of the overall fire remediation process.
Smoke remediation is not something that can be skipped within the overall fire restoration process, as smoke is detrimental to your health and the longer you’re exposed to smoke in a home, the worse it can be. So calling the professionals is a must, they can clean and remove soot from furniture, curtains, walls, surfaces and even from within vents and spaces you wouldn’t think of.
Do Not Try To Enter Your Home
Something important to note is that you shouldn’t try to enter your home right after the fire has been extinguished to gather your belongings, the fire brigade will tell you when your home is safe, as there is a risk of the roof collapsing or flooring damage on second floors. So it’s best to wait until it’s safe, and everything has been reinforced before you rush in.
Who Do You Call?
When there’s a fire at your home, you don’t want to be worrying any more than you need to. Everything is already chaotic and overwhelming enough, and you are dealing with a traumatic event, so just call the experts and let them handle all the restoration for you. Often all you have to do is call them and then organize other accommodation if required.
So who should you call? The best option in the United States is Flood Pro’s USA, you can contact them right after you get the thumbs up from the fire department and leave the restoration in good hands.