After The Flames Die: The Facts of Professional Fire Restoration And Clean Up

Professional fire restoration. This is one word that will stop anyone in their tracks. Whether it is a forest fire raging out of control in the western part of the U.S., some chemical spill alight on a highway, or a suburban New Jersey house ablaze, fire is all-too perfectly efficient in destroying property and taking lives. 

It is the one absolute disaster that your home life insurance policy will pay off, no questions asked, and an element we need to sustain our lives as much as we need rightly fear. It’s something that can decimate and determine our lives to the point where we may never recover. And as terrible as the fire itself can be, the destruction, damage, and debris left after it is extinguished can be just as devastating as flickering flames.

This is where a fire restoration and clean-up service need to enter the picture.

The Fireman Is A Hero, But…

In order to do their job in the quickest time possible (often with flames literally lapping at their heels) and to keep themselves as well as anyone else out of harm’s way, a firefighter need be less than delicate in how they work through a fire. For example, in trying to contain and extinguish a fire, firemen often need to throw their ax through a wall, break windows, even cut a hole in a roof to gain access, allow for better ventilation…and yes, to save lives.

In the case of retail or commercial properties catching fire, frequently, fire crews have to break into and end up damaging adjacent properties in doing their job.

And with water, chemical foams, and other liquids used to battle a blaze, there is often so much damage left to property, furniture, walls, drapes, and floors. Water alone, while fire’s biggest enemy, can leave insidious mold and mildew in its wake if not dried and collected by high-grade HEPA-rated vacuums or HVAC equipment and specific cleaning solvents.

Soot & Smoke. Professional fire restoration.

It’s an often noted and well-reported fact that more people die in a fire from inhaling smoke than they do ever getting burned. But smoke also leaves a lasting ‘impression’ on a space that can be hard to see or see its full (and lasting if not attended to) effect.

When a commercial fire cleaning crew walks into a fire-ravaged space, they immediately assess what they see in a way no layperson could ever consider. Indeed, any one of us could easily recognize smoke damage to walls, spy the fine coating of black dust known as soot around us. But very few of us can follow and find just where all the fine carbon particles end up. And very few of us still realize that even the slightest degree of soot left behind, laying deep in upholstery or even in the pores of walls, can cause severe lung problems for anyone working or moving back into the space.

And over the long term, undetected and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from left soot can work their way into a family or employees’ lives and even affect their genes.

This all must be cleaned professionally.

The Dangers of DYI

As noted, there is the necessary damage a fire crew will leave in their wake at a commercial space or residency. This, on top of what the fire can manage when scorching its path through a structure, often leaves homes and shops quite tricky to navigate, let alone clean.

Fire and insurance inspectors can walk down a hallway or venture down into a basement and declare a space safe to reinhabit and begin cleaning. But DIY fire clean-up is not the best option for most people, even in the aftermath of a small blaze. Often what the homeowner or shop boss spends in cleaning materials and time, plus renting pro-grade cleaning machines, will cost more than it ever would hiring a pro fire clean-up crew.

Besides, the layperson doesn’t know what they are looking for, not by a long shot. Sure, we can see what’s right there on the surface of a smoke-filled room, certainly throw out crispy furniture and upended machinery. But many spaces, be they a commercial property destroyed by fire or a residence that recently endured a blaze, typically need a more thorough cleaning.

A professional fire restoration service uses HEPA-rated vacuums, HVAC equipment, and are skilled in how to specifically enter a dwelling that has been fire-torn. They are experienced in how to use specific cleaning solvents and are ready for whatever they might come across in a fire-damaged space.

The professional also knows how to effectively lift the odor of fire, and smoke from the pores of walls, upholstery, and carpets. This professional fire restoration must be especially attended to professionally, or you will never be able or rid yourself of not just the smell of a recent fire, but its memory.

Conclusion

Fire is the leveling factor for us all. Not matter how much money you may have, where you live, work or play, how many people are in your family or if you are confirmed bachelor, when flames begin to score, rage and envelope a space you are in, our most basic survival mode, to get as far away from the flames, kicks in. But it’s after the fire rages, destroys property and maybe even unfortunately takes a life, that we have to considering getting our lives in order, reestablishing our business or making our homes safe.

We can’t do professional fire restoration without employing a reputable fire restoration and cleaning crew to make sure all of the above (and much more) is attended to.