Will You Need Additional Damage Clean Up After A House Fire?
A house fire is the scariest nightmare you can experience. Even when you are thankful that there were no injuries, sifting through the resulting mess is overwhelming. Since even a small fire can cause a great deal of damage, working with a professional fire damage cleanup team can save you time, money and aggravation during a very stressful time.
Experienced teams have a wealth of knowledge specific to fires; they are also trained to identify structural damage. They also know the best way to approach each area. The water and specialized chemicals that the firefighters used can cause secondary damage if not cleaned properly. If your home was damaged, the professionals at GW Savage can help you with:
Flooring
Fire damage routinely becomes water damage on the floors. Putting out a fire will often cause the same kind of issues that you might expect from experiencing a flood in your home. Plus increased traffic on damaged fibers and planks can wear them down. Carpets can hold mold and other toxic substances after severe water damage.
Not only will the carpet or other flooring material need to be replaced, but often the subfloor will have suffered water damage as well. Carpet, tile, and hardwood all respond differently to the stress of fire and water. Get the GW team over to take a look at your floors and recommend the best way to proceed.
Damaged Wood, Ceilings and Drywall
No matter how big or small the fire was, smoke damage is unavoidable. The cleanup techniques needed at your site will depend on the severity, duration, and materials burned. If smoke damage is low, the homeowner can use household items like detergents and bleach to scrub it away.
More severe damage will include more soot, which creates another set of problems and procedures. Soot and ash must be removed before wiping anything down since they are caustic.
Depending on the size of the fire and the amount of water used to extinguish it, there’s a chance that the drywall took most of the damage. Some pieces of the drywall can be salvaged by drying it out, patching, or replacing partial panels. And, finally, sealing and repainting will be needed to keep the smoke smell from returning.
Electrical Items and Other Furnishings
Your electrical items such as computers and televisions probably received damage from the fire, smoke, and water. If needed, the GW Savage team can plan a careful pack-out and relocation of affected contents to an off-site facility. They will follow a defined and certified process for cleaning and odor removal.
If water has been standing in your home or business for a while, the seals around appliances will be weakened. The electrical components in your home and the wiring behind your walls could have gotten damaged to the point that they pose their own fire risk. You need someone with an experienced set of eyes to identify potential hazards.
The Ever Present Risk Of Mold
Although you are recovering from a fire, you are at another risk from water- the water used to put out the fire! The firefighters had to spray indiscriminately to squelch the embers. That moisture could cause mold to flourish. Effective mold removal requires expertise and the use of specialized equipment; GW Savage has years of experience protecting Burlington families.
Putting Your Life Back Together In Burlington
G.W. Savage handles every aspect of the repair and restoration process from the very beginning. Every fire will require a different level of service– depending on the scope of loss. Experienced project managers think of everything, from emergency services (temporary heat, board-up and tarping) to working with you to select the fixtures and finishings for your newly restored space.
G.W. Savage’s IICRC-certified restoration team works quickly and efficiently to restore your belongings to pre-loss condition with the necessary tools and training to respond to fire and water damage. For more than two decades, they have provided full-service restoration services in Vermont, Northern New York and Western New Hampshire.
When disaster strikes your home, the first thing on your mind is getting your life back together. Our highly trained professionals are ready now to help with your clean up!
