Dealing With Fire Damage - What Is Structural Cleanup?

On its own, a fire in your home or business is a terrible thing to have to go through. To make things worse, the water used to put the fire out can actually cause a significant amount of damage as well. With these two combined, you are left with a huge mess to clean up, including significant structural repairs after the fire has been extinguished. For most home and business owners, the best route to go is to work with a professional fire cleaning and restoration contractor. They can guide you through the process of structural cleaning, repairs and restoration to eventually bring your home back to the way it was before the disaster.

There are a variety of things that are involved in the cleaning and restoration process. The basic elements of a complete fire cleanup service can include water removal, drying, packing and inventorying personal possessions, storing those possessions, covering any roof damage and boarding up the home for a proper seal.

Structural Damage  Cleanup

Because of fire's ability to cause extensive surface and structural damage, it is often necessary to clean many structural components of your home. Some of these may need to be replaced, depending on the extent of the damage. Avoiding the structural cleaning stage of the restoration process can lead to some very troublesome issues down the road. A few wet support beams, for example, can be very damaging in their own right if they are covered without replacement. Situations like this can lead to toxic molds, mildews and rot growing out of sight. Not only is this detrimental to the overall safety of your home, but also to the health of its occupants. Rotting, damaged wood is not structurally sound, and can be attractive to termites and other pests.

Hidden Damages

Some of the greatest dangers posed by having a fire in your home are the smoke and water damages that are hidden to the average observer. Because of the pervasive nature of smoke, fire and the water required to extinguish them, you can be left with extensive damage behind walls, under floors and in all of the nooks and crannies in your home. You will want to make sure that a restoration specialist checks the following for odors, soot, water and fire damage:

· Floors
· Drapes
· Carpets and Rugs
· Heating Systems
· Cooling Systems
· Appliances
· Walls and Ceilings
· Furniture
· Electronics
· Cabinets
· Personal Belongings

Because many of the steps for cleaning both smoke, and water damage are similar, most restoration specialists can take a unified approach to quickly and efficiently address the damage that your home has sustained. By properly airing out, cleaning and making replacements as necessary, you can be surprised how effectively a seemingly destroyed home can be turned back around to its pre-fire state. Though it may be tempting to give up, quick action is the key to starting a successful restoration in the case of a fire. Act quick, and act now.