FAQs: When Your Home Has Fire Damage

6/15/2019 (Permalink)

Does your home have fire or smoke damage?

What can I do to help prevent fire in my home

There are many safety precautions you can take to help prevent fire and smoke damage in your home. First, be sure to use caution when cooking in the kitchen. Be sure to stay alert and to be watchful while using the stove or oven. Be sure to have working smoke alarms in your home and to check them regularly. Be careful when using heating devices like space heaters and keep flammable objects several feet away. If you are a smoker, be mindful when smoking and disposing of cigarettes. When using candles don't leave them unattended and keep them away from flammable materials. Check your appliances and electronics for damaged or exposed wiring. It's a good idea to clean your dryer vents regularly. Also, be extra vigilant around the holidays for additional fire risks. And lastly, make sure you know how to use a fire extinguisher to help stop further fire damage if a fire does break out.

My home just had a fire, now what do I do?

Once the flames have abated, it's hard to know what to do next. Here are a few Dos and Don'ts to keep in mind after a fire:

• DO limit movement in the home.
• DO place towels on carpet traffic areas. Use dry, colorfast towels or old linens on rugs, upholstery and carpet traffic areas to limit damage.
• DO change HVAC filters. Change your filters, but leave the system off until a trained professional can check the system.
• DO cover HVAC intakes. Tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers to stop particles of soot from getting in or out of your HVAC system.
• DO call in professionals to clean walls, carpet, upholstery and electronics.
  • DON'T consume food and beverages that may have been stored near the fire. They may be contaminated.
• DON'T turn on ceiling fixtures. If the ceiling is wet, wiring may be wet or damaged and can cause electrical shock.
• DON'T dry clean clothing. Improper cleaning may set smoke odors. Make sure you use a service that knows how to remove soot and smoke from clothing.

My home has smoke damage, do I have to replace everything I own?

Not necessarily. The first 48 hours after fire damage occurs can make the difference between restoring versus replacing damaged property and personal belongings. Rapid response and timely mitigation can help prevent fire damage from creating long-term problems to your belongings and home. Our team is trained in caring for both you, your property and your belongings. Our full line of fire cleanup and restoration services can help get your home back up and running quickly and help protect your property and belongings. We provide a variety of content restoration, electronic cleaning and document drying services. We will work hard to restore as much of your home and belongings as we can.

Can you get the smell of smoke out of my home?

Yes we can. After smoke or fire damage, ceilings, walls, woodwork, carpeting, and floors will often need a thorough cleaning. Our experienced technicians will pretest to determine the extent of damage, and then use the specific equipment and cleaning products required to clean the different types of surfaces found in your structure. We provide deodorization services that rid your home of offensive odors left by fire or smoke damage. We do not merely cover up lingering odors with a fragrance; we seek out the sources of the odor and remove them.

Can I clean up smoke damage myself?

It can be hard to clean up fire and smoke damage and to get rid of the smoke smell without the proper knowledge about different types of smoke and soot and how to clean each one. Dry smoke, wet smoke and protein residue all need to be treated differently and can be hard to remove fully. It helps to understand the way in which smoke behaves. At SERVPRO of North Everett/Lake Stevens/Monroe we have the training and equipment to clean and restore your fire and smoke damage to its preloss condition.