Do you want to reverse the damage caused by a fire in your home or business premises? Acting quickly to address the situation can help you avoid further losses!
Fire accidents leave damages that may increase in severity with every passing hour. The sooner the fire and damages are contained, the higher the chances of getting your property back to prime condition.
What is fire damage restoration?
Fire damage restoration is the process of returning fire and smoke-damaged property to its pre-loss condition. It goes beyond merely cleaning and repairing the places affected by the fire. It requires an accurate assessment of the unique personality of the fire and the associated damage.
Due to the destructive nature of fire, the process may involve boarding up, demolition, and reconstruction. It also includes debris, soot and odor removal, cleaning contents, and removing anything hazardous such as asbestos and lead. It can take weeks or even months to complete.
At West Central Equipment and Restoration in Lecanto, Florida, we encourage homeowners and property owners to have professionals handle the process. We understand that fire changes the foundation of every home or property in a big way—making the restoration process complex and tedious to undertake on its own. But professionals can quickly assess the extent of the damage, secure items that are not damaged, and conduct safe, effective cleaning, repair, and renovation.
What happens during the fire damage restoration process?
Generally, every fire damage restoration follows a four-step process:
- Assessment
- Securing the foundation
- Cleaning and removal
- Repairs, restoration and renovation
- Assessment
When fire damage restoration professionals arrive, they begin by assessing the extent of the damage in your property in order to know what they are dealing with and develop an effective plan of action. The assessment will also help them arrive at an accurate quote of the cost and recommend what you should expect in the coming days, including when you can re-enter your home to get your belongings and how long the process will take.
During the assessment, trained technicians will check and test the room where the fire started, together with adjoining rooms. They look at how far the fire, smoke, and soot have traveled. They also check how badly the furniture and walls have been affected and the extent of structural damage.
It is imperative to stay off the premises until the assessment is complete. This situation can be highly traumatic for your family, but you should know that a fire can cause massive damage within minutes, and the resulting structural damage can be a real danger. Staying off the property ensures your safety. It also reduces the risk of inhaling smoke.
- Securing the foundation
After the assessment, the next priority is to prevent the damage from spreading. Technicians will board up, tarp over and seal your home, and temporarily patch the damage until repair work can begin.
If there are leaks due to holes burned in the roof or wall, they will plug the holes to stop any leaks, minimizing the effects of other elements on the interior of your home. They will also cover windows and doors damaged by the fire to prevent break-ins or vandalism as the restoration process takes place.
If the fire has caused a pipe or water tank to burst, the restoration crew will identify and stop the source of water. Doing so minimizes further damage and reduces the overall cost of the restoration process.
- Cleaning and removal
Before doing a thorough cleaning, technicians will remove fire-damaged furniture and appliances to create ample space for the cleaning process. The items are also removed to restore or replace them.
Items that are too damaged to be repaired—such as a badly burnt carpet or furniture that has absorbed contaminated water—are removed and disposed of.
With your permission, the technicians will draw an inventory and remove all damaged items. During removal, the items are marked as to whether they can be saved or not by restoration. This information is shared with you and is valuable for purposes of insurance claims. The restoration company stores the extracted items until the property is fully cleaned and restored.
Once the property is cleared, the fire damage restoration experts can start cleaning up smoke, dust, and soot from various surfaces.
A typical fire tends to leave surfaces looking dark, charred, and stained, which needs the necessary cleaning. The lingering odor from the smoke that travels through the property is also removed through deodorization.
If there are standing pools of water, they are cleared using submersible pumps. The affected areas are dried up and sanitized using high-powered fans and special heaters.
Anti-mold steps are also taken, and any waterlogged flooring or carpeting is removed. The technicians will then repair and restore all the items that can be saved.
- Repairs, restoration, and renovation
The technicians will want to leave your property looking as good and as new as possible to allow you to return to normal life.
For instance, they will repair or replace damaged cabinets, install new carpets, repaint walls, and put the wallpaper back. The walls and ceilings can be restored by scraping them and then repainting.
When it comes to valuable pieces, rare furniture, and family heirlooms that are hard or impossible to replace, the experts follow a meticulous process to restore them to prime conditions. But for damages that require extensive repairs, they will recommend a more competent contractor to undertake the renovation.
Remarkable, effective restoration
At West Central Equipment and Restoration in Lecanto, Florida, we understand that recovering from a fire is one of the most challenging experiences for families and property owners. So we have put together the right tools and options necessary for restoration, giving priority to the safety of the interior property and the health of the users.
We are committed to making the fire damage restoration process more accessible and convenient. We know you trust us to help you get over a difficult time, so we endeavor to deliver compassionate and outstanding service.
Plus, we provide advice on preventing future fires, including the design of your rooms and using better smoke devices and other means of being alerted of fires early.
Our emergency fire damage restoration services are available 24/7 throughout the year. Call us at (352) 270-8417 to learn more about how our restoration service can help you.
