Can a Fire in a Single Room Affect the Entire Great Neck Home?

8/16/2020 (Permalink)

Fire damage can spread through your home very quickly. Contact SERVPRO for fire damage remediation services.

SERVPRO technicians have the training and equipment to determine the actual scale of the cleanup needed in your Great Neck home

Even though the kitchen fire got put out before the flames had a chance to spread throughout the Great Neck home, there can be significant problems throughout the house in regards to odor, smoke damage and soot can travel via the ductwork and foot traffic to all areas of the home. Until it gets professionally mitigated, the problems remain in the house, that is why it is crucial for outsourcing the cleanup rather than trying to tackle it on your own.

Why is Fire Damage From Burned Plastic So Hard to Remove?  

A homeowner that left a plastic container on their stove without realizing the burner was on. This caused a large amount of smoke and fire damage throughout their Great Neck home. The homeowner brought in SERVPRO to handle the cleanup and restoration.

When plastic burns in a fire, it causes multiple issues such as: 

• The release of pungent, toxic fumes containing hazards such as dioxins and furans that are dangerous to breathe 
• The burning process also causes a thick layer of hard-to-remove soot
• Although SERVPRO techs have multiple cleaning agents and methods for removal of melted plastic, it may be impossible to get off some surfaces causing the item it melted on to get discarded
• The fumes can spread creating odor issues over a widespread area

Common Fire Damage Actions in a Kitchen  

The kitchen is the hub of activity in most homes, and even a small scale fire can create a large amount of damage in your Great Neck home. SERVPRO technicians see the following issues frequently: 

• Smoke damage on the walls
• Soot corrosion on chrome and metal faucets unless cleaned quickly
• Fire odor distributed throughout the home via the ductwork
• Controlled demolition to remove charred building materials
• Removal of debris
• Extraction of water

The removal of the smoke damage in the area the fire occurred within can take different forms. SERVPRO technicians test the smoke residues as well as the surface getting cleaned to ensure the correct method gets chosen. Some cleaning agents have chemical components that can bleach surfaces or remove finishes, so tests are crucial for the best outcome.

Air quality is another concern during the cleanup post-fire. The techs use machines known as air scrubbers to capture airborne particulates that are harmful to breathe as well as odor-causing. The techs wear respirators along with protective clothing to keep them safe as they turn around the damage in the home.  

Cleaning stations are another frequently seen part of the cleanup process. As articles in the fire-zone get found, and they get determined to have restoration potential, the items get brought to established cleaning areas outside the work-site. The technicians operating these areas inspect the item and choose the cleaning method that will benefit it most. For example, a molded resin candlestick may have survived the fire just fine, but it got covered in soot in the process. The techs can use techniques such as immersion cleaning to get every bit of residue off the item and get it ready to reuse in the home.

The need for repairs or reconstruction of portions of the home is not unusual. Unfortunately, when sheetrock wicks water or has charring - the deteriorated part requires removal. In some severe cases, the walls can get stripped down to the studs with the insulation removed. Before any rebuilding can occur within the home, odor control applications need to get performed to remove both airborne and embedded odorous particulate. If the HVAC ran post-fire, the ductwork might also need cleaning. Once the technicians have successfully neutralized odors, they inspect the property to ensure no lingering smoke odors remain.

Even with the professional equipment that the technicians have access to, multiple methods may get applied. In cases of walls that remained intact but odor control methods did not work, the use of a sealant can seal in any remaining fire scents and give the wall a clean slate to get primed and painted with zero reminders of the fire.

As a final step, the SERVPRO crew chief goes over the actions taken throughout the home with the homeowner or adjuster to be sure that they are pleased with the job performed by the technicians. 

SERVPRO of Great Neck / Port Washington at (516) 767-9600 is ready to help local property owners with the cleanup and restoration from any size fire damage. The certified technicians are available 24/7 to return your home back to normal as soon as possible.