Posts Tagged ‘Soot and Odor Removal from Fire’

FIRE DAMAGE – THE IMPORTANCE OF SMOKE AND SOOT REMOVAL

Friday, November 27th, 2009

The devastating affects of a fire can linger on as residual smoke and soot continue to damage a home or business. Even if the physical damage is minor, smoke and soot damage can render the property uninhabitable. Smoke and soot not only cause odor, but they can fill the air with small particles making it difficult and dangerous to breathe. They will also travel and penetrate other rooms affecting paint, drywall, carpet, upholstery, clothing and any other personal belongings. They may even react with metal components of the house such as wiring or steel supports causing damage requiring extensive repair for many years after the fire.

It is critical to have professionally trained technicians at the location of the fire as soon as possible for several reasons. Initially, the technicians will assess the damage. Understanding the type of smoke and how it travels is an important step in the restoration process. Knowing the type of fire also helps determine the best process to restore your home or business. Determining the extent of the damage as well as the best methods for restoration is a careful process. Improper clean up can cause permanent staining and greater damage to the property. Carefully trained technicians will also consider all options for physical repair of the property when choosing the most ideal restoration method.

Two Types of Fire:

Simple – fueled by pure fuels, generally result in complete combustion.
Complex – most common in house fires, fueled by synthetic materials in carpets, furniture, wiring, etc. generally resulting in incomplete combustion and the cause of soot.

How Smoke Travels:

Smoke will move to cooler areas and rises to the upper levels of a structure.
Smoke will flow through plumbing systems, using holes around the pipes to move from one floor to another.

Types of Smoke and Soot:

Dry – burns quickly and at high temperatures.
Wet – smolders and burns at low temperatures, pungent odor, sticky.
Protein – practically invisible, will discolor paint and varnish, has a very pungent odor.
Fuel Oil Soot – caused by furnace puff backs.
Other – tear gas, fingerprint powder, and fire extinguisher residue.

Super Restoration has served the South Florida area for 25 years using specialized techniques and equipment for smoke and soot mitigation. We pride ourselves in our unique ability to act quickly and thoroughly to restore your home or business to a clean and safe environment. Super Restoration is licensed and bonded and equipped to make necessary repairs, using the best methods available for emergency smoke and soot removal. We provide the best service available in the South Florida area and are available to help you with your emergency restoration needs. Call us today!

Rene Vargas
www.SuperRestoration.com
1 800 516 8059
rene@superrestoration.com

Fire Mitigation for Residential and Commercial Dwellings

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Few catastrophes are as traumatic to a family as a house fire. And nothing is as damaging to a business as a fire or flood. While the actual fire might not cause total destruction, smoke and soot left behind can leave a home or business unfit for human habitation. At Super Restoration we’ve seen many of these types of issues and have thankfully assisted thousands of residential owners and commercial owners in West Palm Beach, Miami and Broward County.

Aside from the unpleasant smell, residual soot particles can cause serious health problems. Additionally, if left in drywall, chemical reactions with wiring and other metal components may cause damage for years following a fire if immediate steps are not taken to remove this insidious material. Super Restoration will not only eliminate all burned material, but is also equipped to start immediate repairs, a service not offered by many other companies in South Florida.

Although some treasured heirlooms and other irreplaceable mementos can’t be revived, a surprising number of items can be repaired or restored, including smoke and water-damaged documents, books and even micrographic media. Using a number of up-to-date drying methods, many items that were heretofore impossible to retrieve can now be brought back to safe, stable and usable condition. Untreated paperwork will bond together and the subsequent growth of mold will not only destroy information, it will also present health risks. Furthermore, paper becomes brittle from smoke absorption, which will also contaminate the environment with a smoky, smelly residue that can also prove to be extremely unhealthy. Aside from health considerations, the loss of vital documents can destroy a company within months, For these reasons, it is truly imperative that an early call to Super Restoration be made to prevent these calamities while they are still treatable.

It has often been noted that more damage is done by water than fire, and anything from a leaking pipe to a flash flood or hurricane can produce an alarming amount of indoor flooding. Many people will try to remove standing water themselves, and will think the job is done if surfaces look or feel dry. Unfortunately, this is not the case, since any structure will hold ‘hidden’ moisture that must be extracted with professional equipment. Unless every drop of moisture is removed, it will remain to cause structural damage, encourage the growth of mold and otherwise cause damage to valuable contents. That’s why the first people to contact after the firefighters have left is the Super Restoration staff who have the capability to both dry and dehumidify the entire affected area.

Whether you suffer fire, flood or storm damage, Super Restoration Service Company is standing by with the top of the line equipment and expertise you need for complete restoration of your home or business. Our experienced staff will work closely with you to find the most cost-effective plans to restore your home or business to its original condition and to do so as rapidly as possible. Although there are many other remediation companies, most of them handle just one or two aspects of damage mitigation. Super Restoration, however, will handle every phase of recovery, from the initial inspection, through the removal of smoke and soot, restoration of documents and computer contents, thorough drying and dehumidification, and rebuilding damaged construction all the way to the application of the last coat of paint and final cleanup. As a customer, you will be kept in the loop during the entire operation with frequent communication with our highly professional staff providing continuous progress reports. And, when Super Restoration completes your job, we believe you will join our many other highly satisfied clients in saying, “It looks even better than new!”

Rene Vargas
SuperRestoration
Rene@superrestoration.com
305 233 0500
305 989 4849