Honestly, Billy Joel, it doesn’t matter who started the fire. What matters is 1) ensuring everyone’s immediate safety, and 2) cleaning up after the incident. The blaze in itself proves problematic, certainly, but it also leaves behind soot, debris, hazardous gases, and water damage – depending on the fire, you could have a rocky (or smoky) recovery ahead of you.
The first step in fire damage repair is removing any water the fire department may have pumped in to douse the flames. Water elimination is critical because mold can begin growing within 48 hours after the water settles.
Smoke ventilation is also vital at this stage in order to prevent the smoke from settling in the structure of your house. Essentially unused fuel, the visible part of smoke consists of carbon particles and other material. The invisible part of smoke also contains carbon, but instead of fuel particles, it’s carbon monoxide – colorless, odorless, and deadly in large volume. Though smoke may seem to disappear once the fire has been put out, but the rapid cooling of uncombusted carbon particles can produce a film and odor that infiltrate the surfaces and structure of your home. This film is acidic in nature and will end up discoloring and corroding your possessions and areas of your home that you thought had escaped fire damage. And unfortunately this isn’t the kind of mess that can be cleaned with soap and water…
Airborne aftermath is likely the most problematic component of fire damage repair. PCBs, toxic chemicals and asbestos from transformers, labs, and pipe insulation, respectively, will linger in the air until addressed by a specialist. Though not as hazardous, the same goes for the smoke odor. One way to rid your home of smoky smells is Thermal Deodorization, which uses high temperatures to neutralize the scent. The other is an Ozone Treatment, which pumps high levels of ozone (O3) into a contained space, thereby oxidizing/attacking organic materials. Due to the destructive nature of these odor treatments, neither humans nor historical documents and collections should receive them. It’s best to leave these repairs to the experts.
