After a fire it can seem like your whole life burnt away, but with some effort you can restore your structure and belongings so that you can get back your old life. A fire is a devastating event that can leave you scarred emotionally and worse, so it is important to understand the steps to take so that you can get your life back to normal.
Fire damage restoration should start as soon as possible to make the process easier. Once you have everyone safe you can start to find fire restoration contractors to start working to make things better. Time is of the essence, as smoke will continue to seep into all surfaces and will get more difficult to remove as time goes by.
A fire damage restoration starts with an initial assessment of damage, then securing what can be secured before a cleanup and finally repairs and renovation of the building. By reading this article you can get started in the fire damage cleanup and get moving to have your life back to a more normal state.
Here are the steps in the process of fire damage restoration:
Table of Contents
Find fire restoration contractors
having help from a professional is going to go a long way towards getting your property restored. Fire damage restoration professionals are always on call and ready to help because they know that a fire does not only devastate during business hours.
Fire restoration experts have been through fires before and can help you to better understand all the work it will take to get your life back to normal. They will be an invaluable resource to help you recover.
Assessment
during this stage the damage is inspected to see what can be saved and what will be thrown away and get a picture of how much damage has been done. There may be some difficult decisions to make here. The fire restoration contractor will see what steps need to be taken to start the real restoration work. The burn site is likely going to be wet from putting out the fire, and the contractor will make a plan for getting everything dry.
The assessor will see exactly how much fire and smoke damage has occurred in the building and if areas show lots of heat damage. Only trained experts are allowed to enter the burn site and will be able to do tests to see what the next steps are. They will make an accurate assessment and let you know what the next steps will be.
Secure
the assessment will have found any repairs that need to happen right away to prevent further damage to the building. This could include patching any holes where animals could get in, repairing anywhere that rain or moisture could intrude and strengthening any weak points that could be further damaged by wind.
At this point any water that was used to put out the fire should be removed to make sure that mold does not start growing in the building. This can be accomplished in many ways and will probably involve fans and heaters to get everything dry so that mold can not get a start and damage the building more.
Sometimes special air scrubbing equipment can be used to help get smoke from lingering and causing further damage.
Fire Damage Cleanup
Now is time to start on the cleaning. Everything that is too damaged to be restored will have to be thrown away. Some items that could be restored will not be worth the effort and it will be cheaper to throw them away and replace them.
The smoke that comes with the fire can permeate all sorts of surfaces and make a black appearance and a smoky odor. Wooden furniture may need to be sanded and refinished to bring them back. Carpets will most likely be ruined, but it is possible with a strong cleaning they could still be restored.
Depending on how close the fire came to appliances, they could be saved or they may have to be thrown away.
Any parts of the building that need to be torn down will be demolished at this stage. Sometimes fire can do too much damage and the only way to restore the structure is to tear everything down and start over.
Whatever sort of fire damage clean up your building requires, your fire restoration contractor will take care of everything so that you don’t have to figure out how to clean everything up and throw the garbage away.
Restoration
Smoke and heat most likely damaged all interior surfaces. The walls and ceilings will have to be scraped of paint, sanded and then primed and painted again.
Upholstery can be cleaned to remove any smoke particles that are trapped inside the fibers, but this is not always one hundred percent successful. Any wood surfaces that were previously painted or finished will have to be stripped and refinished.
Rebuilding
Once all restoration has been completed as well as it can, it is time to rebuild anything that was more seriously damaged. This could be a small repair or it could be rebuilding the entire house.
Often damage is so severe that homeowners decide it is a good time to do a major renovation. This can make sense if you had a project in mind before the fire, as there will be so much work going on that it is good to just do a whole renovation.
Get Your Life Back
after all that you have been through, moving back in will be a big step towards healing the wounds of the fire. It may be an emotional experience and it is good to look at this stage as a new chapter.
If you have chosen good fire restoration services, the transition back to normal life will be easier than you would think. Your contractor will have taken care of all of the work and you will be able to focus on getting yourself well. A fire can be a terrible tragedy, but with the right help, restoration and recovery can be easier.
