Recent Fire Damage Posts

Processes Involved in Basic Fire Damage Restoration in Yakima

11/3/2023 (Permalink)

Fire and soot damage to the walls, ceiling, and  floor, of a home with the caption: FASTER TO ANY SIZE DISASTER SERVPRO If you have fire damage in your Yakima home, call SERVPRO. We'll make it “Like it never even happened.”

SERVPRO® Addresses Yakima Smoke and Soot Damage Promptly

Yakima, located in central Washington, is often called the "Palm Springs of Washington" due to its sunny, dry climate. The city is part of the Yakima Valley American Viticultural Area, one of Washington's most important wine-producing regions. The area is known for its wineries and vineyards, including Naches Heights Vineyard and Wilridge Vineyards, producing high-quality wines. The city has several cultural attractions, including the Yakima Valley Museum and the Capitol Theatre.

A fire can have a devastating impact, necessitating extensive fire damage restoration on a Yakima property. Smoke and soot, byproducts of a fire, can spread far beyond the area directly affected by the flames. They can infiltrate walls, ceilings, floors, and belongings, leaving a layer of black residue that is challenging to remove. This can lead to extensive cleaning, repairs, or even replacement of affected surfaces.

Fire restoration typically involves several processes to restore a property after a fire incident, such as soot removal. These processes ensure the structure's safety and its occupants' well-being. SERVPRO begins by thoroughly assessing the extent of smoke and soot damage. This evaluation helps us create a customized plan to address the property's needs. We help remove soot and smoke residues from your affected areas using specialized equipment and techniques.

Smoke residue removal techniques

  • Dry cleaning
  • Wet cleaning
  • Media blasting

Understanding Wet Cleaning Method for Soot Removal

Soot from kitchen fires often contains oily or greasy particles. Also, soot from fires extinguished with water may create a wet, sticky residue. Wet cleaning is beneficial for addressing this type of soot. It involves using water-based cleaning solutions and techniques to eliminate the soot and restore the affected area.

Considerations when applying the technique

  • We pre-test before wet-cleaning
  • We pre-clean excess non-greasy soils using a Dry Cleaning Sponge
  • We allow the solution to sit for a short period to allow it to penetrate and loosen the soot soils

For fire damage restoration, call SERVPRO of Yakima at (509) 972-6707. Faster to any size disaster™.

Stages of Yakima Fire Damage Restoration and Cleanup

4/10/2023 (Permalink)

room with fire and soot damage with the caption “dealing with fire damage” SERVPRO's professional fire damage cleanup and restoration is the wise choice for Yakima businesses and homeowners. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

The Restoration Objectives After Fire Damage

From an overturned candle to an overloaded outlet with bad wiring in your home, there are many possible causes of a fire. Understanding these disasters' severity and impact on a residence can be critical. Most of the cleanup and recovery of your home after these emergencies is orchestrated through your insurance company, so it is important to have a trusted team that can work with these third parties to resolve concerns for your house efficiently. The process for fire restoration can include:

  • Emergency Services
  • Mitigation
  • Soot Removal and Cleaning
  • Deodorization
  • Repairs and Reconstruction

Yakima fire damage can sweep through the property quickly, including areas like the HVAC system and other confined spaces. FSRT-Certified technicians on our roster are available 24/7 to mobilize for mitigation, restoration, deodorization, and reconstruction. With the significant issues that can overwhelm your household and displace a family, we work around the clock and directly with insurance adjusters to get life back to normal.

The Focus of Emergency Services

Before restoration can get underway and SERVPRO can take significant strides to recover the damage to the property or clean the residence, emergency services must first occur. These efforts are the most critical to prevent the full destruction of a household. Our rapid response team works on these specific actions before the full scope of the damage is recognized or recorded through detailed evaluations and inspections. Some of the emergency services necessary after a disaster include:

  • Debris Removal
  • Water Removal
  • Temporary Construction

Employing Mitigative Strategies

With the emergency services completed, SERVPRO works to address other pressing concerns that must be overcome before restoration can begin. Mitigating loss combines several efforts to protect the structure and its contents from greater harm. A focus and objective of mitigation are to prevent the situation from worsening, often through the creation or implementation of containment barriers and products to limit the movement of soot, odors, and other fire damage effects.

  • Improving Indoor Air Quality
  • Protecting Personal Belongings
  • Discarding Damaged Structure

How Soot Gets Managed

Soot can be a corrosive form of fire damage. Partial combustion generates a dense concentration of smoke solids circulating in the environment and coming to rest on exposed surfaces. The acidity of these particles can ruin the finish of building materials and strip lacquers from cabinetry and other components. Alkaline cleaners can balance this pH level.

Heaped debris and residues on surfaces can also be a formidable challenge for our SERVPRO professionals, so we work to reduce this buildup with direct action. Dry vacuuming surfaces can have a positive effect on lifting loose soils and lowering the likelihood of smearing and staining with wet cleaning practices to come. HEPA filtration is important when lifting these dry particles from the exposed substrates to avoid agitating environmental conditions and increasing the density of circulating soot particles.

Destructive Malodors

One of the lingering forms of fire damage homeowners must battle are offensive odors throughout the property. The burning of building materials and contents creates a volatile environment, and the porous materials around ignition points can absorb malodors and permit them to resurface even after restoration. SERVPRO professionals must be careful to address these concerns wholly, including ULV, thermal fogging, and other deodorization equipment. 

Needed Reconstruction After a Fire

There is no mistaking the destructive capacity of fires against building materials. Most components used to construct your home are combustible, so several areas requiring repair and reconstruction are common. We have a contractor license to help complete these needed build-back services, from the controlled demolition process to repairing utilities and replacing entire ruined wall assemblies. With these professionals on our roster, we can seamlessly transition from restoration to reconstruction without requiring customers to wait.

Yakima fire damage spreads hazardous effects throughout the property, making it vital for restoration and recovery services to begin immediately. As leading experts in this niche, SERVPRO of Yakima is ready to help when disasters strike at (509) 972-6707.

Early Objectives of Fire Restoration for Yakima Homes

12/2/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Yakima building SERVPRO technicians have the training and experience for every phase of fire damage restoration. We are ready 24/7, 365 days a year.

 The Few Key Elements of Fire Restoration Mitigation 

When fires occur, it is necessary to act quickly. Experienced professionals from our team can work within a volatile environment to create a safer restoration atmosphere and better conditions for responding technicians. The earliest actions that we take to secure homes suffering fire loss include the following:

  • Water removal
  • Board-up
  • Air filtration
  • Controlled demolition

Clearing Debris 

Among the first steps of fire restoration for Yakima homes and businesses is removing debris from the floors. Heaps of ash and soot residues produced by the combustion process hinder other restoration actions from starting. Debris can cause greater concentrations of soot deposits on surfaces, creating more significant odor issues to overcome.

Removing Smoke and Soot Damage  

When soot and smoke deposits threaten surfaces in the house, it is necessary to have appropriate cleaning processes to address these concerns. The longer soot impacts sensitive substrates, the more likely these corrosive particles stain and mar the material in question. We have surface-cleaning strategies to address these residues in the earliest stages, including solvents and detergents. We also have more aggressive abrasive and mechanical actions where necessary.

Cleaning Contents 

Protecting their possessions and contents in the house is paramount to many homeowners. It is necessary to do anything possible to prevent greater harm to these objects and remove them from the damaged path. We have relocation services that begin with our team's arrival, as well as on-site cleaning and pack-out processes depending on the condition of these items.

Neutralizing Harsh Smells

Malodors should also be a consideration. Early action to reduce the severity of smells produced by the combustion process can make the restoration more efficient and promote better living conditions for house occupants. We have several deodorization tools and products to help.

Fire restoration for Yakima homes focuses on several areas where assistance is needed immediately. Our experienced SERVPRO of Yakima FSRT-Certified professionals is ready to mobilize quickly to help. Call us at (509) 972-6707.