When we think of “fire” we can’t help but picture “flames.” It’s only natural that we associate the idea of fire with the most visible (and most alluring) part of this chemical reaction. But when a sudden spark, wayward candle, or lightning strike starts a fire in your home or business, the first thing that comes to mind is “recovery.”
Homeowners and entrepreneurs throughout Tennessee need swift fire damage restoration so they can get back to the life and work they love. But the recovery process is more complicated than we think. Without the right fire damage restoration company on our side, we could be in for the long haul.
Fires are more than just devastating flames. Here’s how a fire affects your home or business in Tennessee.
Beyond the Flames - The Full Extent of Fire Damage in Homes & Businesses
Let’s make one thing clear—the scorching and melting caused by flames are a key component of fire damage. But the mess extends far beyond what the flames touch.
At Advanced Structural Drying Technologies, we’ve seen enough fires to know how far and how quickly damage spreads. Here’s how the best fire damage restoration company helps.
Smoke Damage
Where there’s fire, there’s smoke. In enclosed spaces, smoke rises, falls, flows, and sticks to surfaces wherever it goes. Smoke odors permeate even the smallest nooks and crannies of your property, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These fumes are also incredibly hot, affecting wallpaper, paint, cabinets, fixtures, and structural materials at the core of your building.
Contents Cleaning & Contents Packout
Of course, our structures are more than just walls, floors, and ceilings. Our belongings are affected by fire, too. To make matters worse, smoke damage can reach entirely different rooms or even on the opposite side of your building.
At Advanced Structural Drying Technologies, we’re dedicated to saving as many of your belongings as we can. This includes upholstered furniture, heirlooms, rugs, decor, and even equipment like computers and heavy machinery.
We’ll start by removing these items from your property and storing them offsite. Next, we’ll clean and deodorize your things until the restoration process is complete. Finally, we’ll return everything right where we found it so that you can get back on track seamlessly.
Smoke Odors
Lingering smoke odors aren’t just painful reminders—they’re distracting and dangerous, too. If you’ve ever stood too close to a bonfire and smelled smoke in your hair or clothes for days on end, you know how unpleasant it can be.
To defeat lingering odors, we employ powerful deodorization equipment and industrial air movers. We also use the latest and safest chemical cleaners to capture and extract smoke particles wherever they’re found.
Returning to your place of work or your family home only to encounter persistent odors is less than ideal. Until the smell of smoke is gone, your property can’t be considered restored.
HVAC and ductwork Damage
Smoke and heat want to go up. But when it hits the ceiling, smoke travels laterally, finding any path it can take. Unfortunately, this includes ductwork and vents, not only compounding the damage but making it harder to access and remediate, too.
Even if most of your AC or heating system made it through unscathed, damaged ductwork can recirculate harmful smoke particles and odors for years to come. Residue in ductwork can also cause HVAC systems to work twice as hard and half as efficiently, raising utility bills and lowering comfort where you expect it most.
Harmful Residues
Building materials aren’t meant to be burned. Drywall, plastic wiring, paint, and carpet make for less-than-ideal kindling. The timber in your walls and the insulation in your attic contain seriously harmful chemicals that should never end up in your lungs. Even wood-burning fires can be dangerous to our health, to say nothing of chemical-laden building materials.
Even when visible surfaces are cleaned and all traces of fire removed, these carcinogenic (cancer-causing) residues can linger in ceilings, ductwork, and elsewhere. For your safety and comfort, air duct cleaning and smoke cleanup are absolute musts after fire strikes.
Water Damage
Though counterintuitive at first, fire damage almost always leads to water damage. Whether it comes from industrial sprinkler systems or a fireman’s hose, water extinguishes the flames but causes another kind of damage in its own right. For this reason, fire damage restoration jobs have a way of becoming water damage restoration jobs, too.
Before restoration begins, we recommend emergency board-ups. These board-ups keep your building safe from the elements throughout the recovery process.
Next, we use powerful pumps to remove standing water and deploy dehumidifiers tactically throughout the affected area. Industrial air movers and thermal imaging inspections allow us to capture the last bit of moisture—both from surfaces and the air itself.
Mold Remediation
Smoke follows fire like mold follows water. In the same way that forests return more vibrant and healthy after wildfires, mold thrives in the aftermath of home and business fires.
To prevent the need for a mold inspection, mold testing, and mold remediation, the right fire damage restoration company should take every step imaginable to remove water and dry out your structure before restoration begins. That said, mold is resilient, and may find a hidden corner to flourish out of sight.
Before hiring a damage restoration company, make sure they can also remediate mold. In some states, special mold licensing is required (or, at least, advisable) for the utmost safety of occupants moving forward.
Restore Your Property Comprehensively After Fire Strikes
To a seasoned fire damage restoration company, it’s easy to break fire damage down into categories, cleaning methods, cause, and effect. But to homeowners and businesses, fires are tragedies, plain and simple. You invest time, energy, hope, and money into your family home, multi-family property, house of worship, or warehouse. Your life is spent inside those walls. So, when a fire strikes, it has a way of burning its way through you, too.
At Advanced Structural Drying Technologies, we combine the latest equipment and expert training with deep understanding and ample compassion. We work hand-in-hand with your insurance adjuster and with you to speed the process along and overcome barriers.
