If your property caught fire, this can be stressful on its own, let alone dealing with the aftermath. Fire and smoke damage can be quite substantial and can pave the way to further damage that will be even harder to deal with. Here are some of the best tips on how to remedy the damage caused by smoke and fire, and how to prevent any further complications if you do it correctly.
Call your insurance company
The first thing you should do after the firefighters have put out the fire on your property is to call your insurance company. If your property is insured from fire and smoke damage, the insurance company should take photos or videos to have evidence the fire occurred. They also check for the source of the fire to evaluate whether or not it was staged, so they know if the company needs to cover the costs of the damage incurred. If the insurance company doesn’t have the proper evidence and evaluation, you may end up paying for the repairs completed on your own. This brings us to the next stage of fixing the fire and smoke damage to your property. Make sure you follow through with all of these steps to ensure maximum results.
Evaluate the damage
After the insurance company has assessed the cause and the damage incurred by fire, if they haven’t evaluated the damage themselves, you should hire a professional to do so. Every fire and smoke damage is different from the other, and it also heavily varies on the type of property it started at. A professional will set up the proper course of action to ensure the property doesn’t get damaged as a result of the water used by the firefighters too. More often than not people don’t have any clue what goes on after the property was damaged by fire, but a professional will know all of the quirks and things that need to be cleaned, and in what exact order.
Quickly prevent further damage
The risk of damage doesn’t stop once the fire gets extinguished. There are some key aspects that you need to pay attention to if you don’t want the damage to go from bad to worse. The root cause of further damages is the soot and residual smoke in the air. The soot and smoke removal need to be taken seriously, as well as mildew and mold that can build up after the fire has been extinguished. In addition to this, there is a very big chance of corrosion of metal surfaces due to the water used to extinguish the fire, as well as the electronics. Another important thing to note too is that if you plan on restoring your furniture, it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible so that could even be a possibility.
Purify the air
After the initial damage has been assessed, further damage is prevented, and your furniture was removed to be restored. You should purify the air in your property. Until you do so, it will not be safe for anyone to live there because of the many pollutants and carbon monoxide that were created during the fire. Unfortunately, the air in your damaged property can’t be purified with commercial air purifiers, because of the many different pollutants it holds and needs to be treated professionally. Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous as it prevents oxygen from binding to the hemoglobin, making it harder for you to breathe. In addition to this, it takes about 30 days for it to break down in the body.
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Clean thoroughly
This one goes without saying. Fire and smoke can cause so much mess to your property. Firstly, everything burns down to a pile of soot and smoke, and soot staining is really hard to clean. Secondly, after the fire has been put out by the firemen, there will be plenty of water around that can cause further damage as we’ve stated before. Make sure you completely assess all the aspects that need to be cleaned. Before starting, make sure water and electricity are off, so you don’t get hurt in the process. Then make a solid plan in accordance with a hired professional, to ensure you get all the aspects of cleaning a house after the fire safely checked off.
Fire and smoke damage must be dealt with as soon as possible. The reason behind this is that the sooner it’s taken care of, the sooner you can move back in. Be sure to hire a professional to be completely safe and sure that your home is safe to live in.
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