Fire and Smoke Damage
Restoration
Your insurance company classifies fire damage into two
categories. The first is the structure, which consists
of your home or other buildings. Everything that is
attached to the structure is also considered part of this
group, such as doors, light fixtures, installed cabinets, etc.
When looking at a fire and smoke damage restoration claim, your
insurance adjuster will often help you find another place to
live while your structure is being repaired and cleaned.
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to see our fire restoration TV ad
Contents is the second classification of items of
damaged during a fire. Burned items are often
unsalvagable, though smoke damaged contents can usually be
restored to their pre-loss condition.
Smoke leaves an oily or dry residue depending on the source of
the fire and the materials that were burned. These
residues are unhealthy. They contain many toxic
chemicals including nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and
sulfuric acid (when combined with moisture in the air).
Mitigating water damage caused by firemen putting out the
fire often accompanies fire restoration procedures.
Procedures
Usually Althouse Cleaning's fire restoration crew
will remove your contents from your home and take them
to the cleaning facility. Generally the following
steps are taken...
Documentation. Your items are
photographed and documented as a line item on a
computer inventory page. In addition to the photo,
descriptions of brand, size, areas of wear, etc. are noted.
The article is wrapped with padding and placed in
a bar coded box. The computer will keep track of your items
to such an extent that if you needed to find an item,
call Althouse and it will be available for pick up the
next day, even if you had 300 boxes. Each large items, a
sofa or table for example, gets an individual tag
with a bar code label.
Cleaning. Your items are cleaned using
treated water and approved cleaning solutions. Upholstery,
area rugs and mattresses are "steam cleaned". Wood surfaces
are cleaned with special sponges that leave no
residue. Clothing, accessories, and shoes are
sent to clothing specialists. Removing oily residue...
Odor Removal. Your cleaned small
items are put into new boxes (marked with the same bar
codes) and brought into a room that will fill
with ozone. Ozone is
made up of three oxygen atoms. When ozone comes in contact
with any polutant, one of the oxygen atoms bonds with it
and changes its molecular structure. For practical
purposes, it changes a molecule that smells bad into a
molecule that doesn't. Your items are treated
in the ozone room for 24 hours. Even large items like
tables, sofas, and box springs are bathed in
ozone.
Repacking and Storage. After your
items are re-boxed and ozoned, the boxes are filled with
packing peants or individual items are wrapped. Then
the boxes are sealed and set on shelves in our warehouse
until you are ready for them.
Pack In. After your structure is
completely repaired and you are ready to move back,
Althouse Cleaning will return your items in marked boxes. A
list of boxes which shows their contents will be given
you. The boxes are also clearly marked with the name
of the room from which the items were taken.
Click here for the
"smoke and fire restoration" picture page.
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