As a homeowner who experiences fire, the flames will be your number one concern. However, in most cases, rain or sprinkler flow from putting out the fire is going to permeate your walls, ceilings, floors, and any items that may have caught fire, thereby causing additional damage to your property as well as creating additional work for you to do after the fire has been extinguished.
The combination of smoke and soot with these wet materials makes it significantly more complicated to remove from your property than a single large-loss event.
For homeowners in Orlando, the humid weather further complicates matters. Wet materials will stay wet longer, allowing for quicker mold growth and allowing for longer retention of smoke odor on the structure and its contents. For this reason, it is essential to contact Fire Damage Restoration Orlando and Water Damage Restoration Orlando as soon as possible after a combined fire and water-damaged event to ensure effective recovery and restoration.
In this blog, you will learn how fires and water are commonly involved in a single loss and the order of tasks to be completed when a combined fire and water-damaged event occurs to restore the property.
Why Do Fire and Water Damage Often Occur Together?
During the majority of residential fires, fire departments use water extensively to put the fire out, either from their hoses or fire sprinklers. This serves to save the structure but saturates the drywall, insulation, flooring, and contents.
A small kitchen fire or electrical fire can put thousands of gallons of water on the structure and contents in a matter of seconds. While smoke and soot from the fire continue to spread through the house, water from firefighting is also pushed into structural cavities. Because of these two factors, it creates a dual emergency in order to restore the property.
Things You Should Do After A Fire & Water Damage
The most important things to do after the fire has been extinguished and the area is safe to enter are to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and prevent additional damage to your home, as well as to ensure your insurance claim will be filed successfully.
Do not attempt to enter the property until authorities have notified you it is safe to do so. When you enter the property, be careful what you touch because the soot from the fire is an acid, and the waterlogged materials will be weakened and at risk of tearing apart; this means that anything you touch could cause you injury. You should contact a trained Property Restoration Company in Orlando as soon as possible after discovering your fire.
- Evaluation and Safety Inspection
Professionals will conduct a complete inspection to evaluate the fire damage and the water damage before beginning the cleanup process. The inspection includes structural integrity, electrical hazards, air quality, and moisture content of the entire structure.
A thorough evaluation will allow them to determine which areas of the structure are safe to work in, which materials can be salvaged, and which materials must be removed. Being that Orlando is a humid climate, the company will also inspect for early signs of mold, as wet materials can support mold growth within 24–48 hours. After completing their evaluation, the Water and Fire Damage Restoration Orlando company will create an action plan to simultaneously address both types of damage.
- Removal of Standing Water
Removing standing water is the first task of a restoration contractor after ensuring the site is safe. Restoration technicians use pumps and other extraction devices to remove as much of the standing water as possible from carpets, underlay, subflooring, and other areas that have been affected by the flood or leak. Removing standing water is key to halting any further water or moisture saturation in the affected areas and minimizing the possibility of structural weakening.
After removing the standing water from the site, restoration companies will begin setting up powerful air movers and dehumidifiers. In addition, this is the point in time where, frankly, having experts who have experience with Water Damage Restoration in Orlando is of paramount importance due to the very high levels of humidity.
- Elimination of Smoke, Soot, And Odors
As the drying process continues, restoration technicians will also begin the process of repairing, cleaning, and restoring smoke and soot damage. Fire damage, when applied to homes and all that was in the way of the fire, leaves behind smoke and soot residue on ceilings, walls, carpeting, furniture, and in the HVAC systems. As soot and smoke by-products are highly corrosive, technicians need to remove smoke and soot within a few days to, at a minimum, save surfaces and electronic devices from further damage.
Utilizing a combination of specially designed vacuum attachments, dry sponges, and specially formulated chemical agents that are utilized for cleaning each specific type of soot (wet, dry, and oily), technicians can successfully clean smoke and soot residues. In addition, the restoration technicians may use various odor elimination techniques such as thermal fogging, ozone treatment, or hydroxyl generators to neutralize the smoke odor. The steps of Fire Damage Restoration Orlando are key components to make your residence feel livable (not just structurally sound).
- Cleaning, Repair, and Rebuilding Structure
The second phase, after the smoke and water situation has been controlled, is to clean, sterilize, and rebuild the home. Severely damaged items (burned framing, fallen ceilings, contaminated drywall, etc.) will be removed. Everything else will be cleaned and (if necessary) sterilized with antimicrobial products and readied for rebuild.
Current repairs of your residence might include replacing drywall, insulation, floor covering, cabinets and trim, painting, and all the other finish work that must be completed.
During the restoration process, professionals work together to ensure that the structure is completely dried out before it is finally sealed off, which minimizes the chances of having hidden or mold damage at a later date.
FAQs About Water & Fire Damage Restoration
- Why are both water and fire damages challenging to manage or restore than separate instances of loss?
Water from putting out fires is absorbed into the building materials, while soot/smoke contaminates everything within the home after the buildings have been put out. The result will be visible and also hidden damages from the fire and soot. Therefore, complications created will require the team handling on-site drying/decontamination to coordinate and not only dry materials properly but also remove soot/dirt.
- How quickly should a restoration company be called after the fire has been put out?
As soon as feasible! Water and fire restoration started as soon as possible will not only promote the likelihood that items or materials can be saved from deterioration but also prevent the possibility that there is excessive moisture permeated deep within the materials themselves.
- Will my possessions be saved after experiencing fire and water damage?
In many instances, possessions can be cleaned and restored if the restoration is performed as quickly as possible. Non-porous items or other cleanable furniture, personal electronics, and personal products may be able to be cleaned using specialized cleaning methods to remove any contaminants created as a result of the fire/water.
- Will my home still have a smoke smell after the restoration of both fire and water?
Odor removal is a major component of professional Fire Damage Restoration in Orlando. The technicians can remove the odor from the home by using multiple techniques (such as deep cleaning, utilizing HEPA filtration systems, utilizing thermal fogging to neutralize the smoke odors, and other odor removal techniques).
- Does insurance cover both losses from fire and water as part of the same event?
In many instances, yes. Fire-related losses and any subsequent water damage incurred by the firefighting efforts are typically covered on a standard homeowners’ policy. However, specific coverages vary.
About United Water Restoration Group Of Orlando
United Water Restoration Group of Orlando is a reliable provider offering emergency mitigation, damage cleanup, and full-service restoration to homeowners and businesses throughout Central Florida. We specialize in both Water Damage Restoration and Fire Damage Restoration in Orlando, and are available day or night to assist when it comes to burst pipes, storm water damage, smoke and soot cleanup, and the entire reconstruction phase after a fire damage incident.
Utilizing advanced drying equipment, moisture detection tools, and industry-approved cleaning products, United Water Restoration Group of Orlando emphasizes the importance of restoring a structure in a safe, effective, and minimally intrusive manner.
Need help with restoration? Feel free to contact us to discuss your needs.