Fire and Water Damage In Your Building

8/24/2022 (Permalink)

A structural fire can cause serious damage, but unfortunately, the flames aren’t the only damaging element to wreak havoc on your building and its contents. In order to put out a raging inferno, firefighters have to use massive amounts of water and other chemicals, which means that whatever the fire didn’t ruin, the water surely did. In addition to having to deal with fire and smoke cleanup, you will also be forced to deal with water cleanup. So, where do you start? FEMA recommends doing the following immediately after a fire:

• Contact your insurance agency
• Turn off the utilities
• Create as much ventilation as possible
• Contact a cleanup crew
  
  

Reach Out to Your Insurance Provider

First things first: you need to report the fire to whichever agency will be compensating you for damages. The longer you wait to report the fire, the slimmer your chances will become of recovering the full cost of damages.

Turn Off the Utilities

This is important for a number of reasons. For one, you can save money by shutting off the utilities you won’t be using for the foreseeable future. Two, by leaving the gas or electrical running, you may unwittingly cause another fire or explosion. If you don’t know which utilities to turn off, the Lake Geneva water cleanup crew can help.

Create Airflow in Your Building

Part of fire cleanup efforts includes ridding buildings of smoke odors and the harmful contaminants caused by soot. You can aid the fire restoration team in their efforts by opening as many windows as possible and creating adequate airflow. However, only do this once you’ve been given the go ahead by the fire department.

Contact a Water Cleanup Crew

A professional fire cleanup crew can help you separate all salvageable items from the non-salvageable. They will have all the necessary water extraction equipment to effectively free your building of excess moisture and get it to the point where it can be recovered (if that’s an option). Finally, professional cleaners will remove all damaged materials, wash down all surfaces and advise you on what you need to do bring your building back to pre-fire condition.