Why is Fire Damage Restoration Important? A fire in your home can be devastating, leaving behind damaged contents and structures. Thankfully, in many circumstances, the damage can be remediated. It is of utmost importance, however, that the damage is quickly attended to by trained professionals. If not immediately addressed, damages can be exacerbated. Soot often contains acid particles, which can quickly start to corrode and discolour your property.1 If not quickly attended to, porous surfaces can begin to stain and metal surfaces such as electric coils, pipes, doorknobs, silverware, kitchen appliances and structural supports.2 Extended exposure to soot can greatly exacerbate the restoration process and costs. If you need fast restoration work done on your property, don’t hesitate to contact us. How We Do Fire Damage Restoration Our trained technicians can perform fire damage restoration quickly and efficiently. We ensure that your property is thoroughly cleaned, and all items are treated carefully. From scoping, to contents inventory auditing, to decontamination, NLR is your best partner when it comes to fire damage remediation. The following points detail the careful process we use when restoring your property. Scoping and Assessment Our team can do a thorough assessment of your property to determine the level of damage and remediation needed. While some damage is obvious, other effects may be more subtle. There could be structural damage hiding under plasterboard, or the black spider-web-like trails on a wall may actually be soot tags3. It can also be hard to tell the difference between contents which are nonrecoverable and those which can be cleaned. Our technicians are trained to assess the damages effectively, create a detailed scope for the remediation work that needs to be complete, and provide a quote for the restoration services. Inventory of Contents As fire damage remediation is often undertaken as part of an insurance claim, it is vital that an inventory of all affected contents is created. This also gives peace of mind that no items are lost or neglected in the removal, cleaning and return processes. We use a detailed inventory program to categorise contents according to their location (kitchen cupboards, living room, second bedroom, etc) and whether or not they are able to be cleaned and recovered. We are then able to quote a cost for the remediation of recoverable items, and you are able to claim insurance for any nonrecoverable products. Contents Cleaning Many items around your property may have been damaged by a fire. They could be charred, have soot settled into their crevices, or have a lingering smell of smoke. After assessing the extent of the property damage, our professional team can appropriately dispose of any nonrecoverable items and remove recoverable items to our facilities for cleaning. These items then undergo detailed cleaning to remove any soiling, contamination and smoke odour. As well as cleaning any ‘hard’ contents such as furniture, kitchen equipment and appliances, our facilities are also equipped to clean ‘soft contents,’ such as curtains, clothes, shoes, soft toys and linen. See this page for more information on how we remediate and clean soft contents. Cleaning contents Contents Storage and Delivery We can store your contents in our facility during and after the cleaning process to avoid further damage. Often the contents of your property are cleaned before the property is fully restored. In this case, we can store your items in our warehouse until your property is ready for them to be returned. We ensure that the contents are stored safely, with the necessary protection against bumps, scratches and the elements. When you are ready, we can deliver all contents back to your premises. All items remain itemised and categorised by location, so there is no confusion about where each piece came from. Building Cleanup Stripping damaged materials. NLR technicians can remove burnt or damaged building materials in preparation for professional builders to make repairs. This quickly gets rid of a key source of soot deposits, removing the potential for these particulates to become airborne and respirable. Hard surfaces cleaning. As well as removing soft contents for cleaning, our technicians clean all affected hard surfaces in your building. Ceilings, floors, benchtops, cupboards, walls, lighting, furniture and other surfaces may have soot or other contaminants settled on them, and we ensure that they are thoroughly cleaned. We may use a combination of multiple chemical wipe-downs, clean water rinsing, pressure cleaning and vacuuming to clean your surfaces. We pride ourselves on our professional workmanship, and will not leave any half-done jobs or poorly cleaned surfaces. You can count on us to make your indoor surroundings sparkling clean again. Carpet cleaning. If carpet has been damaged by fire in your property, our technicians can perform thorough carpet cleaning. (Click here to read more about our carpet cleaning and drying process.) Odour neutralisation. Smoke odour is an unpleasant smell that can linger in your property even after all surfaces and contents have been cleaned. We care about remediating your property to its full functionality, and this includes ensuring that all smoke odour has been removed. For this purpose we employ specialised equipment that can remove odours from the air. Our Ozone Generators and Hydroxyl Generators can dissipate these odours within hours or days, leaving your house our business smoke-free and odourless. (Please note that these generators cannot be run while a building is occupied. All occupants must evacuate the building before an ozone or hydroxyl machine can be used. For more information, click here.) Before After Summary A fire in your property can be devastating. You can rely on NLR to remediate your premises and contents to a high standard, helping it become fully functioning as quickly as possible. To make an enquiry or book a remediation, please contact us. For more information on our fire damage services, please visit this page. To read about our past fire damage restoration projects, please click here. References Exceptional Building Inspections. (2019). How Does Smoke Damage Affect a Building? https://www.ebi.net.au/how-does-smoke-damage-affect-a-building/ Reynolds, J. (2019). 7 Important Ways Smoke and Soot

The devastating nature of such occurrences is underlined by the fact that some people never really recover. Indeed, even those that survive fires with little or no damage to their facilities and homes would still take some time to recover particularly in cases where the fire may have been sufficiently close to the facility to cause water, smoke and soot damage. Indeed, even in cases where the fire occurred miles away and did not burn the facility, it could deposit ash and cause the facility to have a smoky smell. In this case, taking up fire damage restoration services would be imperative. There are varying steps that would be involved in fire damage restoration. First, it is imperative that you contact a fire damage restoration professional as they have the necessary experience to safeguard the proper fire restoration process to enhance the safety of the home. Irrespective of the fire damage restoration tips you may have been given, you are unlikely to have the necessary experience to determine the safety of the house for reoccupation. The remediation professional will confirm the safety of the property for entry and check for any indicator of structural damage that would compromise the home while carefully inspecting the property from outside. In essence, the inspector or remediation professional will confirm the safety of the property before entry. Second, you should strive to reduce the damage caused by fire damage. It is noteworthy that the soot and smoke could damage the house even after the fire has been put out. You must exercise caution concerning soot staining, mildew, mould, corrosion and rust, as well as the air quality. Soot staining comes up once soot adheres to surfaces thereby causing discolouration. Subject to the material and the time that has elapsed, there are varying fire damage restoration tips that would allow you to eliminate the damage. In some cases, however, the discolouration might be permanent especially in the case of materials such as grout, wood, textile, carpeting, plastics and metals. Rust and corrosion happen to metals, particularly where water is used to put off the fire. Perhaps most noteworthy is the health hazards that come up in cases where there is asbestos. An asbestos abatement team would be necessary to eliminate any potential hazard before undertaking any cleanup efforts. Even in cases where the home has sustained little or no damage and only requires smoke and ash removal, you should use a professional cleaning crew before applying any fire damage restoration tips you may have. Secondly, be sure to remove the debris and soot. Before the implementation of any water damage and fire damage restoration processes, all soot and debris must be removed. The soot could potentially increase the damage the longer it stays on the surface while debris would be likely to hamper the restoration process. The elimination of debris and soot will come in handy in enhancing the air quality and reducing airborne odours. The remaining soot may be wiped down or swept up using a vacuum cleaner. In tackling the soot, it is recommended that you use mild soap or create a mixture of a gallon of warm water, four tablespoons of trisodium phosphate (TSP) and one cup of bleach. Irrespective of the solution you use in the fire damage restoration process, it is recommended that you start at the floor and work to the ceiling to avert the possibility of streaking. On the same note, it is recommended that you clean a small area at a time and rinse immediately with plain water. The third step in the fire damage restoration process involves the removal of any personal possessions that are damaged beyond restoration or repair. Any objects that have been too damaged to repair must be removed from the facility. However, extra caution should be exercised concerning the elimination of electrical appliances and machines as they may store electricity even in cases where they are unplugged (Findley, 2019). In essence, it would be imperative that one eliminates items that do not seem to have suffered any damage by fire to prevent further contamination of the same. Such items may be cleaned and prepared for reentry once the fire damage restoration of the home has been completed. The next step involves the elimination of excess water and drying wet surfaces. The fire damage restoration process must involve cleaning up any stagnant water as soon as can be done before operating any water restoration equipment. More often than not, putting out a fire involves the use of significant amounts of water and other liquids. There are cases where the water might be touching or connected to sources of electricity or exposed electrical wires. In this case, putting off the electrical connections and drying off the water is imperative. Water could soak into flooring, walls and subflooring, in which case commercial dehumidifiers and air movers would be required to dry everything out appropriately. The last step in fire damage restoration is deodorising the facility to clear the smell. This will involve washing clothes, beddings and towels that have a smoky smell. A cup of baking soda would be added to the drum alongside a cup of vinegar to the bleach or fabric softener for every load. Strong smelling textiles may be soaked overnight in a blend of a cup of baking soda per gallon of water before subjecting them to an appropriate washing cycle. A HEPA filter air purifier should be used to remove smoke smell in the home. This will clear the air and enhance the smell of the home. Carpets and rugs can be shampooed and baking soda applied to them before vacuuming.