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Writer's pictureWA FAF

Restoring A Fire Damaged Property

Updated: Feb 13

Restoring a fire-damaged home is a difficult and emotional process for homeowners, which is why we take a comprehensive approach to make the restoration process as painless as possible.


Before and After photo of a fire and ash damaged bathroom being cleaned

MAKING THE FIRE DAMAGED PROPERTY SAFE


The first step in our restoration services for fire and smoke damage is to attend to the property for a make-safe. Our field technicians’ first actions at a fire-affected property are to thoroughly assess the extent of the damage and make the environment safe for people to return to and for our staff to perform any necessary follow-up tasks.

Our inspection identifies any hazardous materials and determines the condition of the personal belongings and contents. We inspect all affected areas of the home—including walls, ceilings, carpets and furniture—to determine what may be salvageable and what needs to be replaced. 


WHAT IS A FIRE MAKE-SAFE

The goal of our fire make-safe is to prevent further damage or injury. So we remove debris like rubble and broken glass, stabilize furniture and other structures and lastly dispose of any potential biohazards such as toxic fumes or contaminated contents.


A soot damaged ceiling in the process of being cleaned by WA Flood and Fire

In the case of fire damage, the main offenders are soot and smoke, which lead to a whole host of adverse effects in a home. The minute soot is exposed to moisture, be it through water or humidity, it becomes acidic and etches on surfaces causing permanent staining, discolouration, and lingering unpleasant odours. It is essential that any vulnerable items such as fridges, washing machines, televisions etc be cleaned during the safe visit to prevent loss.


Soot is also harmful to your health if inhaled; often causing respiratory problems due to carcinogens and leaving people at risk of neurological/cardiovascular diseases and potentially cancer. Soot can also be highly combustible and can reignite if not removed properly. 


This is why we take this stage of the process rather seriously, employing a variety of testing tools as well as some elbow grease to ensure the removal is done properly. 

When it comes to fire and smoke damage most frequently affected areas are carpeting and upholstery. 


Soot particles become embedded in the fibers of these materials, making them unsafe for use and nearly impossible to clean.


Our 24-hour removalist team will itemize and package these contaminated objects before sending them off to our contents processing plant to be cleaned and restored.


Our ultrasonic contents processing facility is anyone’s best chance at salvaging goods from fire damage. Any unsalvageable contents will be catalogued and stored in a secured warehouse until claims are processed and content owners approve of disposal.



A WA Flood and Fire Technician restoring fire damaged contents in a Perth facility

CLEANING AND SANITIZING


Once major contaminants and heavily affected contents are removed, we begin the job of cleaning and sanitizing. 


Firstly, our certified technicians use a range of specialized products to eliminate smoke odour and dangerous air particles or bacteria left behind from the fire damage. We use a variety of tools to do this including ozone machines, air scrubbers, and odourcides. This reduces the risk of harmful viral micro-pollutants to restore air quality.


Once the sanitization process is underway, we can begin restoring the home back to its pre-loss condition. This includes the cleaning and restoration of all furniture, appliances, wall, ceilings, windows, floors, carpets and rugs.


One of the tools used during this stage is a HEPA vacuum, which stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. A HEPA vacuum is specially designed to capture and remove fine particles, like soot residues, from surfaces. The vacuum uses a HEPA filter to trap particles as small as 0.3 microns and is typically done as a first step in the cleaning process before any other cleaning methods are used.


For the more stubborn residue on walls, ceilings and other surfaces we apply a Fire Sponge. A Fire Sponge is a specialized cleaning product that is designed to effectively remove soot from surfaces. The sponge is made of a unique foam that is impregnated with a cleaning solution that dissolves soot, making it easier to remove. Fire Sponge is typically used after HEPA vacuuming, to remove any remaining soot from surfaces. 


Chemical fire restoration is different from regular fire damage restoration, and require special handling during the restoration process. We understand the unique signature of each chemical fire and the materials to handle them. These sorts of fires are caused by the combustion of chemicals and can produce soot webs, which are sticky, stringy, and hard to remove. 


The soot webs are a by-product of the chemical reaction and they can stick to surfaces and cause significantly more damage. To deal with soot webs, restoration professionals use heavy-duty degreasers, which can effectively dissolve and remove the webs. 


To deal with soot webs, our fire damage restoration team uses heavy-duty degreasers, which can effectively dissolve and remove the webs. 


Recently, we added dry ice blasting to our services to offer much more comprehensive cleaning. Dry Ice blasting is a solution for tough, hard-to-reach residue that traditional methods like HEPA vacuuming and fire sponges cannot remove.


Dry ice blasting is a non-abrasive cleaning method that uses compressed air to propel dry ice pellets at high speeds onto surfaces. The dry ice pellets sublimate upon impact, which means they turn from a solid to a gas, effectively blasting away the residue without damaging the surface. This makes it ideal for soot removal in porous that traditional cleaning methods cannot remove.


Dry ice blasting is a non-toxic and environmentally friendly cleaning method. It can be used on a wide range of surfaces, including metal, wood, concrete, and brick. It is also effective at treating tight spaces and hard-to-reach areas, making it a versatile solution for cleaning fire-damaged homes with tough, hard-to-reach residue.



WA Flood and Fire Technician holding comparing an iphone photo of a fire damaged room with the same room after restoration

RETURNING CLEANED CONTENTS


The last step of the fire restoration is to get back all the things that can be saved from the ultrasonic processing plant. Our team will take the salvaged content back to the property and make sure they're returned to its rightful place. We also use odourcides to remove any lingering odours as a part of our fire restoration process. Moreover, we will provide advice regarding safety precautions and maintenance techniques to ensure that your home remains safe from future incidents.  



A Perth home before fire damage is restore, while it is being restored and after it has been restored by WA Flood and Fire

WHAT WE OFFER


24/7 availability to conduct an emergency make safe at your property helping to prevent further damage and loss.


A vast amount of experience cleaning houses and commercial properties including prisons and schools 


Dry ice cleaning when required to allow us to offer next level restoration cleaning


Emergency contents removal department to offer all hours contents pack-out and transporting 


Ultrasonic contents processing plant offering state of the art contents cleaning 


Secure storage facilities to hold your restored contents until safe to return them to your property 



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