Property Recovery 911 was hired to by a Delaware county homeowner to provide fire restoration services, which in this instance consisted of smoke damage cleaning and odor control. The fire originated on the raised deck at the rear of the home and penetrated the exterior wall, causing smoke damage inside of the home. Upon our arrival we deployed 4 carbon filtered air scrubbers to begin to cleanse the atmosphere.
Emergency Crews & Ancillary Damages
We discovered a hasty patch to two sides of the exterior walls over the fire damaged PVC deck and deck furniture. The emergency wall board provided some measure of security but was not weatherproof. The efforts of emergency crews to extinguish the fire included chopping holes in the exterior wall to vent the fire, which inadvertently exacerbated smoke damage and introduced water to the interior of the home.
The interior rear corner adjacent to the deck fire was water laden, with hardwood floor buckling from exposure, moisture wicking up the drywall and saturated insulation. Water traveled down into the single car garage below as well, partially soaking the overhead exposed subfloor as well as the joists. Saturated drywall and water damaged buckled hardwood flooring was removed to expose wet building materials for structural drying.
Structural drying equipment deployed and monitored until a dry standard was achieved and documented. Temporary heat and structural drying equipment were likewise deployed and monitored in the water-soaked garage below.
Smoke Damage Odor Control
We utilized a hydroxyl machine for odor control starting on the first day of labors and it was left running throughout the project and moved from room to room. We generally use an ozone machine, which is more effective, but the house was continually occupied so ozone was out of the question. The interior area neighboring the deck fire, was contained and put under negative pressure to alleviate the odor emanating from the smoke impregnated building materials as well as to contain airborne dust particles caused by de-construction and structural drying.
Removing the charred building materials was essential to successful smoke damage restoration. This required that we disassemble melted PVC decking and cut away stucco covering fire and smoke damaged OSB sheathing and studs below, which were all removed in turn. The structure was stabilized by sistering in studs as fire damaged supports were removed. Once the temporary stud work was completed, we sheathed the openings with 5/8” CDX, installed a vapor barrier and finished the interim repair with vinyl siding, making the area impervious to the elements. The adjacent walls and ceiling above were stripped of drywall and insulation to expose smoke damaged sheathing. This sheathing was intensely cleaned, chemically treated and encapsulated with three coats of odor blocking paint to remove the smoke smell.
Cleaning Smoke & Fire Damage
The entire first floor; including walls ceilings, floors, furniture, appliances, kitchen cabinets, countertop, windows, doors, trim work and non-porous salvable contents were dry sponged, and hand cleaned with a strong degreaser. The entire first level was then treated to a hot thermal fog containing masking agents to cover the odor and bonding agents to chemically change contacted odor causing molecules making them inert. The fogging treats areas that cannot be physically reached, such as cracks and crevices, without major de-construction. Finally, all walls and ceiling on the first level of the home were covered with odor blocking encapsulate as a final step to insuring a successful solution.
Fire Restoration is Time Sensitive
Smoke damage not only impregnates building materials and contents with noxious odors; it can also cause corrosion, etching and discoloration that will worsen over time. Failure to properly clean smoke damage promptly will exacerbate the situation resulting in higher fire restoration expenses. If contacted in a timely manner, we can arrest this ongoing damage by removing the harmful residues and deodorizing salvable surfaces. Property Recovery 911 fire restoration technicians are extensively trained in fire, smoke and water damage restoration. We are available 24/7 and can be on site within 1 hour ready to begin the recovery process to get you back in your home or business as quickly as possible, while keeping you well informed throughout the fire restoration process. For prompt professional service, contact us at (267) 808-7200.