The historic homes, quaint villages, and neighborly feel in New England cannot be replicated anywhere else. When a fire destroys a home that stood for generations, your whole community grieves.
Landmark colonial gems are irreplaceable, but fortunately, modern fire damage restoration advances offer alternatives to demolition and rebuilding in many cases.
Fire restoration standards recommended by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) are in use internationally. They also describe the best practices used in New England and the rest of the country. Technicians trained to IICRC criteria deliver the most successful recovery results to homeowners devastated by a fire in their beloved homes.
Fire damage encompasses far more than the charring of structures and burning of contents most homeowners imagine. Smoke and soot pervades every inch of space and affects each article inside. The residues from smoke and soot are highly corrosive, with effects that start immediately and intensify as minutes, hours, and days pass. Metal tarnishes, glass etches. Plastics discolor, and fabrics become soiled and full of odor carrying particles that do not respond to standard cleaning techniques. Wood and drywall absorb smells and are covered with coatings from the combusted materials. Learn more about restoring PPE equipment and textiles.
Highly-qualified fire restoration technicians use a range of strategies to clear debris and deep clean areas affected by soot and smoke. Different types of residue respond best to specific techniques. Light coatings may be vacuumed or dusted. Greasy soot from oil and kitchen fires requires cleansers or solvents matched to the source of the debris. Electrical fires smolder and may produce little burning, yet their smoke is some of the thickest and most unpleasantly smelly. Unique methods developed by IICRC conquer even these cleaning challenges.
Often at the end of a fire restoration project, a lingering stench reminds homeowners of the tragedy. Cutting edge deodorization technologies offer recovery experts a series of solutions to persistent odors that eventually result in complete elimination of the smells. Far superior to any cover-up or air freshener, these methods start and end with the eradication of the odor-emitting vapors. If removal of smoky debris is not enough, the next step is cleaning with professional products using proper tools. The continuous emission of odor-bearing particles is then controlled with counteractive substances — enzymes and antimicrobials, either as a surface treatment or airborne.
Final steps may involve the use of thermal fogging or hydroxyl generators. These methods use combustion or chemical processes to produce tiny odor neutralizing particles that seek out and chemically alter odor molecules so that they no longer smell. This technology can make all the difference and requires highly skilled technicians to assess and manage the treatments.
Fire damage does not need to result in the loss of your New England home. Seek an IICRC trained and certified restoration company to bring your ravaged property back to life. Learn more about fire damaged fabrics and textiles.