A fire engulfing your home can be depressing, especially given the extensive damage it can cause to your home and belongings. Sometimes the cause of the fire damage is unknown, or it could be a single flaw that you are unaware of.
Nonetheless, you should monitor your home, turn off all sensitive equipment when not in use, look for flaws, and fix them before they become a problem.
Having said that, this article looks at the extent of damage a fire can cause to your home and the steps you should take if it occurs.
What is Fire Damage?
Fire damage is simply a type of physical damage that destroys your home and its contents by burning.
Most of the time, cooking fires, gas, and so on are to blame, but in some cases, the damage may be caused by smoke or other toxic substances emitted by the fire.
When this happens, a lot of damage can happen quickly, making it difficult to salvage the majority of the properties within the affected home.
Types of Damage that a fire can Cause to Your Home
A fire can cause several types of damage to your home. They include the following:
Heat Damage
Fire produces a lot of heat, which has the potential to weaken the structural integrity of the surrounding walls, cause paint to flake off walls, and destroy any surface it comes into contact with.
A good example is wood beams, which can be burned beyond recognition, jeopardizing the building’s structural integrity. As a result, the building would have to be renovated to return to its original state.
Smoke Damage
Another type of damage that a house fire can cause is smoke damage. When a house is on fire, smoke alarms usually trigger thick smoke, which engulfs the house and may linger even after the house has been cleaned up.
This is possible because the smoke has the ability to penetrate sub-layers of the home that are inaccessible and extend far beyond the surface area where the soot may linger.
Two techniques are used to solve this problem. The first is rehabilitative abrasive blasting, and the second is sponge blasting.
Restorative abrasive blasting can penetrate and remove the layers of smoke that have accumulated, as well as any soot that has formed on the surface.
Depending on the home, care is usually taken when using restorative abrasive blasting to avoid destroying areas and surfaces that have special meaning to the homeowners, whether cultural or historical.
On the other hand, sponge blasting is a more detailed method of removing smoke and its strong odor from drywall, bricks, stone, wood, and other surfaces.
You can also determine the level of blasting pressure with sponge blasting and, with additional cleaning products, remove only the necessary layers where the smoke may be lingering with excellent accuracy.
Water Damage
Water damage occurs as a result of the aftermath of a house fire. While attempting to extinguish the fire with water or a fire extinguisher, you may end up staining the surrounding walls or other sensitive surfaces, particularly if they are made of wood or stone.
You can use the micro-abrasion technique to remove these stains from sensitive surfaces, and the stained surface will become stain-free again over time.
The Effects of Fire Damage to Your Home
Fire damage can have a variety of consequences for your home. They are as follows:
Smoke Inhalation
Typically, the smoke is the result of a major fire in your home. If your home isn’t properly cleaned, inhaling this toxic fume can lead to a variety of serious health problems, including asthma, damaged lungs, and waning heart conditions.
To avoid this happening to you, make sure you thoroughly treat your home and keep an eye out for any signs of smoke in your home so you can get it out as soon as possible.
Electrical Malfunction
Electrical failures are another dangerous side effect of a fire. Typically, this occurs when the fire burns through the outer coverings of these wires, exposing them to contact, which can result in a spark, resulting in electrical faults throughout the home.
This also makes you extremely vulnerable to an electric shock, which is extremely dangerous and can result in death.
Detecting electrical faults is difficult, but they can be identified cautiously and corrected. If you are unable to do so, you can always hire a professional to assist you in identifying and correcting these flaws as soon as possible.
Loss of Physical Properties
This is the most severe effect of fire damage. Some properties in some homes have cultural or historical value to the owners, and seeing them burn can be very disheartening.
These properties are frequently quite expensive, and replacing them may take some time. Others may be unique and cannot be replicated.
While it is impossible to reclaim these properties, you can move quickly to ensure that more are not lost to the flames.
Damaged Structure
Raging fires can destroy a home’s foundational structure, requiring the owner to completely renovate the property to restore it to its original condition.
This is why caution must be exercised when entering a home that has recently been burned by fire. The walls, top surfaces, and other structures may be weak, and if care is not taken, they may collapse, putting your life in jeopardy.
Things You Should Do After a Home Fire
The following are the things you should do after a home fire:
- Record the fire damage as it unfolds in your home and take pictures of your damaged properties while being extra careful.
- Contact your home insurance company to begin an application for compensation.
- Get in touch with fire companies and let them know about the fire in your home.
Things You Should Not Do After a Home Fire
The following are the things you should not do after house fires:
- Don’t enter your home to retrieve any property unless you are told otherwise by a professional.
- Don’t turn on gas, electricity, or water until a professional has told you otherwise.
- Don’t clean up the soot, smoke, and fire damage yourself. Leave it to an experienced fire restoration company that has the proper safety equipment to clean up the damage.
Why You Need the Help of a Professional to Return Your Home to Top Condition
Professionals know the best way to get into your home right after a fire, which is why it is never a good idea to try to recover your home right after a fire.
For one thing, it’s extremely dangerous, and for another, you might not have the proper fire safety equipment to detect multiple faults and protect yourself from debris or other conditions within your home.
At EliteCleanRestoration, we follow specific procedures to ensure that the damage caused by a fire in your home is properly controlled. Our fire safety tips that we believe you should be aware of are as follows:
- Assessment and inspection of the damage
- Boarding and tarp application of damaged doors, windows, and roofing
- Water Extraction (If needed)
- Removal, cleaning, and storage of personal items
- Disinfecting
- Odor and smoke removal
- Removal of damaged building materials
- Reconstruction
Before entering your home, we carefully inspect the surroundings and look for any structural damage that may have occurred. Before using any electrical equipment, we also clean up any liquid substances in your home.
We understand that water and other liquids can soak into floors and walls, so we use a dehumidifier to ensure that everything is completely dry.
Furthermore, we do not begin cleaning immediately; rather, we use specialized products based on the material of the object to be cleaned. This way, even after cleaning, we can maintain the physical condition of your property.
Finally, we remove damaged materials and begin repairing your home to ensure that it is safe and habitable for you and your family.
Get Expert Fire Restoration Service Today.
If your home is ever destroyed by fire, you must act quickly to help stop and prevent additional smoke and fire damage.
Elite Clean Restoration, a leading provider of fire and smoke damage restoration services in Indianapolis, will do as much content cleaning as we can to help you save your personal belongings.
We can also provide you with National Fire Protection Association fire prevention tips, install smoke alarms and space heaters, and provide you with a fire escape plan if necessary.
With years of experience, we are fully equipped to handle smoke and fire damage cleanup, so you can rest assured that your home is in good hands. Contact us today for a free assessment.