Hear from Our Customers
You’re standing in front of damage you never expected to see. The smoke smell is everywhere. You’re wondering what can be saved, what your insurance will cover, and who you can actually trust to fix this without dragging it out for months.
Here’s what changes when you call us. Within 60 to 90 minutes, you’ll have an IICRC-certified technician on-site doing a full fire damage inspection—not an estimate guy, an actual restoration tech. We’ll contain the affected areas with physical barriers and HEPA filtration so smoke and soot don’t spread to rooms that are still clean.
Within 24 hours, you’ll have full photo documentation, moisture mapping if water was used to fight the fire, and a transparent scope of work your insurance adjuster will recognize. No waiting. No wondering what’s happening. You get progress updates every 48 hours with photos, and you’ll have a dedicated person handling your claim from start to finish so you’re not playing phone tag with your insurance company while trying to put your life back together.
First, we secure the scene. That means containment barriers go up to stop soot and smoke odor from spreading into unaffected rooms. We set up HEPA air scrubbers and start documenting everything with photos and notes your insurance company will need.
Next, we assess what can be saved. Contents that can be restored get packed out to our facility for specialized cleaning—yes, that includes things like photo albums and documents. Items that are too far gone get documented for your claim. We’re not here to pad the loss or lowball what you’re owed.
Then the real work starts. We remove all smoke residue and soot from walls, ceilings, and structural surfaces using commercial-grade cleaners. If water was used to fight the fire, we extract it and dry everything with the same equipment we’d use for a flooding event—because water damage doesn’t care how it started. Your HVAC system gets cleaned so you’re not recirculating smoke particles every time the heat kicks on.
Finally, we neutralize odors at the molecular level. Smoke smell doesn’t just go away with air freshener. We use hydroxyl generators and thermal fogging to break down odor-causing compounds. Before we’re done, you’ll walk through with us to confirm the work, and we’ll follow up 14 days later to make sure nothing was missed.
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You’re getting a full-scope fire damage restoration, not just a cleaning. That means emergency board-up if needed, complete smoke damage cleanup from all affected surfaces, thermal imaging to find hidden heat or moisture, and content pack-out with inventory and restoration for salvageable belongings.
We handle the insurance paperwork. You’ll get Xactimate-aligned pricing—the same estimating software your adjuster uses—so there’s no back-and-forth about whether the scope is reasonable. Your dedicated claims liaison will handle the documentation, follow-ups, and any supplement requests if additional damage is found during the work.
In Clare and the surrounding area, older homes mean older wiring and heating systems. Fires in these homes often involve more than just flames—there’s water damage from firefighting efforts, potential asbestos in insulation, and HVAC systems that have pulled smoke into every room. We’re EPA RRP certified where lead paint is a factor, and we know how to work in homes built before modern fire codes.
You also get crawl space drying if water made it down there, odor neutralization that actually works, and post-fire HVAC duct cleaning. We’re not leaving until the job is done right, and we’re not handing you a bill that’s going to surprise you. Everything is documented, everything is explained, and you’ll know what to expect before we start.
We’re on-site in 60 to 90 minutes in most cases. Our emergency line is answered by a real person 24/7—not a voicemail, not an answering service.
Time matters in fire restoration because soot and smoke residue keep damaging surfaces the longer they sit. Acid in smoke can etch glass and corrode metal within hours. The faster we contain the damage and start cleaning, the more we can save and the lower your total loss will be.
When you call, we’ll ask a few quick questions about the extent of the damage and whether the fire department has cleared the scene. Then we dispatch a certified technician with everything needed to start containment and assessment immediately.
Most homeowner policies cover fire damage, but coverage varies based on your specific policy, deductible, and the cause of the fire. We work directly with your insurance company to make the claims process as straightforward as possible.
Here’s what typically happens: Your insurance will send an adjuster to assess the loss. We provide them with detailed documentation—photos, moisture readings, scope of work—using Xactimate, the same software they use. That alignment means fewer disputes and faster approvals.
Insurance companies usually issue an initial payment for Actual Cash Value, then release the remaining Replacement Cost Value once repairs are completed. We can work with that payment structure, and our claims liaison will help you understand what’s covered, what your out-of-pocket will be, and how to maximize your policy benefits. If you’re paying out of pocket, we offer discounts for seniors, military, and first responders.
Yes, but only if it’s done right. Smoke odor isn’t just a smell you can cover up—it’s microscopic particles embedded in porous surfaces like drywall, insulation, and ductwork.
We use a combination of methods depending on what burned and how long the smoke circulated. Hydroxyl generators and thermal fogging break down odor molecules at the source. We also clean or replace HVAC filters and clean the ductwork so your heating and cooling system isn’t reintroducing smoke smell every time it runs.
If the odor is deep in structural materials that can’t be fully cleaned—like insulation or subflooring—those materials get removed and replaced. We don’t seal in smells or mask them. If we’re signing off on the work, the odor is gone. You’ll do a final walkthrough with us before we close the job, and we follow up two weeks later to confirm everything is still right.
Anything that can be saved, we save. Contents restoration is part of what we do, and it’s often the most important part for homeowners who’ve lost irreplaceable items.
We’ll pack out restorable belongings and take them to our facility for specialized cleaning. That includes furniture, electronics, clothing, documents, and even photographs. Each item is inventoried with photos so you and your insurance company know exactly what was removed. Items that are too damaged to restore are documented for your claim.
Once cleaned, your belongings are stored in a climate-controlled space until your home is ready. We’re not going to bring clean contents back into a house that still smells like smoke. When reconstruction is done and the air quality is clear, we’ll coordinate the move-in and make sure everything is back where it belongs.
It depends on the extent of the damage, but most residential fire restoration projects take two to six weeks from start to finish. Smaller jobs—like a kitchen fire contained to one room—can be done faster. Whole-house fires with structural damage take longer.
Here’s the breakdown: Containment and assessment happen on day one. Content pack-out and debris removal usually take two to three days. Cleaning, drying, and odor removal take one to two weeks depending on how much surface area was affected. If reconstruction is needed—drywall replacement, painting, flooring—that’s another one to three weeks.
We’ll give you a realistic timeline after the initial inspection, and we update you every 48 hours with photos and progress notes. If we find additional damage that changes the timeline, you’ll know immediately. We’re not in the business of dragging jobs out, but we’re also not cutting corners to hit an arbitrary deadline.
Yes, and that’s common. Firefighting efforts often cause as much water damage as the fire itself, especially in older Clare homes where water can soak into wood framing and settle in basements or crawl spaces.
We’re IICRC-certified in both fire restoration and water damage restoration, so we handle both simultaneously. While we’re containing smoke and soot, we’re also extracting standing water, setting up dehumidifiers, and monitoring moisture levels in structural materials. Leaving water to sit while focusing only on fire damage is a fast track to mold growth, which compounds your loss and your claim.
Our equipment includes thermal imaging cameras to find hidden moisture, commercial dehumidifiers, and air movers to dry out framing and subfloors. We track drying progress with daily moisture readings and don’t move to the next phase until everything is confirmed dry. You’re getting a complete restoration, not a patchwork of different contractors handling different problems.
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