Recovery from Fire Damage for Chicago Residents

4/17/2023 (Permalink)

Our technicians use a combination of devices and machines to pluck smoke and soot particles from your home in Chicago.

SERVPRO in Chicago Has Fire and Smoke Restoration Technicians for Any-Size-Disaster

Fires affect millions of homeowners each year. Common causes are unattended stoves or malfunctioning electronics. Damage can include smoke staining, odor problems, and charring. Our role is to make sure your home returns to a preloss condition while minimizing inconvenience to your everyday life.

When fire damage affects your Chicago home, it is vital to enlist a qualified restoration service for assessment. Fire and smoke restoration technicians (FSRT) can use their training to reduce the turnaround time of restoration. One method is by understanding how smoke moves through a property which allows us to find and assess the most likely areas where soiling conglomerates. Convection, for example, is a rule of thermodynamics. It dictates that hot air rises above cool air. When this process occurs, it generates air movement as hot air replaces cold air. In an enclosed environment, this air displacement creates pressure that drives hot smoke into the upper portions of the room. Typically, the areas with the most damage in any fire scenario are the ceilings directly above the flames. The driven smoke can push into cooler surfaces, increasing the number of smoke deposits in your home. In some situations, it can even bond soot particles to surface material.

The Impact of Surface Temperature on Fire Damage

• High-temperature smoke attracts to cold surfaces.
• High concentrations of smoke residue are typically found on cooler external walls, windows, and inside furniture or cupboards.
• A professional must assess heavy soiling on interior surfaces before introducing water or other cleaning methods.

Carrying out a time-efficient initial assessment can be very helpful in reducing the stress of homeowners facing a fire damaging disaster. Our one-four-eight policy ensures that we arrange a service with you within one hour of notification of loss. We can send expert technicians to your property within four hours and produce a working estimate for you and your insurance adjuster within eight hours. Returning burnt homes to a preloss condition is most efficient following a thorough pre-test of different smoke residues and their response to cleaning efforts. We can then make informed choices about the necessary equipment, methodology, and time frames for restoring your home. SERVPRO always prioritizes essential areas, such as kitchens and bathrooms, to ensure you can get back to a semblance of normality as quickly as possible.  

Cleaning Products Versus Cleaning Equipment

• Mechanical equipment can include pressure washers for building exteriors and rotary machines to dislodge dry soots from furniture or upholstery.
• Household water-based cleaning products like detergents are less effective against some types of soot; that is why we provide specially formulated industrial-strength cleaners and solvents. 
• Dry cleaning solvents use chemicals to break down wet or stubborn soot but inadvertently damage some materials. We pre-test to ensure there is no exacerbation of the fire damage.

Pre-testing residues, materials, and equipment is essential to our approach to fire restoration. As a homeowner, you may naturally feel obliged to begin clearing away debris or cleaning walls and ceilings. Some useful techniques for homeowners can be to ventilate the property by opening windows, allowing lingering particulates, ash, and odor to disperse. Another helpful approach can be to vacuum surfaces which helps to remove any non-bonded dry smoke. One aspect to avoid when attempting to assist in smoke removal is introducing water or cleaning products. If the smoke is greasy or wet, introducing moisture can cause further damage by spreading or setting soot. We also recommend staying clear of heavily smoke-damaged areas as foot traffic can drive soot into flooring- especially in carpeted properties. 

We are here to help with your property emergency. Contact SERVPRO of Evergreen Park / South Chicago City for fire damage restoration at (773) 337-3900.