How to Handle Fire Damage in Your Austin Home or Business

6/9/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of East Central Austin Professionals are available 24 hours/7 days a week and will respond quickly to a restoration emergency.

Having your property be victim to a fire is probably one of the scariest things a person can experience. Although there are different types of fires, any fire can wreak havoc on your Austin based home or business, leaving you with extensive fire damage repairs. A small fire may not be as severe; you may be able to make some of these repairs on your own. But if the fire damage is extreme, you’ll need to reach out to a professional fire damage restoration company.

Here are some tips that will help you understand the different types of fire damage, how they can affect your property, and how you can take certain actions to prevent fires before they begin.

What Should You Do if a Fire Occurs in Your Austin based Home or Business?

A fire occurs and you manage to get everyone out of the house/building… Once the fire is out, the first thing you’ll want to do is review all of the fire damage. It may be extreme or it may be minimal, but you’ll need to act quickly in determining the extent of the damage, and deciphering if professional fire damage restoration will be needed to fix your Austin property.

Minor damage may be easy to fix on your own, extreme damage will most likely be beyond your ability to repair it. There’s a possibility you’ll need to replace your furniture if it’s been severely damaged, as well as your cabinets, doors, walls and even floorboards.

Even your roof can be subject to fire damage, requiring repair. Should your roof suffer damage, you’ll have to protect the rest of your home or business from not just foreign objects, like falling branches, but also high winds and rainstorms, which happen quite often in Austin. Theft and looting is also a problem, so while assessing the damage to your property, you also need to secure it as best as possible…you shouldn’t have to be vandalized while trying to perform fire damage repairs.

Smoke Damage: An Inevitable Symptom of a Fire

While a fire has the tendency to lead to destruction, depending on its severity, smoke is one lingering effect that in some cases can be even worse, because it’s so difficult to clean. Should you have a small fire with limited fire damage repairs, smoke residue may be one of the most problematic elements. If the smoke residue isn't tackled quickly, you may find yourself dealing with persistent foul odors in your Austin property, as well as stained furniture, carpets walls and floors.

Believe it or not, there are several different types of smoke damage. Some are easy to remedy, while others need professional attention.

• Dry Smoke occurs when a fire burns hot and fast. However, it’s often one of the easier types to clean, as the smoke is often quite dry and has a powdery texture.
• Wet Smoke is often associated with smoldering fires at low temperatures. This has a tendency to leave strong odors and heavy smearing once the fire is put out. The smearing makes it difficult to clean.
• Protein Residue: Paints and varnishes, like polyurethane can become discolored during a fire, and hard to clean. Elements such as this will most likely requires more intense fire damage repairs.
• Oil residue results from fires in which petroleum products, such as propane, gasoline and diesel fuel, among others, are involved. The residue is often very sticky, making it time consuming to clean.

Water Damage: The Other Effect of Fire Damage

Water damage can play an integral role in a fire. While you may think that your pipes are safe, some of them are not quite as heat tolerant as others, depending on the material. Metal pipes tend to take the heat well, while plastic pipes usually don’t. If you have a fire, there’s a strong possibility that your pipes may burst from the heat, causing major water leaks and flooding in your Austin home or business.

Depending on the intensity of the fire, water will be needed to actually put it out, therefore causing another layer of damage to your property -water damage. It’s best to remove as much water as you can immediately. If left alone, the affected areas can fall victim to the spread of mold, and they will need to be properly cleaned, dried and remediated.

If you suffer from a large fire, you may find yourself overwhelmed and unable to tackle any repairs on your own. If you need fire damage repairs and/or smoke damage cleanup and water extraction in the Austin and Manor area, and the situation is beyond your control, SERVPRO of East Central Austin can help.

Additional Issues that Can Result from Fire Damage

Electrical wiring, plumbing and appliances can also be subject to fire damage. Even the tiniest amount of smoke can cause problems with your household appliances, since they’re manufactured to take limited amounts of heat. Smoke is also quite corrosive, which can cause appliances to overheat, cause a spark or break down in the process.

If your appliances experience problems, give them a thorough inspection, so they don’t cause problems down the road. In certain situations, you may actually spend less money replacing them than having them repaired.

Another potential problem you could face is if your Austin home or business has tight insulation. Tight insulation has the potential to create a heavy smoke buildup in the vent of a fire. The insulation can exacerbate the increase in temperature, which adds to the internal pressure. If extreme heat persists, the amount of pressure can cause windows and even doors to explode, leading to more repairs.

If you find yourself in a situation that is too much to handle on your own, with extensive fire damage repairs needed, and smoke and water damage cleanup as well, calling a professional fire damage restoration company like SERVPRO of East Central Austin will certainly be your best bet.

Our professionally trained and certified SERVPRO team can lead you through the process, and help make your Austin fire damage "Like it never even happened."