Talking Business: Damage Lingers Even When Smoke Clears

Let’s talk business. In the corporate world, office downtime can mean bad news for a company. Especially following a devastating fire, the days and weeks that a company’s doors are shut mean money lost that may not be recouped. In addition to the loss in productivity, it is not hard to imagine what could become of millions of dollars of computers and other office equipment, having been enveloped in smoke and doused in water.

Expensive electronic equipment is not the only thing damaged when exposed to water and smoke. Conference rooms, tables, chairs, carpeted floors, art, lamps and other employee possessions are among the many office components at risk for fire and water damage. In fact, a fire can and sometimes does mean an untimely end to a once successful business. These critical moments require immediate attention from specialists trained in fire and water restoration. Fast response time can be step one in the eventual recovery of a business.

When we get a call from a business owner who has experienced a fire, we know they are experiencing a whirlwind of fear, frustration and anxiety, which is why we get on site as fast as we can to assess the damage and get to work. SERVPRO is a nationally franchised professional fire and water cleanup and restoration company in Greater Columbia. We also provide professional pack-outs, relocating any damaged documents or equipment to a cleaner environment so they can be restored to preloss condition.

Restoration companies trained in this type of cleanup must also be familiar with the inner workings of the insurance industry. SERVPRO works with agents and adjusters to quickly settle claims and achieve high customer satisfaction. The work that we do to restore equipment and materials, as opposed to replacing them, saves the insurance industry a lot of money each year.

Few companies are able to efficiently get in there and clean electronics after a fire. We happen to be one of them. There are a series of steps we take to ensure that electronics and important documents are properly cleaned and restored. Of course, we can also professional clean the carpets and other saturated items. Chairs may not be expensive compared to computers, but if you have 100 chairs that are soaking wet, the cost of replacement can be quite high. When customers see our green trucks on site, they can rest assured that “green means clean.”

*Photo credit: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/p/pines-fire-blair-444449-xl.jpg

Sandy Hayden

Know Your Smoke 101

Fire damages are complex due to the unique nature of different types of smoke. Some things you may not know about smoke:

• Hot smoke migrates to cooler areas and upper levels of a structure.
• Smoke flows around plumbing systems, using holes around pipes to go from floor to floor.
• The type of smoke may greatly affect the restoration process.

Once at a fire scene, a SERVPRO Professional tests the soot to determine which type of smoke damage occurred.

Types of Smoke:

• Wet Smoke Residues result from smoldering fires with low heat. Residues are sticky and smeary with a pungent odor. Smoke webs can be difficult to clean.
• Dry Smoke Residues result from fast burning fires at high temperatures. Residues are normally dry, powdery, small, nonsmeary smoke particles.
• Protein Residues are virtually invisible residues that discolor paints and varnishes. They have an extreme pungent odor.
• Fuel Oil Soot occur when furnaces puff back, distributing fuel oil soot.
• Other Types of Residue include tear gas, fingerprint powder, and fire extinguisher residues, all requiring cleanup.