Fire Damage is just as important to clean up

4/4/2016 (Permalink)

ABC's of Fire extinguishers... Getting the right one can be the difference between life and death... Know what you need

Fire Damage…..

Think water damage is the only thing that needs a quick response …Think again..

The number one cause of fires in the home are from cooking and 34% of them result from someone walking away from the stove.

Life is busy.. It is very easy to get distracted these days.  Multi-tasking has become a habit and despite what we are taught it is not actually better.

Staying focused on the task at hand provides you with a more concise timely resolution with accurate results.  No matter what sort of tasks you are doing and trying to accomplish. This is especially important when working in a kitchen.

No matter what you are using to cook… A microwave, toaster, hot plate, gas / electric stove, or even a crock pot which many of us set and forget can be dangerous. Walking away from something that is hot can have dire consequences.  

Did you know that the numbers on your toaster are actually for minuets? So when you walk away from your toaster for the 2n time and your toast has burnt to a crisp and you had it on high you could have in theory had your bread in the toaster for upwards of 10 minutes. Dried out bread can catch fire very easily and cause an electrical fire in your home.  Not being prepared can be very dangerous.

Fire can get out of control in as little as 30 seconds and more than 12K people are injured every year in a fire.  A small home fire is nothing to mess around with. Having the right kind of fire extinguisher to put of various types of fires is very important.  Just having a fire extinguisher is not enough , having the right one is pivotal..

For example electrical and grease fires cannot be put out in the same manner as a fire that starts from say a wood stove or fire place. Did you know that actually throwing water on a grease fire will make matters worse and cause the fire to expand more rapidly?

We use the term disaster to be all encompassing and maybe even a little too broad within our industry. Fire damage specifically kitchen fires can be broken down into some simple terms. Stove fires.. Toaster fires….Grease fires.. Vent and exhaust fires and even fires from  your microwave.

Below you will find some statistics on home cooking fires.

42% of surveyed consumers say they have left the kitchen to talk or text on the phone, and 35 % have left to use the computer to check email while food is cooking. If you tend to do a lot of cooking, invest in a second or third timer. They're an inexpensive way to stay safe while ensuring that your  food  does not overcook.

• Nearly half (45 %)  of consumers say they have left the room to watch television or listen to music. Multi-tasking during the busy day is  tempting. If you succumb, it's important not to leave the stove or oven unattended

• Nearly one third (29 percent) of consumers reported that they have intentionally disabled smoke alarms while cooking. (YIKES!!!!)

• More than half (56 percent) of surveyed consumers said they plan to cook for family or friends this year - with 42 percent of those cooking for groups of 11 or more.

  Fire damage can be extensive and wide spread even to areas of the home that the flames did not reach. The small particles that burned travel in the air throughout the home and due to their small size and nature can stick to just about anything.  

  Taking care of smoke, fire and soot damage is necessary and here is why.  There are various types of soot damage and some are acidic which can stain a variety of surfaces if not treated quickly . Within hours all surfaces that have come in contact with fire and smoke damage begin to feel its affects. Wood furniture, floors  and molding will need to be refinished, Metal will begin to rust and corrode. Clothing can become permanently stained and need to be thrown away.  Walls will begin to absorb the particles and  start to turn yellow.

  Within weeks if left untreated soot exposure embeds into fibers and deep into porous materials continuing to deteriorate the items or property if not properly restored in a timely manner.

  Any  clothing bedding , curtains and washable materials should too be professionally cleaned because an alkaline cleaner neutralizes the acid from the soot. Make sure it is someone that has experience specifically with smoke damage.

  Professional Restoration companies have the proper tools and training to get you back to normal without these lingering effects. From special sponges for removing soot and ash from the walls, air purifiers to scrub out the particles that have not settled on the anything yet, right down to high efficiency vacuums that have a great filtration system that prevents the soot from being redistributed into the air, they are even able to clean the vents above your stove that collect the grease which can be helpful to prevent fires in the first plac. We strongly recommend a professional whenever there is fire soot and smoke damage because improper cleaning will continue to damage the property and increase the costs down the road.