What Causes the Most Damage in a Fire?

6/20/2023 (Permalink)

Soot Damage to Furniture in a Dallas apartment fire

When a fire occurs in a building or home, we naturally think of items getting burned up and the structure being charred and compromised.  Fire response times are usually very good these days for a variety of reasons namely technology.  Most fires are able to be put out in a reasonable amount of time before serious structural damage has occurred.  Most often, the fire damage is due to water and soot.  

Water can first enter the fray from sprinkler systems, drowning whole room or rooms in water.  However, the main source of water stems from Fire Fighters spraying down many rooms while punching holes in the ceiling.

Once the fire is put out, the entirety of the damage can be observed.  The heat of the fire causes soot particles to rise and float around the structure.  In most fires, you will find the most blackened areas to be at the source and on the ceiling.  The soot will eventually settle on items all around the building with the assistance of the HVAC system.  Which brings into play another issue, the HVAC system can be thoroughly covered and will need cleaned if not replaced.

Depending on the fire, soot can be greasy and hard to clean.  When it comes to fire damage restoration of contents, they can typically be divided into 2 groups, porous and non-porous.  Non-porous are more hard surface items like glass, metal and wood.  These can usually be cleaned with specific soot solutions.  Porous items like clothes and fabric on furniture is more challenging to clean.  With special chemicals and processes, there can be a pretty good success rate but there still will be some unsalvageable items.

If you need assistance getting back to normal after a fire, please give us a call, we are here to help!