Clear Lake Home Safety: What to Do Until Help Arrives After a Fire

12/7/2018 (Permalink)

Fire damage in a Houston,TX residence

When a fire ravages a Houston area home or business, your Houston SERVPRO team stands at the ready to help. Whether the damage is from a small kitchen fire, mid-sized garage fire, or whole-house blaze, recovery requires comprehensive fire damage restoration. This process includes water extraction; removal and disposal of burned household items, walls, carpets, and floors; and clean-up of soot and smoke damage throughout the property.

What to Do Until Help Arrives After a Fire

After a fire, there may be considerable damage to the structure of your home, and as a result floors, walls, and ceilings may be compromised. It is essential you follow the advice and directives of the fire department, and if your home is deemed too dangerous to enter, please remain outside.

After the fire, call your locally owned and operated SERVPRO of Clear Lake immediately. We can be on scene within an hour to assist you throughout the fire damage restoration process. If the fire department has indicated it is safe to re-enter the home before we arrive, be sure to wear appropriate protective footwear, clothing, and gloves. Remember, a fire leaves behind toxic residue and gases that may affect your health and safety. For their safety, we recommend that children, teens, individuals with respiratory issues, and the elderly be prevented from entering fire damaged and Houston water damaged properties.

While you wait for us to arrive, here are a few things you can do to help expedite the rebuilding and restoration process.

First, call your insurance agent and schedule for an adjuster to come to your property. Second, when you do enter your home, take photos or videos as you walk through as this will be helpful in the insurance claims process. We will assist you with the room-by-room inventory, but these initial photos taken before things are further disturbed, are extremely helpful. Next, while it is tempting to grab clothing, photo albums, antiques, fine art, and other keepsakes and start cleaning them off, this is not a recommended practice. Any cleaning you do at this point could cause soot stains or damage to the items, and result in the smell of smoke being set into fabrics. Please wait for our team to arrive prior cleaning household or personal items.

If you have carpeted floors, please limit the foot traffic in those areas. In some cases, carpets may be able to be professionally cleaned rather than completely replaced. However, the more traffic on the carpet, the greater the chance the carpet will have to be replaced. In hallways and areas you need to access, place white towels down to walk on. Refrain from using colored towels as the dyes could transfer, causing greater damage.

If you really feel you must get started cleaning right away, start with the refrigerator. After a fire devastates the home, the heat from the flames and the steam from the water will damage the food in kitchen. All food and beverages must be destroyed and not consumed. You can empty the refrigerator and freezer, as well as your pantry, to get a jumpstart on the fire damage rebuilding process.

Leave the rest of the cleaning and restoration process to us. We stand at the ready to help you bring your home back to its pre-fire condition. Whenever disaster strikes, call on SERVPRO, and be sure to review What to Do Until Help Arrives brochure before entering your home.