Following the aftermath of a fire in your home, you will likely be left with a huge mess to clean up. This process can be traumatic and extremely stressful and it can fell like a lonesome time. Fires cause many different types of damage to a property both during and after the blaze has been extinguished. Personal possessions can be lost or damaged in a fire, flooring, finishes and upholstery are quite often irreparable. Smoke, soot and even water damage can all be left behind once the emergency services have left.

After the Disaster

In the aftermath of a fire, we cannot stress enough just how important it is to begin working with a professional restoration company like Tempest straight away. The fire restoration process is a specialised one that needs a team of experienced professionals with the right training and tools to do it properly. Fire damage goes beyond what you can see. Smoke and soot penetrate building materials, water can run anywhere and everywhere. Identifying and controlling secondary damage is part of what our team of trained technicians do here at Tempest.

The residue left behind after a fire is a biohazard and can cause health problems if it is not taken care of correctly and thoroughly. Attempting to clean up your home on your own after a fire may cause more damage that was already in existence. Airborne particles can have a serious affect your health. Our team use specialists respirators and equipment to remove this hazardous waste.

Here at Tempest, we recommend that you call your insurance company immediately following a fire to your property and then call us at Tempest Restoration for prompt assistance. It is important that the level of fire damage is assessed, to gauge an indication of the costs of the restoration. At this stage secondary damage can be investigated and assessed. Additional damage from smoke, water or any other factors can be checked. Your insurance company will want an assessment to be carried out by a professional team of restorers. We are trusted providers for many of the countries leading insurance companies. Once the amount of damage has been determined we can provide an estaimate for the cleaning and restoration of the property to you and your insurance provider.

The Process

Having a professional team of experts restoring your poverty following a fire saves time, effort and money. The fire restoration process generally includes items such as:

• Removing items affected by the fire
• Handling water damage
• Eliminating odours
• Assessing items that didn't burn in the fire but may have other damage from the firefighting efforts. Once they are out of the house, they can be cleaned, dried, and deodourised so they are just like new.

It is important to have a ServiceMaster Norwich professional go through your home and check the contents for damage as there are many things that are often overlooked such as:

• Dishes and utensils
• Documents in desks
• Filing cabinets and electronics
• Clothes
• Jewelry
• Art on the walls that may need cleaning and odour removal

The cleanup process should also include the removal of any charred contents that may seal in smoke such as insulation and burned wood. Carpets and floor coverings may need to be removed, and the framing of the house and subfloors will need a safety inspection. These areas should also be treated for smoke odors and then sealed to keep any leftover odors from leaking back into the house.

It is also important to know that not all fire damage is the same. Different materials inside a home will burn differently and because of that, they need different cleaning processes.

You also need to consider the water damage from putting out the fire, and the drying process. We can determine the extent of any water damage and bring in the equipment to dry the house out before mould starts to grow.

The last part of the fire damage restoration is controlling any odours. Odours caused by the smoke and fire will have to be removed. ServiceMaster Norwich professionals are trained to follow the smoke trail to find the source of the odour and eliminate it.

Call the professionals at ServiceMaster Norwich when disaster strikes so you can be back in your home quickly and safely.