In mid-December of 2020, our clients experienced an electrical fire in their home located in Tampa, Florida. The fire damaged most of their garage including their floor, ceiling, and drywall, leaving everything severely smoke-stained.
House fires are stressful and our clients didn’t know where to start with the cleanup. They decided to call in professionals because cleaning up fire damage on their own would have been very dangerous. When we deal with carcinogens, we have protective respirators and equipment to keep everyone safe.
After our mitigation specialists were finished with the job, the garage looked like nothing had ever happened. Below is the detailed process that we took to finish this cleanup the day after we received the call.
Our client’s garage went from fire-damaged to brand new in two days
Our mitigation specialists were standing in our client’s garage the same day that we got the call about the project. We pride ourselves on great customer service and we make sure to act fast when our clients are dealing with dangerous carcinogenic material; we didn’t want them exposed for longer than they needed to be.
We began work right away and cleared out the debris to have a better idea of the extent of the fire and smoke damage. We ended up needing to remove the ceiling, the walls, and all of the insulation. After gutting the garage and cleaning off the floor, we came back on day two to remove the harmful pathogens and lingering smell of smoke.
We cleared out harmful chemicals using a negative air machine and a HEPA vacuum
Fire and smoke damage has lasting negative impacts such as a chemical build-up and increased levels of carbon monoxide. We had to be sure that we cleared out the harmful pathogens before our clients moved back into their home.
The two tactics we used to establish a safer environment for our clients were:
- A negative air machine - this created high pressure inside of the garage, forcing harmful pathogens to escape to where there was lower pressure, meaning outside and away from the home.
- A HEPA vacuum - HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air (filter) and it is designed to remove particles that are 0.3 microns in size. Our HEPA vacuum sucked up these harmful particles and pushed them through a fine mesh filter, trapping them and allowing our clients to breathe easier in their garage.
We removed the smell of smoke using a fire sponge and paint
Smoke particles are difficult to remove after they have attached themselves to your walls and surfaces. This leaves a long-lasting smell that won’t go away without a little bit of elbow grease. We significantly decreased the smell of smoke in their garage using:
- Fire sponges - we ran these over the walls and floor to remove any soot or lasting particles. Fire sponges make it easy to clean up fire damage with little to no water.
- Odor-removing paint - this paint is made to remove strong odors, making it a popular option for smoke-covered walls. After using this in our client’s garage, the smell of smoke was significantly reduced.
Call our professionals for fire and smoke damage mitigation
Fire and smoke damage is no joke; it can be devastating and harmful to you and your family. That is why our specialists pride themselves on great customer service and fast turnaround. We want to be sure that you feel taken care of after such a big incident.
If you have experienced fire and smoke damage in Plant City, Lakeland, Winter Haven, or any nearby area in Central Florida, give our mitigation professionals a call and visit our fire damage repair page to find out how we can help.
