Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration

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In this episode of Ask Annissa, Annissa Coy answers the following question: “I was wondering how you handle so many different specialty type things that we need to clean when it comes to contents restoration. For instance, I have a home that had a light fire and they have a six-foot, mounted bear that was in the living room.” 

Barry Rice, CSP, reviews successful methods for preventing hand injuries, one of the most common injuries in restoration work. He provides advice on choosing the right glove and glove training implementation.

In this episode of Ask Annissa, Annissa Coy responds to the following message: “My customer is asking me for a guarantee of my work and for the removal of odor. … I don’t know how to answer this.” 

What are the most important restoration tools and advancements for CAT, cleaning and disinfection, contents, fire and smoke, forensic, mold, and water damage work? We asked 14 industry experts to weigh in.

Kowalski Construction faced an extraordinary task in one of its recent projects. After a large fire ravaged one of Arizona’s largest malls, one-third of the shopping center was affected with heavy smoke and water damage. As one of the area’s only construction companies qualified to handle a job of this magnitude, they were asked to perform restoration services, but with a twist. Managers wanted to keep the mall open for business.

When buildings are damaged or destroyed by fire, it is not uncommon to see the surfaces of exposed concrete or masonry exhibit scarring, pitting or cratering. This phenomenon is known as spalling. The costs for extensive testing, and attempts at cleaning or restoration, can be very expensive.

When you think of charred wood, ash left behind after a wildfire or soot, you might think that they are little more than harmless byproducts of incomplete combustion. Images of people sifting through the ash in their street clothes to find valuables, or walking through a burned-out home in shorts and flip-flops, gives the impression that post-fire environments are relatively safe. However, this is far from the truth.

The oldest and most complex of the restoration disciplines, fire remediation work requires an understanding of how fire and combustion residues behave to effectively neutralize and return a structure to a livable state. Cole Stanton explores four fundamental chemistry subsets of fire damage and how each can impact restoration work.

In the fire restoration industry today, many practitioners use ozone generators as one of their primary means to neutralize smoke odor. Although ozone may be effective to some degree in neutralizing odors, many experts disagree on its effectiveness and whether the risks outweigh the rewards. So, what is ozone? And what are the associated health risks? Sean and Briana Scott examine the effects of ozone exposure and offer necessary precautions for working with ozone.