Those involved in resolving insurance claims and who provide property restoration and remediation services have no lack of interesting stories to tell. Each fire or flood brings unique challenges and experiences. Every family has their own dynamic and personal items can have deep emotional attachments.

Odor removal is one of the more subjective parts of restoration and remediation work. What one person smells, another may not. What is offensive-smelling to one person, may smell sweet as roses to someone else (anyone want to talk about the smell of diesel fumes?!). 

It was another warm and windy night in Southern California. As with any strong East wind event, we anticipated hearing about a small brush fire or two in the morning, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear about the one that kicked up about 20 miles away.

Like the boy that cried wolf, some fire professionals have been hearing about the first-ever internationally accredited fire restoration standard for a long time – or what feels like a long time – and a yeah, call me when it’s done reaction is understandable. Yet it seems a larger group, a majority of fire damage contractors, aren’t even aware development is underway.

Odor removal in general can be one of the trickier elements to any restoration project. When it comes to large loss, removing the smoke odor (for example) from a warehouse the size of Ikea is no easy feat. It takes a knowledgeable restoration company and the right equipment to get the job done the right way, so there is no residual odor – and the odor doesn’t return later.

Picture this. The area of California that was scorched from this fall’s massive wildfires is three times the size of Washington D.C. In just one 12 hour period, the fires devastated 20,000 acres of land … and at one point was advancing at the rate of a football field every three seconds.

Let me set the scene for you. The home in this case study is nestled atop 35 acres of gentle, rolling hills in mid-Missouri. It was built of native cut lumber, harvested from the property, which had not been sealed.