Have you toasted your home to a crisp and found yourself swamped in repair bills, structural ruins, and smoke damage?
Never to fear, we will guide you through to the light at the end of the renovation tunnel and look at some prevention and safety measures to keep your family out of harm's way.
Only You Can Prevent House Fires
Let us begin at the root of the problem- ourselves. Statistics blames majority of indoor and outdoor fires on humanity.
An astounding 90 percent of wild fires in the United States are caused by humans, according to the U.S. Department of Interior, and 2017 left us with a whopping 23 billion dollars in property damage from fires.
When dealing with fire damage, we must first increase awareness and address the hazards causing indoor and outdoor fires. So where is all this fire coming from?
Outdoor fires begin mainly from people neglecting campfires, burning debris, failing to extinguish cigarettes, downing power lines, and committing intentional arson. While some of these criteria might apply more to wilderness loving folks and pyromaniacs, EVERYONE has the potential risk of causing a fire from within the home.
What are some of the most frequent causes of an indoor fire?
Cooking equipment is the number one leading cause of home structure fires and injuries caused from home fires. So be sure and turn your ovens off, people! Please be cautious when cooking with heavy amounts of oil, and always have an extinguisher on hand. Never put water on a grease fire! It will only cause the grease to splash and the fire to spread!
The leading cause of death in civilian home fires is smoking. Always fully extinguish cigarettes and dispose of them properly. Consider doing everyone a favor by limiting the smoking to outside.
Heating equipment is the second most common cause of death in house fire fatalities. Check your space heaters for safety features, and consider turning them off while unattended or no one is home.
No matter what, never go back inside of the home while it is on fire!
Recover & Restore
When a house fire does occur, the restoration process can be overwhelming. Time is of the essence so as to avoid further issues from smoke damage. Not to mention, if the firefighters have helped, there can be a susceptible amount of water damage involved.
Contact Help
Contact a fire damage restoration company on their emergency services line! They can arrive on scene within a couple of hours and begin the process for this time sensitive matter.
Assess the Damages
The next thing to do is assess the amount of damages throughout the house. This means taking into account the amount of smoke and soot throughout the home, structural heat damage, and water damage from extinguishing the fire.
This is a task for the fire damage restoration company. They will be able to properly assess the damages and provide photos and documentation to your insurance company to ensure you will receive the proper reimbursement/repairs.
Remove Water & Smoke
Furniture that is salvaged should be immediately aired out, and any exposed part of the home should be covered to prevent further damages from weather while being inspected for repair.
The restoration company can extract all water and moisture from the house via dehumidifiers along with using specialized chemicals and cleaning methods to properly remove the smoke damage.
Restore to Pre-loss Condition
This often means removing carpeting and upholstered furniture that is cheaper to replace than clean, and scraping the walls before painting and refinishing.
The restoration company can then begin to actually restore and repair the home to pre-loss condition. This means new instillations and no more charred look or odor!
What Happens If I Don't Have Insurance?
In the event of a fire without help from insurance to cover the damages, there are still resources you can reach out to! Every state and situation varies, but reaching out to your local Red Cross can result in a temporary place to stay and some funding to help with food and necessities. The Salvation Army is another great resource for replacing groceries, furniture, and clothing items for families in need. There are also resources and funding programs available from various fire departments and fire victim programs. Research which programs are available to help in your area, and reach out to them with a copy of the fire report.
Think back on the process of your home fire. Was it preventable? What could you do to ensure this never happens again? How could you help prevent others from making this same mistake?
When you are in need of a fire and smoke damage restoration company in the South of Mississippi, contact T. Ryals Emergency Restoration at (601)606-4183. No disaster is too big or too small, so don’t stress! We clean up the mess!
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