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Fire Damage Clean-up Safety Considerations - Safety First!
Fire Damage during Clean-up and Restoration may still exist even when the fire is not properly extinguished. Do not endanger yourself or your family after a fire event. Keep children and pets away. Try to protect yourself and your family from stress, fatigue, and fire-related health hazards such as smoke and dust particles still in the air.
The following precautions will help neutralize the common fire-related hazards, insuring a safe recovery process:
- Determine Structural Stability
Determine before starting fire damage clean-up and restoration whether your property is structurally safe to enter. Before entering your home or business, take a look and try to detect hot spots that can flare up without warning.
Avoid damaged or fallen power poles or lines, and downed wires. Electric wires may shock people or cause further fires. Keep in mind that power poles may have lost stability due to fire damage.
Watch for ash pits and mark them for safety. Ash pits are holes full of hot ashes, created by burned trees and stumps.
If you cannot be certain the building is safe or if you have any question regarding personal safety, stay out and have a professional make an assessment. Due not enter buildings deemed unsafe by fire fighter personnel or fire marshals.
Check the roof and extinguish any sparks or embers to prevent them from re igniting.
If your property is determined unsafe and you cannot live in your home while repairs are being made, make arrangements for temporary alternate lodging. Keep records of all additional expenses incurred as a result. Most insurance policies will cover additional living expenses.
Use caution and exercise good judgment when re-entering a burned building.
- Check the Power Supply
Often before starting fire damage clean-up and restoration, the Fire Department will have utility services shut off or disconnected as a safety precaution and to prevent further damage to the structure and contents.
Do not turn on power until the building has been properly inspected by an electrical contractor. Utility companies will not restore your utilities until the repairs are approved, permitted inspected and completed. Make sure power is off before inspecting the damages or entering the building after a fire loss.
Do not attempt to reconnect utilities yourself!
- Turn Off the Gas Supply
Check for the odor of natural gas and shut off the gas supply lines. The main gas valve is usually located on the gas supply pipe, near the meter.
- Recheck the property
for smoke and sparks throughout the property several hours after a fire. Inspect every room including the attic and basement. Winds can blow burning embers anywhere. Keep checking you're the property for embers that could cause fires bfore starting fire damage clean-up and restoration.
- Wet Down Debris
Debris should be wetted down to minimize health impacts from breathing dust particles and to prevent possible re igniting of fire.
- TAKE PICTURES
A. Take pictures of all damaged contents that will be disposed of and begin making a list of destroyed contents
B. Do not remove or tamper with the area where the fire started your insurance company may need to do a cause and or gin report to determine where and how the fire started. Also take pictures of the area the fire started in as well as any areas that appear more burned then others.
- Use Protective Gear
Protect yourself before entering a burned building for fire damage clean-up and restoration by using the following protective gear such as:
• Leather gloves to protect your hands from sharp objects while inspecting the property
• Respirator with a particulate filter, N-95 respirator, or half-face respirator with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter
• Goggles or protective eyewear
• Disposable full body clothing or coveralls
• Hard hat
• Steel toed enclosed boots or shoes
Be sure to use disinfectants to wash hands from doing fire damage clean-up and restoration before eating.
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