Fire Prevention Tips

6/24/2024 (Permalink)

• Install smoke alarms outside each sleeping area and every level of a home

• Check smoke alarms once per month an change the batteries at least once per year

• Plan an escape route and practice it at least twice per year

When our SERVPRO® franchise arrives on the scene following a fire, the first step is to ease the customer. The second step is to pre-test smoke to determine what type of fire has taken place. Knowing the types of smoke and their behavior patterns is crucial.

Are you aware of the different types of smoke?

• Wet Smoke – Plastics & Rubber: low heat, smoldering, pungent odor, sticky, smears.

• Dry Smoke – Paper & Wood: fast burning, high temperatures, heat rises, therefore the smoke rises.

• Protein Smoke – Produced by evaporation of material rather than from a fire: virtually invisible, discolors paints and varnishes, extreme pungent odor.

• Fuel Oil Soot – Furnace Puff Backs.

  Smoke and soot residue can damage carpet, upholstery and contents if not removed quickly and efficiently. In a fire-damaged structure with soot on the walls and other surfaces, cleaning and restoration is less disruptive and more cost-efficient than replacement. Replacement may also mean a longer disruption time than restoration. For a company waiting to open for business, this downtime can present an enormous hardship.

  Pre-testing helps to determine:

• The most effective cleaning and restoration processes

• Pre-existing conditions

• The extent of the loss

• Overall costs of the restoration process

• Replacements

• What is restorable and what must be replaced

If you need any help with fire clean up give SERVPRO of New Kent, Williamsburg, and Northen Neck a call at 804-966-1400  or toll free at 1-800-889-5002!

We are always here to help you in your time of need