Cleaning Up After A Fire In Your Branford Business

9/21/2020 (Permalink)

This local laundromat in Branford was closed for an extended period while SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline provided fire restoration services.

When a fire strikes your business, the effects can be detrimental and overwhelming to deal with. You likely have to close for an extended period of time for a fire damage restoration company to come in and clean the structure from top to bottom and make any needed repairs. SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline knows that every day your business is closed is a day of lost productivity and revenue - we've worked hard to restore other businesses in the area after a fire "Like it never even happened."

TV Fire in Branford Laundromat

In this local laundromat a TV caught on fire and required the help of the fire department to put it out, causing widespread damages to the business. 

Fire Damages

As seen in the photo above, soot and smoke stained all surfaces in the storefront. Every washer, dryer, fan, countertop, and even ceilings and walls were affected. The floor was covered with black debris and soot as well. A strong odor of fire and smoke also remained in the laundromat long after the fire was put out. A few windows in the storefront were also broken from the heat of the fire and the firefighting efforts. 

Water Damages

When you hear ‘fire’ you don’t always think about water damage too. But, this laundromat also suffered water damage from the fire department extinguishing the TV fire. Roughly a half inch of standing water was in certain areas of the storefront, closer to the source of the fire. 

Fire Cleanup Process

Emergency Contact

This business owner acted fast after his fire and contacted his business owners insurance before the flames even went out. From there, his insurance company referred SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline to handle all cleanup and restoration of the laundromat. 

Inspection and Fire Damage Assessment

Immediately after being contacted, SERVPRO dispatched a Project Manager to inspect and assess damages from the fire. The Project Manager worked with local authorities to be able to see what happened inside the business, what the source was, and when he could have our crews out to begin cleaning. 

Immediate Board-Up and Roof Tarp Service (if needed)

This step isn’t always needed for a smaller fire, but in this case the laundromat did need a board up of 2 windows in the front of the store. Many times, windows will be broken by the Fire Department or shatter on their own from the heat of the fire. Securing your property is highly important after a fire to ensure there will not be additional damages and to keep pests out.

Water Removal and Drying (if water damage is present)

Before crews can begin cleaning and soot, smoke, or structural damages, they must remove all water and begin the drying process in the business. Tackling water damage first is important to help ensure that the structure doesn’t begin to decay from water damage and to prevent the growth of mold. In this business, crews had to extract standing water from the firefighting efforts and set up fans and dehumidifiers to ensure it properly dried out. 

Removal of Smoke and Soot from All Surfaces

Once water damage was under control, the crews moved on to removing any soot and smoke from all surfaces. That included washing machines, dryers, fans, counters, shelves, clothing, office areas, walls, floors, ceilings and more. This is accomplished mostly by using chem sponges to remove soot and smoke residues. This process is long and must be completed by hand, but will return any business to pre-fire conditions.

Cleaning and Repair

Other than removing soot and smoke stains, the crews also removed any damaged or non salvageable materials from the laundromat. This included the original TV and some contents that were close to the source of the fire. 

Crews also worked to ensure that there would be no lingering smoke smell once the cleaning & repairs were completed. They set up air scrubbers, ozone machines, and cleaned the duct system to remove all smoke particles from the air and prevent any from getting kicked up again. 

Restoration

In the final step of fire damage restoration, crews were sure to handle small touches to ensure this laundromat was restored to pre-damage conditions. All ceiling tiles were replaced that needed to be, and all contents were returned to their original placements at the end of the job. 

Fire in Your Business? Call SERVPRO for Immediate Service - 800-734-3213

SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline is a 24/7 damage restoration service specializing in fire, water, mold and COVID-19. Whatever the damage, we will work hard to make it “Like it never even happened.”