Why Fire Damage Doesn’t Stop When the Fire Is Out

Fire damage doesn’t end when the flames go out. The process of fire damage restoration is intricate and difficult to master. Fire damage and damage linked to the fire continue to worsen even after the fire is put out. There are four main ways that fire damage continues to wreak havoc without an open flame. Structural damage, odor, soot, and water damage all get worse with time.

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Soot

First, it’s important to clean ash and soot as soon as possible, after putting out a fire. Soot stains and smells. It can be tracked through a home or travel on breezes. A fire in one corner of the room will spread hard-to-clean soot into every corner, if it’s left by itself. Quick clean-up is key to preventing soot from spreading and causing more damage to carpets, walls, and furniture.

Fire damage can cause structural issues

Fire damage can result in major repairs needed to the structure of the building. Superficial repairs like replacing damaged drywall can happen quickly. Structural repairs will take a significant amount of time longer. Fire damage that ate into load bearing walls or roof supports will add a lot of time and money to the restoration bill. The building may be uninhabitable for the period of the repairs. That certainly amounts to fire damage continuing after the fire is out!

Water and chemical cleanup

Fires don’t go out on their own. Cleaning up the water or chemicals used to douse the flames requires careful work by a restoration team. Chemical clean up is a dangerous process. Cleaning up flame retardant chemicals requires specific safety gear. This adds time and money to the restoration bill.

Water damage complicates fire damage. Water damage comes with its own subset of damage. Problems with mold, more structural damage, and bacterial growth can all arise when water is present. The longer that water, chemical fire retardant, or a mixture of the two sits, the more damage they will do to the building. Where water damage is the direct consequence of fire damage, it shows that even putting out the flames can lead to more problems for your home.

Odor control

Fires cause a lot of issues with air quality and smell inside the home. Smoke carries foul scents like chemical burns, and melting plastic, into the air. This can coat the walls, ceilings, and furniture within rooms. The smell can be at most dangerous and aggravating to lungs and sinuses. Even at its mildest form, the odor from fire damage is unpleasant. Cleaning odor that has set into paint and fabrics is a difficult process. When left unchecked, it results in more things needing to be replaced.  A quick response can mean more cleaning instead of replacing items and furniture.

Fire damage doesn’t stop right when the fire goes out. Odor control, water damage, flame retardant chemical damage, soot, and structural damage will all outlast the flame. Though the fire fight is over, the damage is just beginning. Putting the fire out is only the very start of the restoration process.