We are working on a job in Candler, NC where the gas logs put smoke through out the home. The inside of the home and all of the contents are being cleaned to remove the smoke and soot. I went to the job to check on the cleaning technicians and meet with the homeowners. The homeowners told me that they were very impressed with the technicians. They said that they were very polite and very hard workers!!!
This picture is a good example of what happens to 2×4′s when they are on fire. This example was coated with a sealer to hold down the odor while wating on the new trusses
This time of year at First Restoration, we are preparing for the winter which is our busiest season. The season usually begins with fire and smoke losses which are brought on by chimneys being used for the first time of the year that malfunction or puff backs from furnaces being cranked on for the winter. We are currently processing a substantial amount of contents from these sort of losses.
Next, our eyes turn to the cold temperatures of the winter as we anticipate that frozen pipes will eventually come causing burst pipes and sprinkler system malfunctions. When this happens, we can often predict it. These calls often come in a flurry within a few days of each other. In these situations, we plan to have as many people on call as possible and often times, all of our technicians are working long days and hours to help people with damage in their homes and to keep the businesses, churches, and offices of Asheville, Hendersonville, Brevard, and other surrounding areas functioning during this busy time of year.
Although we are busy with a number of current jobs, you will find our managers and office staff planning and preparing for the winter so that we can be ready to efficiently and effectively help with disasters in Western North Carolina.
You never know what the next phone call at First Restoration Services is going to be about. I talked to a gentleman asking me to come and give him a cleaning estimate on a RV that had caught on fire in Hendersonville North Carolina. The back of the refrigerator in the RV had caught on fire from a malfunction. So you never know what is going to cause that next disaster.
First Restoration Services is on another fire loss job. It is located in a community called Crabtree which is in Clyde, NC. The job consist of emergency services, a pack out, cleaning the structure and contents and repairs. The fire was contained to the hall bathroom but it produced a significant amount of smoke through out the main level of the home.
Before working in this business, I never feared the result of lightning. That has changed over the past year. This summer, we have had a lot of storms producing lighting in Asheville, Hendersonville, Brevard, and surrounding areas and this has caused many problems for local owners. Some home and business owners have smaller repercussions of lightning such as having electronics ruined or possibly trees struck by lightning that then have to be taken down and that is headache enough! But, some unlucky owners have found themselves with a fire resulting from this lighting. Many homeowners have received phone calls from local fire or police departments while they are away from home letting them know that their home has had a fire. Fortunately, they were not home to be at risk for personal harm because of the fire, but unfortunately, it allowed the fire to grow and smolder in the home because it was not quickly remedied.
Because of this newly acquired fear, it has made me more aware of what sort of things I can do to keep a potential fire from worsening. It is best to store flammables (paint, gas tanks, etc.) in an outdoor building if possible, so it does not further fuel a fire. If you are at home while a thunderstorm is close, avoid using the telephone, appliances, and water sources (such as the shower) to protect against personal harm.
First Restoration Services technicians are cleaning another smoke loss due to to a oven fire. The job consist of cleaning the smoke and the fire extinguisher residue left behind after putting the fire out. The job is located in Brevard, NC. Once again cleaning homes due to a fire or smoke loss is very detailed work so we will be on the job for a while to get it cleaned.
We take it for granted how much we really have in our homes. The next time you have a couple of minutes just walk room by room through your house. I just want you to slowly scan the rooms to see what all you do have in each room including the closets. Also make sure to open up the doors to the cabinets and vanities. Then after you’re done doing this, imagine having a fire in your home. Let’s say that it was a small fire but the smoke was throughout the entire home – even in the closets. This is where First Restoration Services comes in the picture. We are able to come in to clean the structure and the contents that you have throughout your home and also do an inventory of the non-salvageable contents for you to turn in to your insurance company. So, if you have been meaning to do a spring cleaning on your home it might not be a bad time to start because you never know when a disaster is going to happen. Especially this time of year because we are getting into the afternoon thunderstorms season which brings lightning into the picture. The above blog is a home that we are working on right now in Hendersonville, NC. The home was struck by lightning and the homeowners lost about80% – 90% of the contents in the home.
Contents keep coming in. We have a 10,000 sf warehouse seperate from our main office that is almost completely full from fire losses we are currently working on. I am always amazed at the amount of stuff people have in their homes.
I went to a job in Marshall, North Carolina where the gas logs malfunctioned which put smoke throughout the two story home. When the exhaust fans in the bathrooms were turned on the smoke went through the ducts to the outside of the home. The smoke got on the vinyl siding and soffit. I’m not sure if routine maintenance would have prevented this loss but once again you never know when a disaster is going to occur.
