Emergency Fire Damage Restoration Services for Businesses
Whether large and fast-moving or slow and smoldering, fires can cause extensive damage to commercial properties. A fire that grows quickly can literally consume the entire building and all its contents. A smoldering fire, though, can create smoke that contaminates the entire building. Although the structure may be intact, fire damage restoration may require removing much of the contaminated material and contents. The contents may be restorable, which is a fraction of the cost of replacement, but it is still expensive and time-consuming. In addition, any time a fire requires a response from the fire department or triggers a fire suppression system, there may be extensive water damage at your building.
Looking at the fire-damaged contents of your business, you may not know what to do next, but that’s easy: contact FLEET Response and our local company will arrive on the scene to plan fire damage restoration. With 24/7 availability, our local company will arrive rapidly on the scene to inspect the site. The damage may not be as bad as it seems, and their trained eyes will see what really needs to be done to get you back in business.
Your business may be your hope, your dreams, and your identity, and it can be heart-breaking to see it all go up in flames. However, this is probably not the first challenge you’ve had to overcome to achieve your dream, and it likely won’t be the last, either. It’s another test of your commitment and will, and you will respond as you have in the past: doing what’s necessary to succeed.
FLEET Response’s local companies are here to help you in this challenging time. They are all fully licensed, certified, and insured to perform every phase of fire and smoke damage restoration work. This includes inspections, demolition, reconstruction, cleaning, and deodorization, as well as the ability to restore the contents of your building if you want.
Fire Damage Repair Services We Provide
In the wake of a fire, you will have your hands full with the business side of things. You don’t need to be juggling and managing different professionals to try to restore your property. Instead, work with a FLEET Response local company who can provide a comprehensive suite of fire restoration services, including:
- Emergency board-up and tarp coverage
- Water removal and water damage restoration
- Carpet and other flooring removal
- Cleaning and deodorization
- Content pack-out and restoration
- Long-term content storage
- Structural repairs up to and including full reconstruction of the property
When you work with FLEET Response’s local companies, you will have just one point of contact for the entire restoration process. Even better, they can work directly with your insurance company to document the damage and repairs, making it easier for you to focus your attention where it’s needed.
Common Causes of Commercial Fires
Understanding the causes of commercial fires can help you prevent fires and plan for the future if your commercial property caught fire. The most common causes of commercial fires may be surprising, too. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), here are the five most common causes of fires in commercial properties:
- Cooking equipment – While you might not think that cooking is a major contributor to fires on commercial properties, it is the leading cause in most commercial properties. It’s not just restaurants, either. Cooking equipment is the most common cause of fires in healthcare facilities, schools, and even offices. The only exception is industrial and manufacturing properties.
- Heating equipment – In most parts of the country, heating is required to maintain comfort for at least part of the year. Heating equipment, including furnaces, boilers, radiators, and space heaters, can cause fires when they get overheated or are located too close to combustible materials.
- Electrical and lighting equipment – Electrical wiring is another common cause of fire in all commercial properties. Poor or inadequate wiring can overheat, and arcing where there is inadequate insulation can create an intense heat source. This is the most common cause of fires in industrial properties, where heavy equipment with high power demands can create dangerous electrical conditions if not properly wired and maintained. Any equipment that overheats regularly or dangerously should be shut down. If you can’t afford to shut it down, schedule it for maintenance and monitor it carefully.
- Smoking materials – Smoking encourages people to bring fire into settings that are vulnerable to catching and spreading. As the popularity of smoking has decreased, and smoking areas have been moved outside away from flammable materials, smoking fires have decreased, but they remain a significant contributor to commercial fires.
- Intentional fires – When we think of intentional fires, we often use the label “arson,” but not all intentional fires are considered arson. To be arson, a fire must be started with criminal, malicious intent. This type of fire is the second most common in schools, and it’s also common in office properties, but less common in other settings.
Many of the most damaging fires occur when no-one is on the property, and it’s important to make fire prevention part of the daily shut-down routine at your business. Make sure equipment that can trigger fires is shut down, potentially even disconnected, and is properly spaced from any flammable materials.
What to Do After a Fire
Of course, it’s important to contact the fire department as soon as you realize there’s a dangerous fire. Then you need to make sure everyone is safe, following the evacuation procedures for your building. If anyone was seriously injured by the fire or the evacuation, use 9-1-1 to request emergency medical assistance.
With these urgent concerns out of the way, follow these steps:
- Stay off the property – Fire dangers can persist long after the fire is extinguished. The structure may be dangerously weakened. There may be toxic fumes, electrical hazards, sharp metal debris, and more. Don’t re-enter the property until cleared to do so by a qualified expert, such as the fire department or a certified restoration expert. This is where having an Emergency Readiness Plan with one of our local companies can come in handy – it includes secure remote storage for your business’ important documents.
- Contact your insurance company – Your insurance company wants to be informed as soon as possible after any disaster. Communicating with them quickly improves the odds that your claim will be honored. Most of the time, fire damage is covered by insurance. This will include not only the cost of fire damage restoration, but may also include some additional costs such as expenses related to maintaining business continuity during restoration. Check your policy to understand the terms of your coverage.
- Contact a fire damage restoration company – After insurance, your next call should be to a fire damage restoration company. FLEET Response’s local companies provide 24/7 emergency response services so they can get onsite and start the restoration process quickly with an initial inspection. Arriving onsite quickly lets them evaluate the safety of the property and recommend how to secure it, including board-up and tarping of damaged property.
- Recover valuable possessions – Once the site is declared reasonably safe, you can re-enter it to collect your valuable possessions. If the safety is only marginal, don’t enter unless accompanied by a restoration professional or other expert. If the safety of the property is high, you can let employees enter to collect their personal belongings. Otherwise, it’s best to limit the number of people entering, so you can survey people and collect belongings for them.
Addressing Smoke and Soot Damage
Although fire causes highly visible and dramatic damage to the property, smoke and soot also contribute significantly to the overall property damage. Even with a relatively small fire, airborne soot and smoke residue can travel throughout the building. The residue will settle on all surfaces: walls, shelves, desks, carpets, and more.
Smoke fumes will enter the ducts where it can create a lingering smell. Any permeable item will absorb fumes, including furniture and carpeting. In addition, smoke can penetrate your drywall and ceiling tiles, where it can soak into the insulation, making it very difficult to eliminate.
Many companies will advertise clean-up services after a fire, but because of these challenges you need to make sure the company you work with has the skills, tools, and experience to deal with the full range of smoke damage. FLEET Restoration’s local companies are fully trained, licensed, and insured. They have the professional equipment necessary to thoroughly eliminate smoke odors from your business.
Our Fire Damage Restoration Process
At FLEET Response, we have worked with our local companies to establish a thorough fire damage restoration process based on industry best practices. Their expert teams know the importance of these steps, and make sure the entire process is diligently followed every time.
The initial steps of fire damage restoration are very important:
- Fire damage inspection – When the expert team from our local company arrives at your property, they will evaluate the extent and severity of the fire and smoke damage. This allows them to form a customized restoration plan. You’ll get accurate estimates about the cost and timetable for restoration. With that information, you can immediately contact stakeholders, such as investors, suppliers, vendors, customers, and employees.
- Emergency fire board-up – A fire may leave your property exposed to the elements, animals, vandals, and thieves. It’s important to secure the property before restoration work starts to avoid additional damage and/or loss. Our local companies have experts on their teams who can quickly and effectively seal the property for its protection.
- Water extraction and removal – When firefighters or fire suppression systems engage a fire, they may use water to extinguish the flames. The result can be a large amount of water in your already fire-damaged property. It’s important to get this water out quickly to avoid problems like mold, rot, and the creation of a toxic environment.
- Fire damage cleanup – While the water is being removed, our local company’s team will remove damaged property and structural components, like drywall and furniture. If there are items that can be salvaged and/or restored, the team will remove these items, taking them offsite for cleaning, restoration, and/or storage.
- Smoke deodorization – Unpleasant odors from smoke and toxic fumes can penetrate all porous items in the building. Our local companies have the ability to remove these odors. This process may start before reconstruction begins and may continue until after it’s complete.
Next, the process will move on to restoring and/or rebuilding the property.
Fire Damage Repairs and Reconstruction
After the initial steps in the restoration process, our local companies will begin the more challenging process of repairing and rebuilding the commercial property. Of course, fire damage can cause highly visible damage to a structure. Wooden studs might be burned up, and metal structures can be melted by the hottest fires. However, you can’t always tell the full extent of structural damage. Even if not burned, heated wood studs can lose their strength, becoming brittle and weak. Nor are metal studs immune. When heated, the property of metals can change, making them softer and weaker.
Our local companies’ restoration experts understand these issues, and they will take them into account when deciding whether to leave structures in place or tear them down and rebuild. They have the full expertise to handle any level of restoration and reconstruction. From detailed finishing work to full-scale reconstruction, you can count on them to handle it all. With just one point of contact for the complex restoration work, you can have more spare time to deal with getting your business back on track.
