RESIDENTIAL FIRE & SMOKE DAMAGE CLEANUP SERVICES
Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Company in Harlingen, TX
Seeing your home and personal belongings consumed by fire can be one of the most severe losses a homeowner can experience. After such a devastating loss, reassurance comes from having clear guidance and support in salvaging as much as possible from fire and smoke damage.
Licensed & Insured
At ServiceMaster by Empire, our technicians are more than talented professionals; they’re caring people ready to get you back in your home as quickly as possible. And we'll keep you informed at every step of the way. With our comprehensive range of fire damage services—including soot, smoke, and odor removal—we have you covered.
For reliable fire & smoke damage restoration in Harlingen, TX, call(956) 474-3342 or contact us online today.
What is the Fire Triangle?
The Fire Triangle is a concept for understanding fire dynamics and how to prevent or extinguish a blaze. It explains that three elements are necessary for a fire to start and spread: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Heat is required to create a chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen.
A fire will not burn or spread if any of these elements are removed or reduced. Understanding the fire triangle can help prevent accidental fires and protect property and lives.
Restoring Your Home After Any Kind of Fire
At ServiceMaster Restoration by Empire, we can help restore your home after the most common types of fires and more:
- Protein Fire: Food from the oven or stove has burned, leaving strong, burnt food odors and smoke residue on contents and surfaces.
- Complex Fire: Multiple natural and synthetic items inside your home have burned, causing synthetic smoke odors and leaving behind black smoke residue on contents and surfaces. Here, emergency corrosion mitigation is needed to protect at-risk surfaces.
- Natural Fire: Trees, shrubs, and bushes have burned; smoke has penetrated the structure from the outside. This means that both smoke residue and odor are present.
- Furnace Malfunction: Heating appliances like oil-fired furnaces have malfunctioned and caused smoke to be distributed throughout the property.
Fire damage goes beyond burning items
- Ash and smoke can continue to cause damage and corrosion to materials left behind.
- Odors from smoke will stay in a room or a home long after the fire and continue to cause problems if they are not removed.
- In a few minutes, walls and other surfaces can become discolored.
- In a few hours, finishes on kitchen appliances turn yellow.
- Smoke causes etching in glass after just a short time, and smoke will tarnish metal quickly.
If a fire has caused extensive damage to the structure of your home, call (956) 474-3342 or reach out online to schedule an appointment with a fire damage repair expert near you.
How to Clean Fire Smoke Off Walls
Don’t try to do it yourself!
After a fire, you may be tempted to try cleaning soot and smoke residue off your walls. It is not recommended to do so on your own. The best way to clean smoke damage is to leave it to the professionals.
The residue left behind after a fire is a biohazard and can cause health problems if it is not taken care of correctly and thoroughly. This is part of the reason why you should not attempt to clean up your home on your own after a fire. In addition, you may cause more damage. Only smoke damage cleanup experts with the right training and tools can ensure that the job is done properly.
Quick tips for when you’re in the middle of a loss
- If the temperature is above 60 degrees, air out the house to reduce smoke odor.
- Clean laminate surfaces as well as chrome, porcelain and aluminum fixtures to prevent permanent tarnishing or etching.
- Change the air filter on your furnace if it uses forced hot air.
- Tape damp cheesecloth over returns and supply registers to capture loose soot in the air.
- Discard any open food packages.
- If the electricity is off, clean out the refrigerator and leave doors propped open.
- Send clothing with heavy smoke damage to a qualified restoration dry cleaner.
What NOT to do:
- Do not touch anything with your bare hands. Oil from your hands can permeate upholstery, walls, and woodwork, causing additional damage.
- Do not wash walls. Incorrect cleaning could compound the soot residue.
- Do not attempt to clean carpets or upholstered furniture.
- Do not use electrical appliances until having them checked.
- Do not use ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet.
About Our Professional Fire and Smoke Restoration Process
Not all fire damage is the same. Here at ServiceMaster Restoration by Empire, we know how to handle all kinds of fire and smoke damage.
Our thorough fire restoration process includes:
- Identifying the source to determine the type of fire that occurred
- Evaluating the areas that are wet as a result of firefighting that may need treatment
- Remediating water damage (if necessary)
- Evaluating sensitive materials that may be damaged as a result of smoke & soot particles
- Removing contents—including the collection of immediate items you may need for the next seven days, such as clothing, prescriptions, toys, school books, business needs, etc.
- Packing out remaining contents for cleaning & storage
- Performing structural restoration, including removal of charred contents that may seal in smoke, such as insulation & burned wood
- Evaluating carpets & floor coverings that may need to be removed
- Inspecting the framing of the house & subfloors for safety
- Treating affected surfaces for smoke odors
- Sealing to prevent odors from leaking back into the house
- Cleaning, eliminating odors & deodorizing surfaces to pre-loss condition
- Returning items to the original location & helping to restore your normal life
In short, we will do whatever we can to get your home back to what it was before the fire. We'll even help you through the insurance process.
Remove as much of the work load as possible by hiring our Harlingen fire restoration company - get started by calling (956) 474-3342 or contact us online!
