Process for Fire Restoration in Dallas

12/20/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Richardson is a trusted restorer for fire damage in Dallas, TX. We've restored thousands of properties since 1986.

Experiencing fire damage can be an overwhelming and emotional experience.  Even in cases of small fires that are contained quickly, the smoke produced can cause residual damage throughout an entire household.  In more serious and unfortunate cases, most or all of a property and its contents are damaged or destroyed.

SERVPRO of Richardson has restored thousands of properties in the 30+ years we’ve been servicing North Texas.  We are a full service fire restoration company ready to handle your restoration’s every need from emergency board ups to reconstruction.

While every fire damage is different, you can generally expect the following when you hire us as your fire damage restoration company:

Emergency Board Up and Roof Tarping

Did you know that some insurance companies deny at least part of a fire insurance claim if it finds that a property owner did not try to protect their property from secondary damage?  This can be avoided by hiring a contractor to do emergency board up and roof tarping.  

After fire damage, many properties experience damaged roofs, windows, doors, and even damaged outer walls.  This type of damage makes a building susceptible to secondary damage. Weather can come in and cause water damage and mold.  Easy access also makes it easy for theft to occur.

For these reasons, we recommend emergency fire damage services as soon as the fire department has left.  We can:

• Attach a weatherproof roof tarp.
• Board up damaged doors, windows, and outer walls.
• Send a security guard to protect your property 24 hours a day.

After your property is secure, we can inspect your property and begin fire damage cleanup and remediation services.

Water Damage Restoration

Water damage and fire damage usually go hand in hand when larger fires occur.  This is because the fire department is called, and their services require the use of water to put out the fire.  When the fire is put out, properties have experienced the catastrophe of smoke and fire, and they are also flooded.  

In order to prevent secondary damage such as mold, our crews will extract all standing water.

Fire Damage Inspection

If you are filing a homeowners insurance claim, your insurance company will want an estimate to put your property back to a preloss state.  To provide them with this information, we will inspect your property and take into account the following:

• The cost to clean salvageable clothing, textiles, and contents.
• The cost to replace permanently damaged clothing and contents.
• The cost to clean and deodorize all affected areas of the home including the air duct and HVAC system.
• The cost to rebuild any portion of the home that was permanently damaged.
• The cost of moving services and long-term storage, if needed.

Your insurance company may also provide you with a temporary living location while your property and its contents are being cleaned.  

Textile Cleaning: How to Clean Clothes After a House Fire

We are one of the few businesses in North Texas that is certified to clean and restore smoke and fire damaged clothing.  We are a certified Esporta Wash System operator.  Our office has the ability to pick up clothing and other items at your property at the time of inspection and transport them back to our cleaning facility for immediate processing.  Cleaning smoke and soot affected textiles quickly increase the probability of them being able to be fully deodorized and sanitized.

To read more about our clothing and textile cleaning process, please read How to Get Fire Smoke Out of Clothes.

Demolition

When fire damage permanently damages a portion of a property, our team will demolition the areas that cannot be cleaned and restored.  The demolition process is an essential first step to the cleanup process. All demolition items will be removed from the property and disposed of properly.

Moving and Storage Services

To salvage contents inside a property, we will pack all salvageable items and transport them to our cleaning facilities.  Before moving any contents, our technicians will inventory all items that are identifiable.

At our facility, all items are restored and then packaged for long-term storage.  Items are returned at either a temporary residence or once the property has been rebuilt.  

Items that are not able to be restored are documented and inventoried for your insurance adjuster.  Our office will provide a replacement cost estimate for each item for your insurance adjuster’s consideration.  

In the case of a devastating fire, many items are burnt beyond recognition.  We will do our best to identify all items, but this is not always possible. In this case, our technicians will not be able to provide documentation for your insurance adjuster for replacement.  We understand the frustration and, at times, heartbreak this can cause.

We recommend having a digital home inventory to make sure your insurance adjuster knows what items were in your property and cannot be recuperated.  This is the only way to provide proof of your belongings in the case of a devastating fire. If a homeowner cannot provide proof of an item existing in their home, it will usually not be replaced by insurance.  

Please read our article for instructions to prepare a home inventory: How to Build a Home Inventory of your Household Items.

House Fire Clean Up

After demolition, our technicians will begin cleaning the entire structure.  The structure includes anything in the property that is physically attached, such as walls, floors, and cabinets.  There are different types of smoke and soot that all need unique cleaning techniques. Our team of technicians is trained to use the appropriate SERVPRO proprietary chemicals to clean all types of smoke and soot that are present.  

The first step to structural cleaning is to check the air ducts and HVAC system.  If soot has settled in the air ducts, it's important to remove it all before turning the air back on.  After the air duct system has been cleaned, then the rest of the property’s structure can be cleaned.

Removing all smoke particles is essential to deodorization.

Smoke Odor Deodorization

The most important part of deodorization is to clean the entire structure and all contents inside.  When odor-causing particles continue to linger, our team will place a series of HEPA vacuums on the property.  When necessary, we may also fog the property or temporarily install an ozone machine.

Cleaning Items

The contents in your home are everything we can physically take such as clothing, textiles, appliances, electronics, furniture, toys, beds, etcetera.

Clothing and textiles are cleaned using the Esporta Wash System.  All other contents are cleaned according to the type of smoke and soot they have been affected by.  

Just like textiles, time is of the essence when cleaning contents.  Since soot is acidic, the longer an item sits in it, the less of a chance it has of being cleaned and restored.  This is why our technicians will move contents of a property as quickly as possible.

Reconstruction / Rebuild

After your property has been cleaned and deodorized, our reconstruction team gets to work.  They will determine what is needed to restore your property back to preloss condition.  Then, they work with your insurance adjuster to get this portion of your fire damage claim approved.  

Our office is able to restore any part of a home or business, no matter the size.

Fire Insurance Claim Process

We’ll do the majority of the heavy lifting to make sure your Dallas fire damage insurance claim is processed.  When you experience a fire damage, give your insurance company a call and receive a claim number. Tell them you have chosen SERVPRO of Richardson as your fire damage restoration company.  By law, your insurance company must honor your choice of disaster restoration company, regardless of what they or an adjuster suggest.

Then, give us your claim number and our office will contact your insurance provider to begin the claims process.  Throughout the project, the documentation our technicians obtain will be forwarded to your adjuster. By the end, our invoice will be sent to your adjuster, and we will work with them to collect payment.  

Our office works with all insurance companies.  If you have more insurance claim questions, see our About Insurance Claims FAQ article.

Do you have other questions?  We’re here for you! Contact us.

Trusted Leader in Fire Damage, Dallas TX

SERVPRO of Richardson is locally owned and operated leader in the restoration industry.  We have the expertise to handle any size fire and smoke damage restoration in Dallas Texas.  We have performed residential and commercial restoration work in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Garland, Corsicana, Midlothian, Ennis, and other North Texas communities for over 30 years.  We also have a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor License and offer free mold inspections.

Our crews are available dispatch for 24 hour emergencies every day of the year.  We can be reached 24/7 at (972) 690-1414.  Call us any time!

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