Fire Damage Restoration: Dallas Apartments

1/8/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Richardson is a trusted leader in fire damage restoration in Dallas, TX. We have serviced Dallas Fort Worth since 1986.

Fire Restoration in Dallas

When a Dallas apartment fire happens, many units are usually affected.  While the apartment that originally caught fire will have the most fire damage, surrounding apartments will also need clean up.  For example, the apartments on either side of the originally affected apartment will usually have damaged adjoining walls. They will also have significant smoke damage.  Other surrounding apartments, even if they are three or four units away, may also need smoke damage restoration. Some apartments fire are bad enough to affect the roof of multiple units.  

SERVPRO of Richardson regularly responds to Fort Worth and Dallas fire damage in apartment complexes.  We’ve handled every size of fire damage from a small, smoke only stove fire, to a large fire that started and spread to dozens of units. 

Apartment Renter Considerations

Renter’s Insurance and Fire Remediation

When you sign your lease agreement, you may or may not have to get renter’s insurance.  Renter's insurance isn't legally mandatory, but some apartment complexes still require you to get it in case of an emergency.  If there is fire damage in your apartment complex, your renter's insurance can cover the cost of fire damage cleanup for everything inside of your unit.

Our franchise is a leader in Dallas restoration.  We have worked with many insurance companies to handle renter's insurance claims during disaster restoration situations.  You will be assigned an administrator from our office who will be tasked with working with your insurance adjuster to make sure that your claim is handled appropriately.  Because the apartment complex usually takes care of the unit itself, you as a renter will usually only be concerned with cleaning the smoke damage from your contents and clothing.

When to Call A Fire and Water Damage Restoration Company

As soon as you realize there is fire damage to your apartment unit, give us a call.  We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Your apartment complex nor your insurance company can tell you which fire damage restoration company to use.  It is solely your choice.

By law, no one can tell you who to use or punish you if you choose a different company other than the one they might recommend.

When you call us, we will go to your unit and inspect the type of fire damage your contents have sustained.  We will create an inventory of every item in your apartment and report it to your insurance company as either salvageable or unsalvageable.  We will also let your insurance adjuster what fire damage restoration services you need.

Salvageable Items

Salvageable items are those that can be cleaned and completely restored back to how they were before the fire.  These items are packed up and taken to our cleaning facilities where they are sanitized and deodorized of all smoke particles.  The items are then either stored until your apartment has been cleaned and you move back in, or they can be moved to wherever you are living.

Unsalvageable Items

Unsalvageable items are those that have been destroyed by the fire.  They cannot be cleaned and saved.  With these items, we take inventory and report them to your insurance company.  Your insurance adjuster will receive a list of all of the items that were permanently damaged in the fire along with a suggested price for a replacement.  Ultimately, it is up to your insurance adjuster to decide how to replace these items for you.

Sometimes items may be burnt beyond recognition and may not be replaced as it is impossible to tell what they once were.  For this reason, we strongly recommend you have a home inventory of your items before any disaster occurs.  A home inventory will provide proof of your items to your insurance adjuster.  

How to Get Smoke Damage Out of Clothes

It's understandable that one of the first things that someone needs after fire damage is clothing.  Regular washing machines do not take the fire smoke odor out of clothes.  In fact, some clothing can be permanently damaged when they are put into a regular washing machine after a fire smoke damage.

It's best to trust professional textile cleaners to wash your fire and smoke damaged clothes.  One of the first things that our office will do when we arrive is pack up your entire wardrobe.  In a matter of fewer than two days, we can wash and remove fire smoke odor from 100 pounds of your clothing and return it to you immediately.  We know you need a wardrobe to live from while the rest of your unit is being restored, and we are dedicated to providing you with one.

We are one of the few Texas disaster restoration businesses that are certified by the Esporta Wash System. This makes us uniquely qualified to sanitize and remove smoke odor from all types of clothing and textiles, including blankets, shoes, stuffed animals, and much else.

It's important to understand that taking fire smoke and soot affected items to a traditional dry cleaner may not get your items clean.  

Our Esporta Wash System uses natural detergents to clean your items with water using the science behind hydraulic pressure.  The result is a sanitized item with a near neutral pH that is safe and comfortable to wear again. Our office has one of the highest rates of clothing fire smoke odor restoration with over 85% success rate.  To learn more about our cleaning process, please read our article.

Moving Services

In order for the apartment unit to be cleaned, everything that is inside of it usually has to be taken out.  All of your items will be packed and moved to our cleaning facility where they will have all smoke and soot cleaned away and deodorized.  Your items can either be stored in our long-term storage facility or they can be dropped off at your new living quarters.

Temporary and Long-Term Storage

SERVPRO Richardson has its own storage for our customers.  We have the capability to store items of all sizes for a short-term or long-term period.  What our customers need items back, we simply move them to their new living location.

Commercial Fire Damage Restoration

Business disruption is extremely expensive, and we understand that you need to get your apartment units cleaned and running again.  Our goal is to make sure that all of your units are clean and safe again for your renters so they can move back in.

While your renters will each have their own and renter’s insurance company handling their portion of their claims, we will also work with you and your insurance company to make sure that your claim is approved and all of your units are clean and reconstructed as soon as possible.

Commercial Property Insurance

We work with all insurance companies and adjusters.  We have processed thousands of insurance claims over our 30 years of experience, and we know exactly how to process apartment complex fire damages.  As soon as you call your insurance company and get your claim number, give our office a call so that our administrators can get in contact with your insurance adjuster to start processing your claim immediately.

By law, your insurance company cannot tell you which fire damage restoration company to use.  It is your choice. When you choose to work with SERVPRO Richardson as your fire damage restoration company, trust that you have one of the most experienced and trusted leaders and fire damage restoration working for you.

Emergency Roof Tarping

One of the first things that you are responsible for as an apartment complex owner is to install temporary protective measures to prevent secondary damage.  Emergency fire damage services such as roof tarping and board-ups are exactly this.  Secondary damage is any damage that happens after the fire that could have been prevented if emergency measures were taken.  If your insurance company finds that you did not take proper care of your property after fire damage, it has the ability to deny your claim.  This is why emergency services are so important after fire damage.

When a roof is damaged during a fire, it has to be covered with weatherproof tarping.  Our technicians will install the temporary tarp to make sure that precipitation does not enter the unit and cause secondary damage such as water damage or mold growth.

After the temporary roof tarping is installed, we will take roof measurements and turn in an estimate to your insurance company so that we can have a permanent roof replacement.

Emergency Board up

Just like emergency roof tarping, fire damage will also likely need emergency board up services.  This is when we install boards on damaged doors, windows, and outer walls.  This is important to prevent weather from coming inside of the building and causing secondary damage.  It also tells possible thieves that the property is being taken care of.  It's an unfortunate fact that theft often occurs when a fire damaged property is not boarded up.

If weather conditions prevent us from safely boarding up or tarping your apartment complex, we will hire a live security guard to stand watch for 24 hours a day until our technicians can safely work.

Apartment Fire Damage Cleanup

It is very likely that your renters' contents will all have to be removed from the unit for us to be able to properly clean it.  We will work with your renter directly and their renter's insurance company to pay for the moving and cleaning of their items to our cleaning facility.  Even though your renters may all have different renters insurance companies, our office will handle all of them individually.

We will remove the contents from all apartments as fast as possible so that we can get the cleanup of your units started quickly.

There are different types of smoke and soot depending on what items were burned during the fire.  Every type of smoke needs a different type of cleaning method.  Our technicians are experienced and will identify the type of smoke and clean it properly.  If the apartment units have carpeting, we will perform carpet restoration services at this time as well.

If any part of the unit is permanently damaged, our technicians will demolition that portion of the unit and prepare it for reconstruction.

Fire Smoke Odor Removal

Smoke damage restoration is necessary.  You know your apartment is cleaned of all smoke and soot when you were able to walk in and not recognize that there was ever a fire inside.  Fire smoke odor removal and deodorization after fire damage are important, and the most important reason is the health of the occupant.

Our office uses HEPA vacuum filtration to make sure that all smoke particles are removed from the air.  Along with fire damage cleanup, we may also use other deodorant removal techniques such as fogging and ozone to ensure that all fire smoke odor is removed.

Reconstruction

Once the apartment unit has been thoroughly cleaned and deodorized, it is time for the apartment to be put back together.  Any part of the unit that was permanently burned will now be replaced by a reconstruction team.  The result is an apartment that looked the same as it was before the fire occurred.

Leader in Fire Restoration: Dallas, TX

SERVPRO of Richardson is a trusted leader in the fire damage Dallas industry.  We are based out of Dallas, TX, and we have helped clean up homes and businesses in our hometown for over 30 years.  We know how to properly clean and restore all properties, and we have performed residential and commercial restoration in Dallas, Lewisville, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Allen, Ennis, and Plano, TX.  We also have a Texas Mold Remediation Contractor License and offer free mold inspections in all DFW.  You can trust us to handle all your residential and commercial restoration and cleaning services.

Our crews are available dispatch for 24 hour emergencies every day of the year. We can be reached 24/7 at (972) 986-7677.  Call us any time!

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