1. Prevent Further Damage
After sustaining critical fire damage, your home is not the same place it was before. Fire damage doesn’t simply stop after the flames are extinguished. You may find that parts of the drywall, ceiling, or roof are missing, windows are broken, and there is debris everywhere.
Before beginning our work, ServiceMaster EMT will take all necessary steps to protect the health and safety of your family and our team, immediately inspecting all areas and items deemed unsafe. Our restoration contractors will then work to prevent your building structure from sustaining further damage, taking all precautions before starting the fire damage cleanup process.
2. Secure the Building Structure with Board Up and Tarping Services
In the midst of extinguishing the flames, the fire department may have had to break down the door and windows. But ServiceMaster EMT will take steps to board up all doors and windows, including the garage door to prevent additional damage from animals, rain, and vandals. If needed, we will also tarp over the roof to prevent any water damage from the rain and other elements. These steps are only temporary to secure the building structure until the fire damage repairs take place.
3. Fire Damage Odor Source Removal
Odors can be tough to remove, but those originating from fires will be impossible to get rid of without advanced deodorizers. The first step in removing the odor is the source, which will make the biggest difference in its strength. On the other hand, either your insurance company or the fire department (sometimes both) will need to fill out a cause and origin report before the source is removed. As soon as we have permission from your insurance company, ServiceMaster EMT will remove the odor source.
4. Water Damage Restoration
Your home will most likely be affected with water damage from the hoses to extinguish the flames. But water damage restoration is a service our technicians can also provide, extracting and mitigating water from the building structure. This will be taken care of immediately to prevent any mold growth from developing.
5. Content Cleaning and Pack Outs
If the entire building was affected, all of your belongings may need to be cleaned at our facility. Our technicians will carefully inventory, pack, and deliver your items to our facility to be cleaned and restored to their original condition. Our content cleaning and fire restoration professionals can also provide these services simultaneously to keep the restoration process efficient. This will also prevent cross-contamination of your personal items and building materials.
While you remove the items needed for immediate use like clothes and toiletries, our technicians can also help to separate them from those to be cleaned at our facility. After the items are unpacked, cleaned, deodorized, and re-packed, they will be delivered to your door after the restoration process is complete.
6. Fire Damage Cleanup
ServiceMaster EMT offers different methods for restoring fire damage, depending on the type of damage. Our cleaning processes are shown below:
- Chem dry sponge cleaning. Uses a chem sponge to wipe all kinds of surfaces, usually delicate surfaces like silk wallpaper, antique furniture, painted walls, ceiling tiles, and more to remove dirt, grime, smoke, and soot.
- Specialized cleaning methods to prevent repainting. Although if repainting is necessary, ServiceMaster EMT will professionally prepare, repaint, and finish the surface.
- Carpet and upholstery cleaning. The fabrics are cleaned and deodorized using either wet or dry cleaning processes.
7. Deodorization
Various methods can be used in the deodorization service after the cleaning process. ServiceMaster EMT can explain them to you in detail and will determine the best to use in your home. We can show and/or demonstrate the following as well as the precaution for use:
- Deodorant diffusers
- ULV’s
- Thermal foggers
- Ozone units
8. Structural Repairs
After the emergency services are finished, ServiceMaster will provide all needed repairs, reconstruction, or replacement services needed to return your home to its pre-loss state. While there are many construction companies that offer restoration work, the quality of these services do not meet industry standards. But our technicians specialize in water and fire damage repairs when providing the reconstruction services, completely rebuilding your home after a disaster.
Our reconstruction process includes all of the following:
- Identify scope of the project. ServiceMaster EMT has technicians with specific experience using Xactimate, the preferred estimating program in the industry. But please keep in mind that preparing an estimate for fire damage projects is difficult and time-consuming. It can be frustrating to experience delays, but meeting your needs, ensuring your home is receiving the exact repair work needed, and keeping your insurance adjuster updated is our biggest priority.
- Demolition. All permanently damaged items are broken down and removed from the property.
- Code upgrades. Hidden damages may not be found until after the demolition process. So code upgrades may be necessary, depending on the evaluation of the building inspector.
- Review the scope of repairs with your insurance adjuster and our estimators for accuracy and completion.
9. Communication through Reconstruction
ServiceMaster EMT take communication very seriously throughout the reconstruction process. If there are any changes to the scope of the project, they will be reported to you and your insurance adjuster right away. This is imperative as new negotiations will need to be made as the work progresses.
Having years of experience, our fire damage restoration contractors understand the immediacy and stress involved in restoration projects, which is why we respond immediately in order to minimize the repairs and time needed to restore your home. While many companies may also provided limited services that may not cover all of the restoration process, ServiceMaster EMT has all of the experience, training, and resources needed to handle all phases of the restoration project. This way, you can focus on getting your life back on track while we do the same for your home.
10. Final Inspection
After the job is finished, the project manager will conduct a final inspection with you ensure that your property is restored to its original condition to your satisfaction. It is surely unfortunate to experience such a devastating fire, but ServiceMaster EMT is completely committed to helping you recover as quickly as possible.
We also do our very best to ensure complete communication with you and your insurance adjuster while protecting your best interests.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding our fire damage restoration process or need immediate assistance after a fire emergency, don’t hesitate to contact ServiceMaster EMT at (562) 306-0577. We are available 24/7 in both southern California and Nevada.
