Carrara Companies Cleaning & Restoration Services Blog

Eliminate Fire Damage Restoration by Cooking Outdoors Safely

Cookouts are a summer time favorite among Americans and one of the most popular ways to cook food! During the many cookout festivities people forget about how dangerous a grill can be if precautions are not taken.  Approximately 7,900 house fires occur each year due to a grilling accident, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fire damage restoration. We would like you to enjoy your summer with multiple cookouts, please remember these safety tips:

• Grilling is for outdoors!! Keep your propane and charcoal BBQ grills outside.
• Keep your grill well away from the home, deck railings, and out from under the eaves and overhanging tree branches.
• Keep children and pets away from the grill area.
• Never leave the grill unattended while you are cooking.
• Keep your grill clean from excess buildup grease and fat in the trays.

For charcoal grills:

• Never mix charcoal lighter fluid with any other flammable liquids.
• When finished grilling let the coals completely cool before dispensing into a metal container.

For propane grills:

• Check the hoses each year for leaks by using a soapy water mixture. (bubbles indicate a leak)
• If you smell gas while cooking immediately shut off the burners and get away from the grill and call the fire department. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE THE GRILL.

Smoke Odor Removal after a Fire

The remnants of a fire may linger long after the fire department has left. Soot and smoke damage remain, in addition to the damage actually caused by the fire, and it's important to recognize both as separate hazards when restoration is the next step in recovery.

Soot is a visible, oily substance, which stains easily. Smoke is the invisible threat, which intrudes into all portions of the home, and may remain if not properly addressed. Here are some basic things you should be aware of:

• Insurance Coverage: Odds are if you own a home, you have fire insurance coverage. It is a good idea to know exactly what the coverage entails before a fire incident occurs.
• Professional Results: Many websites offer do-it-yourself methods for removing smoke. Most are for cigarette smoke, but little are effective when properly removing smoke after a fire. A company who deals with professional restoration after a fire is usually the best option.
• Reputation: The professional you hire should know what they are doing, and have a reputable record of accomplishment with success. Some companies are highly recommended, while others seem to do only what they must and care little about the result.
• Trapped Odor: Smoke, like sand, seems to get into everything. The negative air space, which is the air trapped within your walls, is the most common hiding spot. Thermal fogging removes the trapped smoke from porous materials, such as wood, and is the most effective. A sealant will be used for air ducts, and there is no way to effectively clean them, and prevent the odor from returning. In the attic, insulation replacement is required as there is no way to remove the odor.
• Carpeting: In most cases, replacing the carpet and padding is best. For some lighter incidents, cleaning the carpet before and after the restoration project removes the odor.
• Clothing & Furniture: Ozone treatment offers the most thorough advantages, with the best results. The deodorization produces an oxidizing agent, which breaks down the smoke at a molecular level. Dry cleaning is recommended for best cleaning, but deodorization needs completed first to ensure the odor is not set into the fabric.
• Not eco-friendly: Unfortunately, there is not a restoration or removal method, which is completely friendly to the environment. Both soot and smoke permeate what they are exposed to, and natural ventilation and the hottest water goes only so far.
• Phantom Smell: Sometimes long after the fire, you trick yourself into thinking the odor remains. Ask someone to verify the odor is actually gone, and allow yourself to heal from the experience.

Properly trained fire restoration professionals have the knowledge and training to effectively remove the smoke damage. Once you contact your insurance agent and get the process started, all parties will work with you to get you back on your feet and back into your home.

Six Starting Points For A Disaster Recovery Plan

When a disaster occurs, it usually happens when you are least prepared, and damaging materials and equipment, you cannot afford to lose. When you know what needs to be done before, during, and after an incident, you can prevent the initial panic and overwhelming feeling of loss. A disaster recovery plan will reduce the extent of the damage, and assist you in carrying out an organized recovery effort.

Disaster plans differ from one organization to the next, but they all contain the basic principles addressing pre-loss preventative measures, emergency procedures, and post-loss recovery efforts. Here are the six starting points you need when drafting your Disaster Recovery Plan.

• Goals: Determine and prioritize the goals for your organization. They must have support and validity from the senior-most personnel.
• Simplicity: Simply put make it simple. A complex plan full of fluff will cause more of a disaster when it becomes time to execute. Keep the goals and priorities clear and simple, and the plan will be successful.
• Maintenance: Periodically schedule a review of the plan, which is usually about every six months. This is necessary as administrative information changes, along with job responsibilities, and business goals and priorities.
• Practice: Setup disaster drills to ensure the plan actually works as intended. Separate out the weak links, and make changes as necessary.
• Business Impact Analysis (BIA): Quantify the hard cost of the business or portion of the business being inoperable. This loss is cumulative dollars verses time. This will define the window of time available to renew business operations, and define the restoration project timeline.
• Risk Analysis: Vital documentation should be defined, as 5% - 7% of total documentation exists in original copy form. The location of this documentation must be written into the plan to ensure recovery. Consider either safe storage options or maintaining backups offsite. Critical assets and equipment, along with critical business partners, must be written into the plan and addressed as well.

Contact Eric Schlaubach or Jim Dunphy for more information about establishing your own Disaster Recovery Plan.