What Is The Best Way To Ensure The Structure Of My Home Is Safe After Fire Damage?

9/11/2023 (Permalink)

A fire in your North Nashville home can compromise its structure, making it dangerous to venture inside. If you experience a house fire, your priority will be the safety of everyone who lives there, including ensuring that the structure of your home is safe.

Determining the safety of your structure may require hiring a professional restoration company like SERVPRO of North Nashville. You can count on us for fast, 24-hour service to help with any disaster or accident at your home or business.

What Are Some FAQs I Should Know About Fire Damage To My Home?

What are some of the damages a fire can cause to a home? Here are a few helpful FAQs:

• In wood-frame buildings, all structural members are combustible. Those built with manufactured and composite materials like I-joists and trusses fail more quickly than sawn lumber.
• In ordinary brick-and-joist buildings, beams, floors, and roofs are combustible. Load-bearing walls are composed of masonry that can collapse as the combustible members burn away.
• The forces and acts of a fire can cause the redistribution of building loads and create loads normally carried straight down through the center of the wall or column to be carried down the side of the wall or column or to twist the wall or column. These shifts can overload structural members, cause the failure of the connections, and cause local or global structural collapse.

As you can see, there's a lot to consider regarding the safety of your structure after a fire!

What Should I Do After A Fire Occurs At My North Nashville Location?

After safety is established and you have called SERVPRO, here are some steps you can take to prevent damage in your home: 

What To Do After A Fire:

• Try to limit your movement in the home to prevent soot particles from being embedded into upholstery and carpets.
• Keep hands clean so as not to further soil upholstery, walls, and woodwork.
• Place clean towels or old linens on rugs, upholstery, and carpet traffic areas.
• If the electricity is off, empty the freezer and refrigerator and prop the doors open.
• Clean and protect chrome with a light coating of petroleum jelly or oil.
• Wash houseplants on both sides of the leaves.
• Change the HVAC filter.
• Tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers.

What NOT To Do After A Fire:

• Don't attempt to wash walls, painted surfaces, or shampoo carpet or upholstery without contacting us.
• Don't attempt to clean any electrical appliances that may have been close to fire, heat, or water without consulting an authorized repair service.
• Don't use any canned or packaged food or beverages that may have been stored near the fire, heat, or water.
• Don't turn on ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet; the wiring may be damaged.
• Don't send garments to an ordinary dry cleaner. Improper cleaning may set smoke odor.

Our team here at SERVPRO of North Nashville is highly-trained and skilled in handling fire damage. We use the latest technology to ensure you return to normal immediately. 

In addition to fire damage, we handle damage from water, storms, mold, and much more! Call us today for help with disasters of all types and sizes at 615-242-9391.

This franchise is independently owned and operated.