What Does FEMA Say About Responding To Fire Damage?

FEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, publishes huge amounts of information on disaster response and preparedness. Their recommendations often provide the best practices for disaster response and preparedness. We at Sierra Restoration in Tremonton make sure to keep up with and exceed these standards. Here are a few of the most important tips about fire damage restoration provided by FEMA. 

Fire Damage Cleanup In Tremonton

Prioritize Personal Safety

Of course, the number one priority after a fire is your personal safety. A fire-damaged home is an extremely dangerous environment and these hazards should not be taken lightly. Consult with your fire damage restoration contractors to determine what the next steps are and what you can safely do. 

What To Do Immediately After The Fire

If your home is ravaged by a fire, it is all too easy to get overwhelmed and now know what to do next. Before taking any concrete steps, we recommend taking a few minutes to take a deep breath and collect your thoughts. Once you have composed yourself, your first step should be to call a fire damage restoration company and your insurance agent for help right away. From there, the restoration technicians will work with you to help you know what your next steps should be. If the damage is relatively minor, you may be able to go back into your home and collect some belongings. If the damage is more severe, however, you may not be able to re-enter your home for the same time, and will help to stay somewhere else. 

Do Not Handle Damaged Items

You will probably be sorely tempted, but it is important that you minimize the amount you handle or touch damaged items. The very fine particles in soot stick to everything, and every touch will grind it further into the item you are trying to save. There are many other potential negative consequences of handling damaged items. These include exposing yourself to smoke and soot. Even with personal protective equipment, soot particles are so small that they can still give you respiratory problems. Soot and ash are also very abrasive. Moving them around will cause further damage by scratching anything that is touched. 

Cleaning Tips You Can Implement

When it is safe to be in your home, there are a few different things you can do to expedite the cleaning process. First and foremost, avoid using water or other cleaning solutions. Using liquids will push the soot and ash deeper into the surface of damaged materials. Second, you should vacuum up all the ash and soot as soon as possible — but only if it is dry. Finally, soot sponges can be useful tools for cleaning up messy soot damage but make sure you know how to use them and aren’t just spreading the soot around. 

Fire damage restoration is not something to be taken lightly. That’s why we at Sierra Restoration in Tremonton adhere to the highest standard provided by FEMA and other agencies in our work. If you ever deal with fire damage in your home, don’t hesitate to give us a call so we can quickly get out to your home and repair the damage before it has time to worsen.