Smoke Remediation

Home & Business Smoke Remediation

What is Smoke Damage?

The damage left behind after a fire can be significant, but damages are not only structural. Smoke damage can be a significant concern after a fire, and proper smoke restoration is important to mitigate health hazards.

Any part of a structure and its contents are susceptible to damage, even if they weren’t directly affected by a fire itself. Smoke and ash can not only cause significant damage to the surrounding area where a fire happened, but they can continue to cause corrosion to materials if not addressed.

In a matter of hours, walls, kitchen appliance finishes, and other surfaces can become discolored.
Smoke will quickly tarnish metal and cause etching in glass.
Odors and discoloration from smoke will stay in a room or a home long after the fire, indicating that there are probably toxins left behind and should be removed to prevent health issues.

There are typically five types of smoke damage common in restoration projects. Each is caused by different circumstances, like the fire’s temperature, fueling materials, and location. The restoration process varies slightly for each.

Dry Smoke Damage

Dry smoke is created by fast-burning, high-temperature fires that are typically fueled by paper or wood, including natural fires where trees, shrubs, and bushes have burned. The dry smoke from natural fires can enter cracks or porous materials in surfaces and penetrate structures from outside, so smoke residue and odor are present.

The powdery texture of ash from dry smoke fires means it doesn’t smear, which makes it relatively easy to clean compared to more dense smoke and soot residue. This means that it’s possible for the surfaces of your space to appear clean even while a smoky odor persists. Dry smoke doesn’t smell as strongly as the other types of residues, and it’s not difficult for a professional company to eliminate the odor.

Fuel/Oil Smoke Damage

Also called petroleum residue, it is less common in home and business fires unless petroleum products are present. However, heating appliances like oil-fired furnaces can malfunction. If it doesn’t ignite properly, smoke and soot can be distributed throughout the property and surrounding space in the form of a small leak or minor explosion.

Petroleum residue is sticky, dense, and especially difficult to clean. Its strong odor is offensive and easily ruins upholstered furniture when not cleaned promptly.

Protein Smoke Damage

Protein smoke is created when organic matter evaporates during a low-heat fire. This is common when a cooking mishap causes a blaze in the kitchen, leaving strong, burnt food odors that can permeate an entire home, and smoke residue on contents and surfaces can discolor painted, varnished, or other finished surfaces.

Wet Smoke Damage

Wet smoke damage comes from smoldering, low-heat fires. Burning plastic and rubber produces few flames and thick black smoke with an intense odor and leaves behind a dense and sticky residue that smears and is difficult to clean without specialized equipment.

What is the goal of smoke damage restoration?

The goal of smoke restoration is to remove any evidence that there was ever smoke in the first place. Smoke restorers work to ensure that a home or building is returned to the state in which it was before the damage occurred.

Smoke Damage Risks

Proper smoke restoration means removing and preventing the chemical and structural hazards that pose serious health risks that can occur after a fire.

Smoke Related Health Risks

The chemicals left behind after a fire as a result of damaged and contaminated building materials can continue to pose significant health risks to inhabitants if a property is improperly restored after a fire. Breathing and other respiratory complications like bronchitis or asthma can occur, in addition to skin and eye irritation, redness, dryness, and itching. If proper restoration is not completed after a fire, there can be long-term health risks, including cancer, stroke, heart attacks, and lifelong consequences for infants.

Building Materials That Pose Health Risks After a Fire

In addition to unsightly damage and unpleasant odors, fire and smoke leave behind residues that can pose serious health risks. Building materials can release toxic chemicals when burned, and those chemicals can contaminate surrounding materials. It’s important to make sure any of the below damaged and affected materials are cleaned or removed:

Plastics
Carpets
Upholstery
Wood Products
Insulation
Wool
Foams

All materials containing asbestos, if there is any trace of odor or discoloration after attempts at cleaning these materials, must be properly disposed of and replaced.

Toxic Chemicals After a Fire

After a fire, odors, and discoloration can indicate that the environment has likely been contaminated with hazardous chemicals that were released during the fire. These chemicals pose significant health risks. Products that can release toxins when burned are common building materials and household items.

PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)

PVC is the world’s third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer— over 40 million tons are produced each year. It’s used in flooring, plumbing, roofing, siding, protective clothing, and more. When burned, PVC releases a number of chemicals, all of which can be harmful to humans, including:

Hydrogen Chloride
Dioxin Chloromethane
Halocarbons
Phosgene
Bromomethane

Carbon Materials

Since carbon building materials are readily available and used in abundance, they can pose a serious health risk after a fire if not properly restored or removed. When burned, these materials can release:

Ammonia
Nitrogen Oxide
Tar
Hydrogen
Carbon Monoxide

What to Expect in Smoke Damage Restoration

A house, business, or forest fire can be devastating as is. Still, some people may not know that the cleanup process of the ash, soot, and chemicals left behind can be dangerous and is best left to the restoration professionals. BioHazmat Solutions does not offer reconstruction services after a fire, but we will clean, deodorize, and dispose of any contents that require these.