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Recovering Emotionally From A Major Fire

Fire do more than just damage buildings and homes.  They cause quite a bit of emotional distress as well.  If you are a victim of fire or are helping one, you personally understand the grief, anxiety, and helplessness that can result.  Treasured items such as pictures, heirlooms, and keepsakes are often priceless.  While other items such as important documents, work files, and certificates require tedious efforts to replace.  Furthermore, one’s sense of security can wane after a destructive fire leading to a wide range of reactionary emotions.

How can you recover from the flurry of emotions that can come upon you after a major fire?  Below are some proven tips that may help you to do so.

Coping & Recovering

Never underestimate the stress and challenges that can come with evacuating, relocating, and rebuild your life after a major fire.  It is often better to plan each stage in small step so that you do not become overwhelmed easily.  Recovering from a major fire usually requires time, so prep yourself mentally to be patient.  Additionally, consider the following:

  • Try to get a good amount of rest every day. Stress is compounded when your sleep pattern is altered.
  • Avoid turning to alcohol or other mood-altering drinks or drugs (unless they are prescribed by your physician).
  • Make use of family and community support. When you have an opportunity talk to a listening ear about your experience.  Also, listening to others who have had similar disasters may give you a different perspective about your tragedy.
  • Exercise, meditate or involve yourself in a hobby during waiting periods (times when you cannot advance your recovery project). Doing so will help you to avoid worrying about your situation.
  • Never try to suppress how you feel. If you need to cry, do so.  Just try to figure out healthy and helpful ways to release or redirect your emotions.

Over the years, we have aided several families and businesses with fire disaster recoveries.  Are you experiencing the effects of a life changing fire?  Give us a call.  ACR Services is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (866) 789-4379

 

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Preparing For The 2016 Wildfire Season

Wildfire seasons are always tragic, causing a great demand for fire damage restoration services.  If you are in or near a wildfire area, you probably know that preparation is not optional—it can save your life. About $28.5 million was spent by San Diego County during 2014 for wildfire response. This year’s season has an even worse outlook, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Because the state missed out on torrential rains, conditions for wildfires are much higher than the norm.  ACR Services stays in a state of readiness to help families and businesses prepare and recover from wildfire emergencies.  Our service area includes Oxnard, Camarillo, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Westlake Village, California.

With dry soil and low mountain snowpack, there are reportedly 2 million households that are at risk, falling in between high to extreme levels of risks. So, are you sure you are prepared for the upcoming San Diego County Wildfire Season?

Take Time to Prepare

Detailed information is provided every year, and reminders are also distributed to help you avoid being a wildfire victim. Reviewing and checking your property’s perimeters so you can take all of the proper actions to try to prevent being a fire victim. Being properly prepared may save more than your property, it could also save your life. Consider the following preventative measures:

  • Keep your lawn mowed its grass at a maximum height of 4 inches. Rake up of any dead leaves, grasses, plants, or weeds.
  • Remove all pine needles, leaves, and other flammable debris from your gutters and roof.
  • Make sure you trim any dead tree branches that hang over your roof and make sure a 10 gap rests between trees.
  • Don’t leave exposed woodpiles. Use flame resistant storage containers.
  • Any shrubs or plants should be removed from your wooden deck and window areas.
  • Don’t mow when it is windy or very dry. Mow when the dew point is at its highest, which is before 10 a.m.

Have an enjoyable summer that is prosperous and safe. Take the wildfire season seriously and help your neighbors if they are having difficulty getting ready. Only a community effort can help limit the damages and weather the season. When it comes to San Diego fire water damage restoration, you can rely on All Seasons Restoration.

ACR Services is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Call us at (866) 789-4379 for assistance.

 

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Smoke Odor Removal

After any fire, smoke and odor removal are an important part of the clean up.  You may get used to the smell, but it can be a reminder of a very traumatic time whenever you return from a vacation or business trip.  And your guests will always notice.  Even a small kitchen fire calls for professional treatment.

Besides the smell, smoke and soot are corrosive and can even damage metals and electronics.  So it’s vital to know where to look and how to properly clean away smoke, soot,and ash.  If not taken care of immediately, various compounds penetrate so deeply into porous building materials that they can never be removed.  Trying to mask odors, whether from fires, mold, or pet stains are at best a temporary solution.

Smoke Travel

We normally think of smoke as always moving upward, but actually it can travel in unexpected ways.  And that includes a tendency to go towards cooler areas not involved in the fire.  It affects drapery, furniture, bedding and mattresses, clothes, and even carpet.  It will settle in ductwork, where heating and air conditioning fans will distribute tiny particles throughout the building.  Just think about how cigarette smoke used to permeate everything.

Types of Smoke

Different kinds of fires produce different kinds of smoke depending on the burning temperatures and what’s burning.  The main types are dry smoke, wet smoke, and protein smoke.  Each behaves differently and requires different treatments for proper removal.  Most smoke is corrosive, damaging the surface of just about any kind of metal, and that includes both the insides and outsides of personal electronics, household appliance, and business machines.

Lingering Smoke Odor

Just about every type of smoke includes compounds that penetrate into porous materials such as fabrics, wood, drywall, and even unglazed ceramics.  That occurs quickly, and it will soon have penetrated so deeply that neither extraction techniques nor neutralizing treatments can reach it.  From there it will slowly “outgas,” causing lingering odors that can last for years.

Professional Smoke and Odor Removal

You should be starting to see why experience and expertise are so important in smoke odor removal.  Special processes, compounds, and equipment are necessary if further damage and ongoing problems are to be avoided.  And that work needs to be done as soon as possible.

The world-leading organization IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification) sets standards for the cleaning and restoration industry.  Any service you hire should be licensed, insured, and hold IICRC certifications in whatever work you need done.

Surface Cleaning

A thorough wiping, often with specially formulated cleaning solutions, can take care of smoke and soot on non-porous surfaces and belongings.  The latest in chemistry has also produced odor removal products that can penetrate and neutralize odors in porous materials.  They are usually followed by applying some sort of sealant as the process is rarely 100% effective.  Also keep in mind that smoke and other odors may penetrate too deeply for this type of treatment.

Blasting

“Blasting” is often used as part of the fire damage restoration process.  It’s not what it might sound like — it’s named after sand blasting, not explosions!  Soda blasting uses the same baking soda compound you may already be using to keep odors out of your refrigerator.  It’s sprayed with enough force that it removes char while absorbing odor-causing chemicals.  Dry ice blasting is also effective, and evaporates so that there’s no clean up afterward.

Ozone and Hydroxyl

Producing ozone using a very bright ultraviolet light or high-voltage electricity is also effective in removing odors of just about any type, as the reactive ozone breaks down their compounds.  It is sufficiently hazardous, however, that the building can’t be occupied during treatment and must be thoroughly ventilated afterward.  Another type of generator also uses UV light, but creates hydroxyl instead.  These generators must be kept close to the various odor sources, but can be safely used while the building is occupied or other restoration work is being performed.

 

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