Fire Damage Odors

7/20/2022 (Permalink)

After Fire Damage, Does The Odor Ever Go Away?

Fire damage often comes with multiple layers of issues such as burned building materials and home contents, water or fire extinguisher residue and of course, foul odors from all of those factors.

SERVPRO was called to mitigate a fire damage in a home. The fire started in the kitchen when the homeowner's microwave oven caught on fire, and she opened the door to the microwave before the flames ran out of oxygen and extinguished. A fire extinguisher had been used to put out the fire, and the fine, powdery residue covered the area around the microwave. Although the homeowner removed the microwave, a strong odor permeated the kitchen.

Immediately on arrival, we contained the doorways and registers in the kitchen to inhibit the spread of soot throughout the home. Then we used handheld vacuums with HEPA filtration to clean up the fire extinguisher residue and soot from the cabinet surfaces. The cabinets over the microwave displayed smoke damage but no charring and were restorable through extensive cleaning.

Odor-causing soot particles can be smaller than the human eye can see, so we use specialized equipment such as our air scrubbers with HEPA filters to capture the particulate matter and assist in inhibiting strong odors left behind by the fire.

SERVPRO technicians engage in continuing education to stay on the cutting edge of the latest advances in the field of restoration sciences. When cleaning with our EPA-registered formulas is not enough to get rid of smoke odors, we have a diverse array of equipment to choose from such as ozone machines and Hydroxyl generators that neutralize odors at the molecular level.

In this case, thermal fogging was the solution chosen by our technicians. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to odors, and removal of odors requires the application of multiple approaches to eradicate them from the property and contents completely.

For assistance getting rid of fire damage and odors, call SERVPRO of Kingsport / Bristol at (423) 245-5552. Our certified technicians stand ready to help you 24/7 and make your fire loss “Like it never even happened.”