SERVPRO Commercial Fire Damage Nashville

3/6/2017 (Permalink)

Sprinklers and other fire suppression systems work quickly in business structures, reducing the amount of damage from heat and flame to a minimum. Even in a small business (e.g. a bakery), without an overhead sprinkler, most of the damage results from the smoke and soot that covers every surface.

Commercial structures with fire damage must have a trained response team to remediate the damage and restore it to its pre-fire condition. SERVPRO keeps a trained, 24-hour response team ready seven days a week to meet that need. Employers who attempt to clean-up with their employees cause more damage to their building and property inside the structure.

Soot and smoke residues discolor most surfaces in only a day or two. This discoloration happens faster the closer an item is to the source of the flame. Plastics are quickly destroyed within hours while glass and marble countertops (display cases and kitchens) are more resistant, lasting for a day before permanent damage. The sooner our technicians can begin wiping down and cleaning off these residues, the better the result and the lower the replacement costs.

Smoke and soot are more destructive in bathrooms and break rooms. The acids in soot stain grout almost immediately and tarnish the light fixtures and the handles on sinks and toilets nearly as quickly. The surface of large appliances like refrigerators stains rapidly as well. This last process takes much longer, though, and our restoration team has more time to clean each item affected using cloths and cleaning agents.

Painted walls, vinyl flooring, and metal surfaces are more resistant to damage but still need cleaning within a few days. For these items, we have scrubbers and cleaners designed to work the residues out of each material without damaging them. Clothing that has been affected for several days cannot be dry cleaned and is thrown out by the response team.

After two weeks, restorations costs more than double. Even carpets with synthetic fibers have to be replaced by this point. By now, glass (windows and displays) is so pitted and etched that it can only be removed and replaced.

Remediation and restoration after a fire is a long and expensive process. SERVPRO of Madison / Goodlettsville has decades of experience in handling this and works as swiftly as possible to help put your business back to its original state. Call us today at (615) 868-5324 to begin the process.