Even A Minor Fire Can Affect The HVAC System In Your Johnson Home

12/30/2016 (Permalink)

Smoky Odors in Your Johnson Home Need the Help of SERVPRO

SERVPRO Remediates Odors After a House Fire

During the aftermath of a minor kitchen fire, you managed yourself you may be surprised at how many of the utility and mechanical systems in your dwelling can be affected. Even in areas of the structure that were far from the actual blaze homeowners can report lingering smoke smell and dirty, sooty residue on furnishings, flooring and in the air. The culprit moving the fire debris throughout your home is likely your HVAC system, both heating and cooling ducts equipped with powerful fans that are meant to control the climate inside your home for your and your family’s comfort. If the fire occurred during a time of the when neither heating nor cooling systems were regularly operating, you might not realize that smoky particulates entered through vents and are now being distributed through your home as you turn the heat on. SERVPRO can help control this unfortunate byproduct of an earlier fire with a professional HVAC inspection, evaluation, and cleaning.

During the fire that ignited in your Johnson kitchen you were most concerned about putting out the blaze quickly, perhaps with a well-positioned fire extinguisher, and getting your household back to normal. If you chose to go it on your own secondary damage could be missed. When we respond to your call, our IICRC trained SERVPRO technicians will inspect both the area where the fire started and the rest of the building, paying particular attention to any area where you report smelling smoke or noticing greasy soot and ash. A critical part of our inspection will be to evaluate the forced air heating and cooling ductwork, potential hiding places for the compounds that were sent airborne during your fire. During temperate weather, the system may have been off, but our technicians will look for evidence that air pressure or magnetism or ionization within the ductwork sucked or otherwise attracted smoky particles.

Once we take a close look at the conditions within your heating and cooling systems, our team will plan how to remediate the smell and the gritty, sticky dust that has now invaded your home. SERVPRO technicians are highly trained, well prepared to make decisions on whether a thorough cleaning will take care of the issues or if other approaches are needed. Our crews will determine if any components of the system are damaged and need to be replaced because of the fire damage. In cases where a comprehensive cleaning of the ducts is impractical duct sealing may be recommended, possibly paired with a thermal fogging for deodorizing purposes. Any steps taken to restore the proper operation of your HVAC system will include protection of household contents and perhaps a temporary evacuation of you and your family until any chemical treatments are complete and healthy air quality is restored.

Call us at (479) 419-5544 to respond to your concerns of collateral damage after a kitchen fire. SERVPRO of Fayetteville / Springdale stands ready to solve your smoky smell and sooty residue problems.