Tips That Every Portland Resident Should Know On How To Deal With Fire Damage

A fire, whether in your home or in your commercial property, can cause severe damage, both psychologically as well as financially. There are certain steps that you can take to prevent fire and minimize damage before the restoration experts come in.

Fire proofing your home or your office can help prevent major losses due to fire. The first step toward ensuring safety is to install smoke alarms on each floor of your home (especially in the kitchen and the bedrooms), and your commercial facility. The next step involves placing fire extinguishers strategically, all around the house and the office. This means that they must be within the kitchen and the utility areas.

Other preventive measures include scheduling an annual servicing and cleaning for furnaces, heating systems, chimneys and fireplaces. Presently, the leading cause of a fire breakout is electrical short circuits. To prevent this, avoid overloading electrical circuits. Continually check extension cords and fuse boxes regularly. Do not connect multiple appliances that have power requirements that exceed 1500 watts on the same circuit.

Taking the preventive steps mentioned above can hugely reduce chances of a fire breaking out. However, if all safety measures fail, and there is a fire, then you can follow certain steps to control the damage. While you wait for professional fire damage experts to arrive at the scene, the things that you can do in the case of a fire are:

* Soot particles can get embedded in the upholstery and carpets with your movement about the house. So, try to limit your movement around the home.
* Refrain from touching upholstery, woodwork and the walls, as the oil from your hands can permeate inside and soil them further.
* On your rugs and carpets, place clean towels or old linen.
* Clean out your refrigerator, and empty the freezer and keep the door open.
* With a light coating of petroleum jelly or even oil, you can clean chrome, formica, porcelain and aluminum fixtures, and can also protect them from further damage.
* Your houseplants need to be taken care of immediately. Wash the leaves thoroughly on both sides.
* You must change your HVAC filter.
* In order to capture the soot in the air, you should tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers.

These little steps will let you save a lot of your property from permanent damage. However, it is often that people make things worse by doing things that they shouldn’t do. Here is a list of the things you must not do when dealing with fire damage:

* Do not try to start cleaning walls or painted surfaces without consulting the experts.
* Unless you have official directions from the manufacturer, do not try to clean any electrical appliances that were caught in the fire, or have been exposed to heat or water.
* Never, ever use the canned or packed food that was in the fire or near the heat. They will most likely be damaged.
* Electrical appliances on the ceiling must not be used if the ceiling is wet. In all probability, the wiring inside may be damaged from water, and cause further complications.
* If your clothes have been blackened with soot, send them to fire damage restoration experts, as they need to be cleaned in a different manner. Your regular dry cleaner might not be able to do it.

Keep these guidelines in mind when you are faced with fire damage Portland has many fire damage restoration services, but call the one that has the experience and the expertise to help you in the best manner.

The writer is associated with ServiceMaster Of Portland, the leading experts in handling water, fire and smoke damage and carpet cleaning Portland OR, is the primary service area of the company.