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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

Archived Fire Damage Blog Posts

We Have The State Of The Art Equipment Necessary In Leominster To Restore Your Home After A Fire

1/15/2020 (Permalink)

A kitchen covered in soot and smoke damage after a fire When soot, smoke, and fire damage your home our team is ready 24/7, and we have the experience and expertise to handle your fire damage.

Removing Smoke Residues from High Vaulted Leominster Ceilings

High vaulted ceilings are an increasingly popular aesthetic feature in Leominster homes. After some disasters like fire losses take place, cleaning up after these destructive events requires experience from trained restoration professionals like our SERVPRO team. With the right equipment and techniques, we can clean exposed surfaces contending with residues and other lingering effects after the fire.

Clearing residues and soot deposits from high vaulted ceilings and the upper portions of walls requires a wide range of equipment for fire damage recovery in Leominster. Not only do our technicians need to remain careful about the choice in cleaning practices to ensure that soot and other residues do not stain the underlying material, but there is the added challenge of reaching these compromised areas of the house. The necessary machines and tools to adequately reach these damaged surfaces get determined during the initial walkthrough and scoping of the job by our project manager.

Reaching the appropriate heights often comes down to our SERVPRO technicians running equipment like scissor lifts, elevating platforms, or scaffolding. All of these options offer a stable workspace for our experienced professionals, even when abrasive cleaning techniques are necessary to protect the substrate beneath the layer of soot residue. Certain wall materials can benefit from various cleaning practices, including foam cleaning, dry cleaning, and wet cleaning with potent cleansing agents.

With popcorn ceiling often found between exposed beams, peroxide active cleaning approaches can help to dissolve and loosen thicker layers of soiling. In instances where we know that our professionals must repaint damaged surfaces after mitigation steps complete, more agitative techniques like scrubbing with steel wool can help to remove thick deposits of soot and smoke residues.

High vaulted ceilings and tall wall surfaces can present cleaning challenges for our SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster team restoring your property after a fire damage incident. No matter what your home needs from deodorization and debris removal to soot and stain removal, we have the experienced professionals to help. Give us a call anytime that you need us at (978) 537-1500.

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Did Your Sterling Laundry Room Catch Fire?

12/6/2019 (Permalink)

Burned washer and dryer Clothes dryers cause around 3,000 fires each year. We have effective cleaning methods to remove the smoke and soot damage.

Fire Damage in Sterling Laundry Room 

Nearly 3,000 residential clothes dryer fires causing an average of $35-million in property losses occurs yearly. Regular maintenance of the dryer works to prevent some of the causes of this type of fire. 

After fire damage in a Sterling laundry room caused by a dryer, SERVPRO technicians work to restore the loss area and contents within as much as possible to save the homeowners from the cost of replacing appliances and possessions.  

Inhibiting Cross-Contamination is Crucial

SERVPRO technicians limit the ability for soot to travel outside of the fire loss area in the home through the use of containment measures, placing plastic barriers over doors and vents, or in some cases, negative air chambers are set up. 

Careful Cleaning of Appliances

A dryer that caught on fire requires removal. However, the washing machine in the room may have only exterior smoke damage that needs cleaning. SERVPRO technicians make a note of the overall condition of appliances before cleaning, including photographs to ensure existing dents or scratches go on record. For dry smoke residue, the techs often use dry cleaning sponges to pick up the dry, dusty powder. Wet smoke residue usually requires cleaning agents mixed with a solvent to release the residue from the surface. Care is taken to use only cleaners that are safe for use on painted surfaces.  

Odor Control Measures

After the removal of charred items and cleaning the laundry room, technicians determine the level of odor control necessary. In some cases, the removal of smoke damage and clearing out fire loss materials is enough. Sometimes stubborn smoke odors linger and require more robust applications such as hydroxyl generators, which are safe for people and animals to be around when the machine is running and capturing odor-causing soot and neutralizing it. 

Another commonly used odor neutralizing method is thermal fogging, which sends a heated solvent throughout the fire loss area, and it behaves like smoke, penetrating porous objects, and eradicating odors.  

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster at (978) 537-1500 when any room in your home has fire damage. The certified technicians have the training and equipment to make the loss in your home, "Like it never even happened." 

More about Sterling.

Professional Fire Damage Restoration Specialists Give Tips on Cleaning Smoke and Soot Damaged Items in Leominster

10/16/2019 (Permalink)

Before and after of smoke and soot damaged brass candlesticks.  One has been cleaned, the other has not This is a before and after pic of smoke damaged candlesticks. We were able to restore both completely.

Cleaning Household Goods Soiled by Smoke and Soot a Major Aspect of Fire Damage Mitigation Services in Leominster 

Helping your family's daily routines re-established after a disaster is one of the goals at SERVPRO. We understand that the ongoing stress that comes with significant disruptions in Leominster can reach into areas that previously seemed stable and rock-solid. Once-minor things can become much more critical in the wake of a crisis. We help stabilize the situation in numerous ways, including restoring the items your family used regularly. 

The varying degrees that a Leominster home might show fire damage like smoke and soot can range from items too filthy to touch to hardened plastic that melted onto surfaces, or scorched others. Cleaning methods vary, depending on soot type and density, as well as the residues left behind.

Large, flat, smooth surfaces like untextured walls and ceilings need vacuuming and then wiping down with a dry sponge. This method does not work well enough for most household items that might contain grooves, depressions, intentional pitting, or other textures. Soot can work on these surfaces. The microscopic particles in soot and the oily liquid residues can render regular soap and water too weak to clean anything effectively. 

We use several different tools to strip fire damage soiling away from the surface and get things back to their preloss condition. Many of these can reach the debris from a fire's smoke in tiny places on memorabilia from older generations or tourist traps visited on vacations. Brushes pull soot off lacy ribbons decorating dolls and other porcelain items. Our handheld vacuums free heavy draperies of smoke clinging to the fabric. Sponges gently rid chrome fixtures in your bathrooms and kitchen of blackened soot and keep them from additional damage. 

Another method used requires our ultrasonic water bath equipment. The difference in a short period makes in a soot-covered plate or vase is quite striking. After our crew packs up the items for cleaning and transports them to our facility, other members of our skilled team unpack them and begin organizing the items inside the basket. 

The water bath only requires a few minutes before all of the soot disintegrates. The bubbling action created by the ultrasonic waves works at the microscopic level and removes even embedded soot from hairline cracks and the tiniest spaces. While the surface of the water looks like nothing is happening, adding a hollow ball that floats to the water reveals the movement below the surface. This movement is a very effective method, and we use it to help our customers restore belongings and minimize the number of items they need to replace. 

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster wants to help your family recover from the implications of disasters, including those related to fire damage. Our building services crew helps restore structural components, including HVAC and electrical systems, but we know personal belongings are equally important. Call (978) 537-1500 when your residence in Sterling or Harvard and its contents need skilled cleaning and restoration professionals. 

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Are You Dealing With Foul Odors in Your Sterling Home After Fire Damage? 

8/20/2019 (Permalink)

Fire damage can completely overrun your Sterling home. Call the professionals at SERVPRO today for remediation assistance.

Removing Odors Effectively After a Fire Damages Your Sterling Home

A fire may cause severe damage to your Sterling home because the destruction is not only caused by the flames but also the soot and smoke residues produced. To prevent additional damage, you should start the cleanup process as soon as possible to ensure your house is smoke and soot free.

When there are odors in your Sterling home after fire damage, it is vital to contact fire restoration experts to help you with the cleaning process. The smoke smell is mostly left in the building materials of a house, clothes, drapes, carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture. The factors that determine the severity of smoke odors include:

The extent of the fire: Large fires tend to produce a lot of smoke and burn more materials than smaller ones.

The duration that the smoke was left to linger before cleaning: A longer exposure time means materials in a home absorb more smoke.

The size of your home: Smaller rooms or homes tend to have more pungent smoke odors since the scent is more concentrated.

Burnt materials: If a fire burns items such as plastics, sponges, wood, and clothes, the smoke smell is more likely to be pungent.

SERVPRO has the appropriate cleaning products and equipment to help you remove soot and odors from your residence. We can assess the destruction and advise you about the actions to take, which items you can restore and which ones to replace. We can use a heavy-duty vacuum to remove soot from walls, carpets, and furniture, among other surfaces.  

Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Technicians (FSRT) can also use chemicals called counteractants to split up smoke molecules to eradicate odors. The type of counteracts we use vary based on the kind of materials a fire burned. We can apply counteractants to carpets, furniture and drapers. Our crew can also provide them for laundering clothing. Bear in mind that a majority of deodorizing disinfectants and deodorizing sprays only offer temporary relief. Furthermore, deodorizing sprays can interact with the smoke scent, creating new odors in the process.

As a fire burns, smoke may spread through walls and other surfaces. If you do not remove smoke odor properly, it can occasionally reoccur, mainly when the weather is damp or warm. Our SERVPRO technicians can use a process called thermal fogging to eliminate the odor.  The warm chemical fog penetrates the house and walls just like the fire and neutralizes the smoke scent as it goes to make it “Like it never even happened.” 

Our restorers can also remove smoke from ducts. We can use chemical sealers to permanently secure the smoke to the sides of ducts because these areas have crevices and joints that make them difficult to clean using the conventional brush and vacuum methods.

If your Fitchburg, Leominster, or Harvard home has unpleasant odors after a fire, contact SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster for efficient cleanup and deodorization. You can reach us anytime at (978) 537-1500.

Click here to learn more about Sterling. 

The Technology That Goes Into Fire Damage Restorations in Leominster

7/7/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO will take on your fire damage restoration.

Let us eliminate your worries.

Restoring many of the items in your fire damaged Leominster home may require special care and individual attention. However, processing large quantities of items very quickly is equally important to ensure that as little damage over time happens as possible. To satisfy both needs, we treat many objects in our ultrasonic immersion tanks. These devices contain a mixture of water and cleaning chemicals but, unlike most other baths and cleaning techniques, also involve the use of carefully-tuned ultrasonic waves that create vibrations and remove even the smallest particles of smoke and ash. SERVPRO technicians receive extensive training in these machines to ensure that the correct frequencies and chemical mixtures are applied to give your belongings the best treatment possible. 

Industrial-Grade Cleaning Agents 

Most of the surfaces and furniture in your home can be cleaned through much faster means, either through hand washing or with large scrubbers. However, to remove fire residues effectively, we have to use industrial-grade cleaning agents that may often be designed to work with only a single type of fire damage. Although it can be tough to stock, maintain, and use such a wide variety of cleaning agents that may only apply to a specific type of damage, doing so enables us to treat all cases of fire damage with utmost efficiency. 

Deodorizing Foggers

Fire odors can persist for long after all other signs of damage have been removed. To prevent any smells of smoke from sticking around, we use powerful thermal fogging devices that create thick clouds of odor eliminating chemicals that leave your home with a neutral scent, "Like it never even happened." 

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster can help mitigate and restore the effects of fire damage from your home after disasters large or small. Call us 24/7 at (978) 537-1500. 

For more information about Leominster, click here.

SERVPRO Will Restore Your Sterling Home After A Fire

4/10/2019 (Permalink)

Our certified professionals will arrive as soon as possible with the necessary equipment, training and expertise to put out the flames of worry.

Mitigating Cooking Fire Damage in a Sterling Vacation Home

Cooking is a fantastic way to bond with your loved ones. Parents with sons or daughters learning to cook are often beaming with pride as they watch their children learn the skills that can aid them in adulthood. However, when food particles in the stove ignite and burn your budding chef's burgers to a crisp, it can be overwhelming to consider the fire damage that needs removal.

If you have a kitchen mishap that results in fire damage in your Sterling vacation home, the professional technicians at SERVPRO are ready to restore your kitchen to its pre-existing condition with industrial-grade tools, EPA-registered cleaners, and extensive knowledge of fire damage cleanup. Cleaning begins with scrubbing any damage from smoke off of surfaces and out of ventilation systems to ensure no spreading of soot or unpleasant odors. Objects in your home, such as kitchen appliances and windows, can also be cleaned to remove residue from fire damage and prevent corrosion of metals or electronics.

A critical part of a kitchen fire cleanup involving proteins such as red meat, poultry, or fish, is addressing the clear residue that such proteins leave behind. These residues can cause especially foul and long-lasting odors, particularly on porous surfaces like latex paint-covered walls. As a result, it is vital to clean every surface affected by protein residue to ensure that no odors can linger in your home.

To implement effective odor control in your kitchen, our SERVPRO technicians have a variety of tools and techniques at their disposal, such as HEPA air scrubbers with powerful activated carbon and potassium permanganate air filters to absorb odor-causing particles. ULV thermal foggers can also be used to address odors in confined spaces and work by binding with odor particles to eliminate unpleasant smells and make their source heavy enough to fall on surfaces for easy cleanup.

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is ready to serve the area in disaster cleanup 24/7. If you need our services, call us today at (978) 537-1500.

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We've Got You Covered After Your Home In Lancaster Experiences A Fire Damage Disaster

3/12/2019 (Permalink)

Give us a call at (978) 537-1500 as soon as the fire is out so we can clean and restore your home to a safe residence for you and your family.

Fire Damage Restoration For Your Lancaster Home

Fireplace safety begins with building your fire correctly, ensuring logs don’t roll out of the firebox and keeping sparks and flame safely inside. Fires in your Lancaster home can easily start when improperly using your fireplace or not keeping up with regular maintenance. It is essential to know how to take care of it to keep you and your family safe.

Fire damage and smoke damage in your Lancaster home should be taken care of right away. Settled smoke and soot continue to harm your structure until they are cleaned up. At SERVPRO, we are trained and experienced to handle these situations to return your home to the way it was, like nothing ever happened.

Opening the flue needs to be the first thing when lighting your fireplace. If you forget to do so, it causes your home to fill up with smoke, which can leave stains throughout your home. If you overload the firebox or are using an accelerant, a flue that is closed can also lead to flames spreading throughout your residence.
 
A main part of the restoration process is cleaning the soot and smoke particles. Every fire goes through stages, generating wet and dry smoke. Some create a big enough proportion of one kind of smoke, and SERVPRO techs use different cleaning methods to remove the various residues. Wet smoke is usually more difficult to remove than dry smoke. More materials can be restored in dry smoke conditions, as dry smoke carries few aerosols and deposits dry, small particles on surfaces. It also does not stain surfaces as intensely as wet smoke does, and the odor is less pungent.

Your fireplace should have both glass doors and a screen. The doors are made to prevent cold air from going through your fireplace when not in use. The screen stops embers and sparks from jumping out of the firebox. The screen should be closed as soon as you light the fire. If it is not, embers, sparks, and even flames can leave the firebox and start a fire in your house.

Keeping your chimney clean is also essential, as the creosote buildup from burning wood reduces the air flow. The more and more it collects, your chance of embers and sparks catching it on fire go up.

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is here to help you if your home in Devens, Harvard, or Still River catches fire for any reason because of your fireplace. Give us a call at (978) 537-1500 as soon as the fire is out so we can clean and restore your home to a safe residence for you and your family.

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Fire Restoration Experts You Can Trust In Your Leominster Home

1/28/2019 (Permalink)

Our professionals have state of the art equipment to clean up and restore your home so you can return safely after a fire.

Local Leominster Fire Debris Cleanup Services

When a blaze breaks out on your property, it is only natural that your home may need fire debris cleanup services called as soon as possible. Fire doesn't just leave behind ashes and charred objects, but soot and foul scents as well. In your home, a fire broke out in your kitchen, due to an electric wok, and burned many of the foodstuffs on your countertop. Boxes, plastic, and food were all reduced to soot, which adhered itself to your countertops and walls. In order for the debris to be cleaned up, without any problems, it is best to call for help as soon as possible.

Calling Leominster-based fire debris cleanup services to your home can help reduce the time it takes to return it to its preloss state. Soot and ash adheres itself to the surrounding structure of your home based on the temperature at which the fire inside your kitchen burned. Calling in a professional cleanup and remediation team can ensure that the job is done correctly and thoroughly, making sure that there is no trace of the fire left inside of your home.

If you want fast, effective, and friendly cleanup services, it is best to call SERVPRO. Our technicians are IICRC-certified and highly trained to combat many different types of damage. When we get your call, SERVPRO always gathers a team swiftly and then travels to your house as fast as possible. We always aim to deliver fast and effective services, no matter the size of the problem.

SERVPRO always uses advanced technology to handle cleanup and remediation jobs. When it comes to fire debris, once we get rid of the charred remains from the fire, we can focus on cleaning up the soot from your countertops. SERVPRO can use chemical cleaning solutions to cut through the soot. After continually scrubbing at the soot, wiping down the counter, and respraying the solution, the soot can begin to break down and come away from the surface.

Once we have removed all of the debris left behind by the fire, our work is done, and you can enjoy your home once more in its preloss state. We're confident we can leave you feeling "Like it never even happened."

When a fire leaves behind a mess, always reach out for help immediately. Contact SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster by phoning (978) 537-1500. Night or day, we're ready to come to your home and remediate the problem away.

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Soda Blasting, Ice Blasting, and Sand Blasting after Major Fire Damage in Leominster

12/7/2018 (Permalink)

Our technicians have state-of-the-art equipment to conquer any fire and soot damage!

House Fires Cause Tremendous Damage & Headaches - SERVPRO Can Provide Peace of Mind

Most of the time when we talk about the restoration of homes after a fire, we are talking about soot and smoke removal. However, when fires burn at a high temperature, they can cause structural damage as well. These types of fire are generally referred to as major and leave behind charred furniture, structure, and fittings. Despite the seemingly permanent impact, many of these items can be restored rather than replaced using the right equipment.

Severe fire damage in Leominster homes requires intense restoration efforts. At SERVPRO, we use IICRC certified technicians who know how to remove, replace or restore items as well as which parts can be salvaged. Where substantial damages are present, we may have to pack out items to a nearby cleaning facility to fully restore them using ultrasonic cleaning methods.

As for the structure, a careful assessment and pre-test of materials can be carried out by your SERVPRO technician. Although a test process may seem time-consuming, it is an essential part of the work we do. For natural materials, the use of a sandblaster can help to remove charring without the expense of replacing furniture or structure. This equipment removes the charring layer by layer leaving behind a smooth, remediated surface. For your homes more delicate items soda, or ice blasting can be equally effective at removing damage but are less abrasive than sandblasting. However, we need to test the materials before we can apply equipment like this so we can ensure the right outcomes are achieved.

In any fire, the lingering odor of charred materials can be an unpleasant reminder of the event for a homeowner. SERVPRO is certified in odor control techniques using water-based or desiccant chemical foggers to help find and neutralize unpleasant odors. A thorough deodorization of your home can make the fire damage seem "Like it never even happened."

Locally Owned Company with National Resources


We are responsive restorers of small, medium-sized and large-scale damages. Contact SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster at (978) 537-1500 to arrange a call out.

For more on Leominster, click here

How to Get Rid of Odors in Lancaster After a Fire

10/14/2018 (Permalink)

Smoke damage, residues, and odors are common after a fire. Contact SERVPRO to investigate and eliminate.

Eliminating the Lingering Effects of Fire Damage in Lancaster

When there is a fire in your Lancaster property, some of the effects can linger long after the incident. It might be surprising, but the minor effects of the fire such as bad odors or discolored surfaces are the most likely to last long. Addressing these problems requires the removal of all the debris left by the fire. Our professional restoration services can help you do this with ease.
 
Identifying all the residues left helps deal with the lingering effects of fire damage in Lancaster. Remains such as smoke particles can reach deep into surfaces because the heat from the blaze opens up pores embedding residue deeply. Even residue left on the surface only might have serious effects. For instance, soot tends to be acidic and therefore discolors surfaces such as marble. Through pretesting, our SERVPRO technicians can identify different remains and their effects thus determining the best method to eliminate them.
 
The testing done before restoration should focus on various aspects that determine the level of difficulty faced in removing residues. Apart from checking how porous the surface is our SERVPRO technicians consider its age too. It is essential to do this because old surfaces retain more deposits making them harder to clean. The amount of moisture in the loss environment also matters because higher levels settle residues making them more likely to cause permanent stains. Moisture could be a result of the water used to quell the fire or humid weather.
 
Since the type of materials burnt in the fire affects the residues produced, different procedures might be necessary to eliminate them. Residue from synthetic materials is harder to remove compared to residue from natural materials because in most cases, it is wet and smeary thus adhering firmly to the affected surfaces. Our SERVPRO team uses various techniques to deal with such deposits. Applying chemical agents helps in dissolving or suspending them. Agitation helps when there is strong adhesion, while pressure washing helps penetrate deeper into the material removing residues as well as traces of the cleaning agents used.
 
Stains and bad smells can be hard to eliminate after a fire. Contact SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster to assist. You can reach us at (978) 537-1500 any time of the day.

Click here for more information on the city of Lancaster.

Fire Damage in a Lancaster Home and Professional Help

8/23/2018 (Permalink)

Lancaster Fire Damage? Call SERVPRO for a Speedy and Money Saving Cleanup and Restoration

SERVPRO Provides Expert Fire & Smoke Cleanup and Restoration in the Lancaster Area

Firefighters do an exceptional job putting out the blaze and protecting you, your family,  and your home from immediate danger. However, once the dust settles, the process of rebuilding begins. That is when calling in professional, qualified fire loss technicians could help restore the property safely.

Properties with fire damage in Fitchburg-Leominster can benefit from an immediate assessment by taking into account personal items, electronics and restoration options. Using specialized equipment combined with extensive experience in dealing with issues like these, a SERVPRO fire technician is just a phone call away.

The extent of damage and the necessary remediation varies from property to property. Materials react to high temperatures in different ways with some becoming toxic or others at risk of causing further damage if they are not treated properly or removed from the premises. Plastics and enamels are particularly high-risk as well as electronics which can react with soot or smoke residue.

During our assessment, a visual inspection takes place. The inspection is designed to gauge health risk as well as the extent of damage suffered during the fire. We can measure the levels of carbon monoxide and other potentially harmful gasses in each room to ensure your safety first. Electronic equipment needs to be removed, inspected and carefully cleaned to ensure no lasting damage. This service must be performed by an outside contractor. We can wipe down exteriors of sensitive devices only. Your furniture can be cleaned using a small wand and vacuum and perhaps foam cleaning to treat upholstery. Even personal belongings of sentimental value can be submitted for restoration including, where possible, photographs.

The extent and depth of the fire loss dictate what we as fire damage restoration technicians can salvage. What we can do is work with a restore over replace mentality. Removing infrastructure is exceptionally costly. Where possible, SERVPRO can restore your home by removing all soot and smoke, carrying out water removal (if necessary), cleaning, sanitizing and deodorizing your home. In extreme cases, immediate board-up and roof-tarps services may be available to prevent on-going damage.
 
Fire damage and water removal often go hand in hand. At SERVPRO these are cornerstones of our services. That means we have both the equipment and the expertise to help you in the aftermath of a fire.

So if your home is victim to fire damage, SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is on hand. Call our emergency line on (978) 537-1500 or request help online for immediate assistance.

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The Importance of Professional Inspection Following a Fire In Your Lancaster Home

5/29/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Works with Lancaster Homeowners' Insurance Companies to Make the Fire Damage Restoration Process Less Stressful and Expedient

SERVPRO Expedites the Initial Process to Coordinate the Cleanup and Restoration of Fire Damaged Properties

A fire in your Lancaster home can feel devastating when you are unsure of how to go about getting the damages restored. Every homeowner wants to see their home back to the way it was once it has gotten affected by a disaster. Fortunately, you do not have to worry about repairs and restorations all on your own.

After a fire, your Lancaster home likely shows multiple signs of this occurrence. From the soot and smoke damage to possibly severe structural concerns, you might not be entirely sure where to begin the cleanup. Our SERVPRO team can help you to understand the work that needs to be done to restore your home and can help you through the often involved process of affording it through your home insurance claim.

One of the requirements for an insurance adjuster to submit a claim to the insurance company is that a qualified professional assesses the damage and generally estimates the cost of the repairs and restoration. Our SERVPRO estimator would get tasked with this process. The inspection not only includes the steps required to bring your home back to original condition whenever possible but the affected contents of your home and the equipment/personnel that are required to complete the job. We catalog non-salvageable items on our CCIS Contents Claim Inventory Service form to assist with the claims process. Close cooperation is essential, but SERVPRO is not an insurance company.

Once this assessment finishes, our estimator and project manager for the assignment can meet with the insurance adjuster to submit the findings and work on your behalf to expedite the claims process. This direct communication cuts out excessive legwork on your part and helps keep the process moving steadily forward towards the restoration and completion of the project.

There are multiple concerns that a homeowner like you has when they get posed with recovering from a fire in their home. Fortunately, our SERVPRO of Fitchburg – Leominster team of fire restoration specialists can help you to cut through a lot of the hurdles that stand in the way of your damaged home and its return to preloss conditions, "Like it never even happened." Give us a call today at (978) 537-1500.

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Why Cleaning Counts after Facing Fire Damage in Sterling

4/15/2018 (Permalink)

Residues that remain after a fire can be difficult to remove. Contact SERVPRO right away to remediate stubborn types of residues.

Team SERVPRO Understands That Dealing With Fire Damage Includes Remediating Different Types of Residues


Reducing the claim costs is a top priority after experiencing a fire damage incident. During this stressing time, you have to do all you can to avoid ending up with replacements and tasks such as resurfacing. That means you should act quickly and work with professionals that offer restoration and cleaning services in Sterling. By doing that, it is easy to know the contents you can salvage and in the process mitigate the damage.

Let us begin by understanding the principles of cleaning that our SERVPRO technicians use when attending to fire damage incidents in Sterling. Our primary goal is to return your contents to their preloss state, and we begin by doing a site inspection which helps us trace the smoke residues and how far the smoke has moved. We then go ahead and analyze the type of smoke residues, since there is a possibility of having different kinds in the same location and that means using more than one cleaning technique.

Our SERVPRO technicians also look at the type of surface where the particles are resting on since that also helps us when choosing an appropriate cleaning procedure. At this point, we are ready to capture and remove the smoke particles either through wet or dry cleaning procedures. It is also our work to dispose of the waste and debris we end up with after cleaning your property.

When we want to dislodge soils from hard surfaces, we may decide to use mechanical action. In most cases, we use the process before implementing other cleaning actions such as lubrication, chemical action suspension, and dispersion. Some areas are too fragile and using aggressive agitation may cause damage and to avoid that, we may use absorption. Our SERVPRO technicians can apply an absorbent powder on delicate surfaces to absorb residues, and after that, we use vacuum-cleaning to remove them from porous surfaces.

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is a trusted industry leader in mold, fire, water, storm and fire damage restoration. Call us at (978) 537-1500 when you face any size disaster, and we can make it “Like it never even happened.”
 
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The Fire Damage Experts Of Lancaster

3/8/2018 (Permalink)

Don't let fire damage overwhelm you. Contact SERVPRO for a quick response to your fire damage emergency situation needs.

SERVPRO Understands Fire Damage Including Smoke Residues

If a fire burns your Lancaster home, many different types of damage possibly exist. Not only does the heat from the flames burn and char materials, but smoke coming from the fire damages things as well. Smoke spreads from the source of the burn to other areas of the building. Smoke leaves behind soot residues and possibly penetrates odors into specific materials.
 
Due to the different types of damage a blaze can cause, it is essential to seek professional help. SERVPRO's fire damage specialists in Lancaster are IICRC certified and know how fires behave. Studying the theory of fire helps our technicians find and adequately mitigate every problem a burn has caused inside your structure.
 
Anytime a loss due to a fire is reported, the issue gets classified as minor, medium, or major. The more severe the burn was inside your home, the more likely it gets classified as major. Our crews at SERVPRO have experience in the different procedures involved in all the types of scenarios.
 
The most common situation is minor damage resulting from an indoor burn. In these cases, there are little building materials that get burned and need replacement. The primary type of damage found in minor issues is smoke-related problems.
 
Whenever smoke fills a building, it leaves behind a few different kinds of soot residues. Most smoke gets classified as being either wet, dry, or a combination of the two. The types of smoke leave behind residues that take different methods to get clean.
 
Dry smoke gets created when a hot, fast-burning fire burns natural fuel sources. Dry smoke residues deposit small particles and stick to surfaces making the soot easy to clean. Wet smoke gets created when a cooler, slow-burning fire torches synthetic fuels. Wet smoke residues penetrate materials deeper and have more pungent odors than dry smoke. Since wet smoke particles are longer than dry smoke particles, soot coming from wet smoke is much harder to clean.
 
Anytime you are dealing with even the most minor types of smoke damage; it is wise to reach out to the professionals of the industry. For assistance with any smoke problem, call SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster at (978) 537-1500 for help 24/7.

Click here for more information on the city of Lancaster.

Recovering From Fire Damage To Your Lancaster Home

2/7/2018 (Permalink)

Fast Mitigation After Fire and Smoke Incidents Reduce Disruptions to Lancaster Residents

SERVPRO Cleanups and Restores Smoke & Fire Effects in Many Properties

When your Lancaster home gets overcome by a serious fire, there are so many things on your list that need to get addressed. With such a large volume of lingering symptoms to remind you of the traumatic event your family endured, it is difficult to consider how your family can feel comfortable living in the house again. Professional restoration services can make this seemingly far-fetched dream a reality for you.  
 
Fire damage to your Lancaster home can show itself in several different ways. Fortunately, SERVPRO and our professional technicians have dealt with all manner of fire restoration and can help you through this trying time. Working closely with your concerns and what priorities that you have, our certified team can work quickly to give you back the house that you lost and allow living at home comfortable for you once again.  
 
With extinguishing efforts, damage gets inadvertently done to a home. Our technicians can assess this damage from the moment we arrive, starting with sealing up holes and broken doors or windows. While this is a precautionary measure, it does help to prevent elemental damage from making the situation worse. This step ensures that the rest of the restoration process can be done more efficiently as well.  
 
Smoke and soot damage are often large components of significant fire incidents, and our SERVPRO professionals can handle this as well. Utilizing our scrubbers fitted with HEPA filters (to limit debris and dust circulating), the team works to completely clean walls, surfaces, floors, ceilings, and the contents of your home. While this process is often successful, there are times where the best that can get achieved is to prepare a wall or ceiling for priming and painting to get entirely restored.  
 
In incidents that leave significant structural damage, our experienced technicians can prepare the affected areas for reconstruction efforts through a contractor. The process involves controlled demolition to ensure that only the damaged areas get removed and that the areas in need of reconstruction get readied for a residential contractor to install and finish.  
 
While the thought of a fire to your home might be challenging, having experienced professionals like ours at SERVPRO of Fitchburg - Leominster makes it a little easier to manage. You can reach us 24/7 by calling (978) 537-1500.

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Reliable Fire Damage Restoration Services in Sterling

12/14/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technicians have different cleaning methods for different fire damage situations to restore your home "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO’s Fire Damage Restoration Cleaning Methods

Cases of fire damage are common all over the world and knowing how to deal with them is so important. After a fire incident, you have to decide whether to replace the affected contents or repair them altogether. Although replacing all the materials and furniture could look like a better idea, restoring your property is recommended as the first step. That is why you need a professional to help you know what to restore and what to replace

Fire damage can be very disastrous and can lead to massive losses. However, residents of Sterling should consider contacting SERVPRO and let our skilled and experienced technicians help restore the property after the disaster. Our technicians thoroughly clean the affected structures, getting rid of black spots, bad odor, and smoke particles.

Our SERVPRO technicians apply different methods to handle different situations. For instance, our technicians use dry cleaning methods to eliminate light or medium soils that are non-grease. To remove surface dust, we use dusting cloths or feather dusters to brush or lightly wipe the affected surface. After dry cleaning, our technicians go to wet cleaning. Wet cleaning is used to remove the moderate and heavy residues. In this method, our technicians use water together with other cleaning agents where necessary.

Another technique that our team uses while washing your contents is the spray and wipe formula. In this method, we use a spray device to spray and spread the cleaning agent. After spraying, a clean fabric is used to wipe the surface. Our team uses the spray and wipe method on materials that are hard to saturate in water or the cleaning product.

To deal with upholstery fabrics that are prone to shrinking due to wetness, our IICRC-certified technicians use a foam cleaning method. In this, we use a Tampico upholstery brush to stir a shampoo solution, creating lots of foam. We then spray the foam into the brush or a sponge and then apply the foam to the item. We use foam cleaning on light residues or materials that are delicate.

SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is a trustworthy and reliable leader that restores property after fire, storm, water and mold damage disasters. Call us today at (978) 537-1500 to learn more about the available options.

For more information about the Sterling Fire Department, click here.

SERVPRO's Two-Part Process Saves Costs in Lancaster Fire Damage Situations

10/21/2017 (Permalink)

When you and your family are safe after a fire, it is time to call the responsive team at SERVPRO to evaluate the damage and start remediation.

Finding a Team that Can Handle BOTH Remediation and Reconstruction is a Big Part of Getting Back into Your Home After a Fire

Part of the reason why SERVPRO franchises nationwide have been so successful is due to our ability to handle both mitigation tasks and rebuilding work in one effort. We are qualified and equipped to handle these larger, more involved jobs, keeping all the work under one company and team. The combination of our mitigation and rebuilding services shines best in cases of fire damage in Lancaster and surrounding areas, due to the especially destructive nature of fire damage and typical rebuilding needs.
 
Mitigation
 
Mitigation services are designed to prevent as much fire damage as possible in your Lancaster home. The hours immediately after a fire are crucial, as it is during this time that much of the costliest damage develops. A swift and comprehensive professional response can significantly reduce the impact of fire on the home. Our mitigation strategy relies on our 24/7 fast response times and readiness to tackle disasters of any size. Calling SERVPRO immediately after the disaster ensures that your home takes as little damage as possible from the fire.
 
Rebuilding
 
Once mitigation and initial restoration steps have been completed, we can then move on to reconstruction work. Fires can damage a structure in many different ways at once, requiring specialized treatments and building techniques to repair correctly. We carry a broad selection of certifications to showcase our ability to handle any situation and help to rebuild and restore your home to the same condition it was in before the fire.
 
How They Tie-In
 
Our mitigation and rebuilding services are so effective in part thanks to their interconnectedness. Other companies typically stick to one service or the other, and so must communicate with each other or else become inefficient. Our teams handle both parts of the process, and so as a result, our services are seamless, cost-effective, and light on paperwork.
 
SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is available around the clock to respond to calls for help. If a fire has hurt your home, call us at (978) 537-1500.

For more information regarding Lancaster, click here

Fire Damage May Stem from Many Sources in Your Fitchburg Residence

7/22/2017 (Permalink)

When the Firefighters Are Gone, then SERVPRO Cleans Up the Damage in Fitchburg

Degrees of Heat, Smoke, and Flames Define the Pattern and Extent of Damage

The ways fire can affect a home are numerous. The original material which caught fire, the amount of material present, air currents, and even the time of year can all create differences from one fire to another. No two fires are identical. This broad range of characterizations is part of the reason firefighters spend substantial amounts of time training with different types of intentional fires.

SERVPRO technicians also continuously train so that they are always prepared for the many different kinds of fire damage in Fitchburg they may encounter. When someone already present at home puts out a smaller fire, damaged areas might be less costly but should still be repaired by professionals with experience. Water can become just as harmful if left to evaporate and cause staining on its own, even in small amounts.
 
When firefighters use hoses to wet everything down inside your home to keep it from catching on fire, steam can become quite prolific and spread throughout your home. A fine mist of steam, smoke, and soot, plus particulates from burnt materials slowly deposits these substances everywhere, indiscriminately. These deposits can pose risks to many of your personal belongings and keepsakes. Removing the soot and smoke residue must commence soon after so these items do not suffer any additional damage.
 
The water used to fight your home's fire can also damage support beams within your home, compounding the damage your floors may have already suffered from the heat and flames. Cleaning is not enough to restore a home in all cases. Structural integrity is crucial to protecting your family. Our technicians have been trained to IICRC's international standards, preparing them for all types and severity levels of fire damage. From the top of your home's roof down to the ground below your house, we can restore everything, so your family home is once again “Like it never even happened.”
 
Not only is a fire of any size a stressful and horrific event, but it is also a dangerous one that can continue placing your family's health at risk. Smoke residues can induce breathing difficulties, soot can contain harmful substances that can pose serious risks to toddlers who put contaminated items in their mouths, and weakened areas in walls can pose dangers from electrical shock.
 
SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster is a locally owned and operated franchise, making us your friends and neighbors. We are here whenever you might need us most, in traumatic events that can leave slight, or extensive, fire damage behind. Calling us at (978) 537-1500 should be your first step in restoring your home, which can also eliminate your family's bad memories of a terrible situation.

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Peak Time of Year for Home Candle Fires

11/28/2016 (Permalink)

A candle fire created this mess throughout this hallway in Leominster.  SERVPRO of Fitchburg-Leominster was called in to clean up the soot throughout. 

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