Fire Damage Cleanup Project? Read These Safety Tips

Fire Damage Cleanup Can Hurt

In more ways than one, fire damage repair work can hurt. It can hurt your bank account, your peace and your livelihood. And fire damage cleanup work can hurt you, personally. Here are some safety tips we’ve picked up over the years helping our Denver and Front Range community recover from fire damage.

Fire Damage Cleanup Is Toxic

It’s as simple as this: fire causes reactions that release noxious and even deadly chemicals, which then often contaminate even parts of a structure otherwise unaffected by the blaze. So make sure you protect yourself and others as you manage your fire damage cleanup project, whether in your home or business.

You need to carefully, but thoroughly, clean all surfaces and articles that have been exposed to smoke from any structure fire, ensuring that you protect and decontaminate yourself, others and all equipment you use in the fire damage cleanup process. Consider using personal protective equipment and outerwear available at hardware stores.

Fire Damage Cleanup Poses Injury Risks

Look, it seems like a no-brainer to say that a fire-damaged building can be a dangerous place. But when that building is your home or business, your judgement can get cloudy. The desire to reclaim your normal life is strong, and it can persuade you to overlook safety considerations, if you are not stalwart in your commitment to safety.

Before you begin the cleanup and recovery process after a damaging fire, make sure you assess the situation, building and other factors, asking yourself at every step, “What’s the worst thing that can happen to a person cleaning this up?” Asking and answering this simple question again and again is a powerful tool to help you keep your family, employees, customers and self safe. Some examples of this kind of questioning might be:

• What’s the most dangerous part of removing the fire and smoke-damaged possessions?
• What are some ways workers (friends, family, me) can get hurt gutting this damaged structure?
• What are the safety risks inherent in disposing of the fire and smoke-damaged debris resulting from the cleanup?

Fire Damage Cleanup Poses Environmental Hazards

Another thing to remember about safely cleaning up after a structure fire is that the rubbish and debris that results can be literally classified as toxic waste. Asbestos and other materials used in contemporary construction can be released into the environment, threatening workers and the public with dangerous health risks. On top of this, government regulations can carry sharp fines and even criminal penalties for improper handling and disposal of asbestos-containing building materials.

Professional Restoration fire damage cleanup specialists are on call 24/7 to help you quickly and safely recover from devastating fire damage. Call Professional Restoration for Excellence in Property Damage Repair.