IT’S ALMOST THE END OF NOVEMBER AND THE START OF DECEMBER!
So, it means Alaska is going through the coldest period of the year, when the temperature falls far below zero. From November to March, Alaska faces very low temperatures and long periods of darkness.
As the weather is extremely cold, people use space heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces, and fuel-based heaters more often. Moreover, many homes in Alaska have older infrastructure, like older wiring, which can overheat when used heavily in winter.
These two reasons are the main causes of fire incidents that occur in the winter season in Alaska. The fire event itself is a very hard time for the residents of the home. It leaves people emotionally and financially devastated.
Fire might get extinguished soon, but the stress fire takes with it continues to grow after it turns off. And one of the most depressing tasks is fire damage restoration. After the incident, the most overwhelming feeling is “What do I do next?” Most homeowners describe the experience as “devastating,” “shocking,” and “paralyzing,” especially when they see their belongings covered in soot, smoke, and ash.
So, keeping in view the rate of high home fire incidents in Alaska, especially in winter, we are here to ease you a bit by explaining to you what to do after the fire is extinguished, how a fire damage restoration team can help you, and how much the whole process costs. This blog might not help you recover your loss, but it might lower your burden a bit by telling you what to do for fire damage restoration.
What is Fire Damage Restoration?
Fire damage restoration is the process of returning a fire and smoke damaged property to pre-loss condition.
A fire event is like a trigger that stimulates many problems with it. One of the biggest problems that raises its head is water damage. The water damage occurs due to two main reasons. One reason is that extinguishing a fire requires a large amount of water which is doused during the whole process to put off the flames. The second reason is that heat due to fire can melt or burst the water pipes causing water to leak everywhere. So, water damage can make a place at fire almost irreparable. Water damage restoration involves mitigating water and drying the property. This process often needs days to a week to get completed.
Whereas, Fire cleanup and restoration jobs can take weeks or months due to the destructive nature of the disaster. It can include boarding up broken windows or doors, tearing down unsafe parts of the house, and rebuilding them again. It also involves clearing debris, getting rid of smoke odor, cleaning soot from surfaces, and saving items that can still be repaired. During a fire incident, harmful chemicals lead or asbestos might disturbed get disturbed, the restoration team will safely remove them too.
Read More: Chimney Cleaning in California: Cost, Tools, and Professional Services You Can Book Today
Simple Tips for Anyone Going Through Fire Damage Restoration
All of us know that fire event and the scenarios linked to it feel really very scary and confusing. But here are some simple tips which one should follow to at least get some level of mental peace that they have saved at least what’s left behind.
- Wait outside until the house is declared safe.
- Call a fire restoration company as soon as you can.
- Protect the parts of the home that didn’t burn.
- Don’t try to clean heavy soot or smoke by yourself.
- Make sure the house gets dried quickly.
- Take photos of everything before throwing anything away.
- Keep children and pets away from the damaged area.
- Ask questions whenever you don’t understand something.
- Give yourself some emotional space.
- Focus on safety first, then repair.
Steps to Restore Fire Damage
After the fire, your place is unsafe to enter, and it is not permitted to enter it until or unless a licensed authority gives you a go ahead.
So, the first and foremost step is to get your place verified as safe to enter by licensed authorities and professionals. Once they show you a green signal and give you a go ahead to enter, you can call a fire damage restoration team to analyze the damage caused by the fire event. They analyze properly which fire damages can be restored, and to what extent. Let’s discuss the damage restoration process step-by-step:
1. Assessment of Damage
After the fire damage restoration team is signaled to enter the home, their first task is a thorough assessment. In this process, the team checks everything to assess how much damage was caused by the fire and any additional damage that occurred due to the dousing of water during the process of extinguishing the fire.
They analyze which things are damaged completely and need to be replaced, and which things can be repaired and remodeled.
At the end of a thorough assessment, the restoration team will have an appropriate idea of how much work is required to complete restoration and how long it will take. Finally, the team will be able to formulate how much of the total investment is required to complete the restoration process.
2. Security of Property & Debris Removal
In this step, the most important thing is to fence the property to prevent unprofessional or any curious person from entering the space because the place might be unsafe for non professionals.
Once the fencing is done, the damaged home or building is cleaned by removing the broken things from around.
In a fire, glass usually shatters due to intense heat, leaving a portal to enter inside the home, so the team will cover and board up windows and doors to protect what’s left inside the house from theft and weather.
As a next move, the restoration team will cover the damaged parts of the roof with tarps so rain or wind doesn’t cause more damage.
Moreover, the team will protect the undamaged part of the home by sealing them so that smoke, soot, dust, or dirty water stay away from them..
3. Demolition, Water Removal and Dry Out
After securing the place, the next step is to prevent any further damage from happening.
The water used during extinguishing the fire might cause rust and mold. To prevent this from happening, the whole place is evacuated and dried with the help of industrial dryers, fans, and machines.
The damaged parts of the place are cut out and removed. Only the strong parts like concrete or strong wooden walls are left because they are safe and can be remodeled and revamped.
4. Clean Up and Smoke Removal
This step involves deep cleaning of the damaged place. This is the most intensive part of the whole restoration process because it involves a lot of manual labor to properly clean smoke and soot from surfaces. In most cases, every inch of the affected area that has smoke or soot needs to be cleaned. Once the cleaning is over, the team uses special deodorizing agents so the home smells normal again.
In this step, air ducts are cleaned thoroughly because if any smoke and soot are left there, they can spread again causing a bad smell around the home.
After cleaning smoke and soot, the team will also desensitize the whole place to prevent the growth of molds due to humidity caused by water damage
5. Construction and Restoration
In the final step of restoration, the parts that were declared impossible to repair will be removed and replaced properly. This step will bring the place back to its pre damage condition and make it worth living in again.
This step includes rebuilding and replacing the roof, electrical connections and wirings, flooring materials, replacing interior counters, fixtures, etc.
How to Get Fire Damage Restoration in Alaska
There are several reliable fire damage restoration companies that are serving different parts of Alaska. These companies include Taylored Restoration, AK Restoration Pro, Dry Out Systems, CMC Construction LLC, Fire & Flood Services Inc. etc
Taylored Restoration provides services in Anchorage, Eagle River, and the Mat-Su Valley. AK Restoration Pro serves Anchorage and nearby areas with certified fire, smoke, and water damage repair. Dry Out Systems works across Anchorage, Wasilla, and Chugiak. CMC Construction LLC provides fire-damage cleanup and rebuilding services in Anchorage and surrounding communities. Fire & Flood Services Inc. serves Anchorage and nearby towns with full fire-damage restoration support. These are all highly professional and licensed companies with years of experience in damage restoration with top-notch expertise.
In order to get their help, go to their websites, either take their contact number from the site or fill out their online contact form to connect with them.
When you contact them, they will ask you about your details, credentials, and a short description of what happened.
Once the initial contact procedure is done, the fire damage restoration company will send its team to your place. The team will do the assessment process and formulate how much money you will need for the whole restoration process. The team will start the restoration process as soon as you approve.
How Much Fire Damage Restoration Costs in Alaska
Across the U.S., the average cost for fire and smoke restoration is much higher. Minor fire cleanup can range from $2,500 to $6,000, while more serious fires that damage multiple rooms often cost around $20,470, with many cases falling between $2,900 and $38,325.
The cost of fire damage restoration in Alaska varies a lot because it depends on many factors. One of the main factors is the extent of damage. A larger fire event with heavy damage obviously costs more as compared to a small fire event with lighter damage.
The other factors that affect cost include how deep the smoke traveled, the extent of water damage due to the fire event, structural repair, soot removal, smoke cleaning, rebuilding of damaged sections, etc.
Some contractors use a simple formula of $4 to $7 per square foot to estimate the cost. Alaska’s severe weather and remote locations can sometimes make labor and materials more expensive, which also affects the final price.
FAQs about Fire Damage Restoration in Alaska
1: What causes most home fire incidents in Alaska during winter?
Most fire incidents in Alaska happen in winter because people use space heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces, and fuel-based heaters more frequently. Many homes also have older wiring that overheats when used heavily in winter.
2: What is fire damage restoration?
Fire damage restoration is the process of returning a fire and smoke damaged property back to its pre-loss condition. These cleanup and restoration jobs can take weeks or months due to the destructive nature of the disaster.
3: Why does water damage happen during a fire event?
Water damage happens because a large amount of water is used to put out the fire, and also because the heat from the fire can melt or burst water pipes, causing water to leak everywhere.
4: What tasks are included during fire cleanup and restoration?
. It can include boarding up broken windows or doors, tearing down unsafe parts of the house, and rebuilding them again. It also involves clearing debris, getting rid of smoke odor, cleaning soot from surfaces, and saving items that can still be repaired. During a fire incident, harmful chemicals lead or asbestos might disturbed get disturbed, the restoration team will safely remove them too.
5: What is the first thing a homeowner should do after a fire?
In the first step, the homeowner should make sure that all the residents and the pets must be safe. If anyone is hurt, provide first aid to them. And homeowners must not allow anyone to enter the home until or unless home is declared as safe to enter. Meanwhile, the owner can contact the fire damage restoration team, too.
