A Cleaner Home After a Fire: How Smoke and Soot Affect Your Air Quality

9/16/2024 (Permalink)

When a fire strikes, the visible damage is easy to spot—charred walls, blackened ceilings, and burned furniture. But what often goes unnoticed is the lasting impact that smoke and soot can have on your home’s air quality. Long after the flames are out, these invisible particles continue to circulate, creating a hidden health hazard for you and your family.

At SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, we specialize in smoke and soot cleaning services that not only restore the appearance of your home but also improve the air you breathe. Here’s why professional smoke and soot cleaning is crucial for your health and well-being.

What Exactly Is Soot?

Soot is the fine, black powder that’s left behind when organic matter doesn’t burn completely. While it may look harmless, these tiny particles can penetrate deep into your home’s structure, furniture, and air ducts. Soot isn’t just unsightly—it’s also a mix of dangerous substances, including carbon, ash, and toxic chemicals that can remain in the air long after the fire has been extinguished.

How Smoke and Soot Impact Air Quality

The microscopic particles from smoke and soot are often too small to see, but they can cause big problems for your air quality. When inhaled, these particles can enter your lungs and bloodstream, potentially leading to health issues like:

• Respiratory problems: Coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
• Asthma attacks: For those with pre-existing conditions, exposure to soot can trigger more frequent and severe attacks.
• Irritation: Soot can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat.
• Long-term health risks: Prolonged exposure to smoke particles has been linked to heart disease, lung cancer, and other serious conditions.

Why DIY Smoke Cleanup Often Isn’t Enough

Many homeowners attempt to clean up after a fire with household cleaning products, but this can do more harm than good. Smoke and soot particles are not just surface-level contaminants; they embed themselves into soft materials like furniture, carpets, and even the walls. Household cleaners aren’t designed to fully remove these particles, and some can even cause soot to smear, making the damage worse.

How SERVPRO® Cleans Smoke and Soot

At SERVPRO of Twin Falls, we use specialized equipment and techniques to tackle smoke and soot damage at its source. Here’s how we ensure your home’s air quality is restored:

• Air scrubbers: These devices filter the air to remove smoke and soot particles.
• Ozone machines: We use ozone generators to neutralize odors and remove airborne particles.
• Deep cleaning: From carpets to air ducts, we clean all surfaces to ensure soot is fully removed.
• Deodorization: Smoke odors can linger in your home long after the fire. Our deodorization techniques eliminate these odors for good, rather than masking them temporarily.

Why Quick Action Matters

The longer smoke and soot particles remain in your home, the more they can settle into walls, floors, and fabrics, making cleanup more difficult and expensive. Acting fast not only improves air quality but also reduces the chance of long-term damage to your home’s structure.

Trust SERVPRO of Twin Falls for a Healtheir Home

After a fire, don’t let smoke and soot linger in your home. At SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, we provide comprehensive smoke and soot cleaning services that restore not only your home’s appearance but also the air you and your family breathe. Our professional team is ready to help you recover after a fire, ensuring your home is safe, clean, and free from harmful particles.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you restore your home’s air quality after smoke and soot damage.

Why Fire Prevention is Key During the Dry Season

8/26/2024 (Permalink)

As the summer months roll on, the combination of high temperatures and reduced rainfall can create the perfect conditions for fires. In Twin Falls and surrounding areas, the dry season brings increased risk, making fire prevention more important than ever. At SERVPRO of Twin Falls, we understand the devastation that a fire can cause, not only to your property, but also to the lives of the people affected. Here’s why fire prevention should be at the top of your priority list during the dry season.

1. The Increased Risk of Fire During Dry Conditions

Dry weather means that vegetation such as grass, leaves, and shrubs can become highly flammable. Even a small spark—from a cigarette, barbecue, or faulty wiring—can quickly turn into a large fire that spreads rapidly, especially if there’s wind like we see so often here in southern Idaho. The lack of moisture in the air and ground makes it easier for fires to start and harder to contain, putting both homes and businesses at significant risk.

2. Protecting Your Property and Loved Ones

A fire can destroy something that took years to build, in just a few minutes. The financial cost of a fire can be overwhelming, both repairing or rebuilding property to replacing lost possessions. More importantly, fires can pose serious dangers to the lives of you and your loved ones. Ensuring your home is equipped with working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and a clear fire escape plan can save lives.

3. Simple Steps to Prevent Fires

Prevention is the best defense against fire, and it starts with awareness. Here are some practical steps you can take:

• Maintain Your Property: Keep your yard clear of dry leaves, branches, and other debris that can serve as fuel for a fire. Trim trees and shrubs to create a defensible space around your home.
• Be Cautious with Outdoor Activities: Be extra careful with outdoor cooking, bonfires, and fireworks. Always keep water or a fire extinguisher nearby, and never leave a fire unattended.
• Check Electrical Systems: Faulty wiring is a common cause of fires. Have your electrical systems inspected regularly, especially in older homes, to ensure everything is up to code and working properly.
• Proper Storage: Store flammable materials, such as gasoline, propane, and chemicals, in a safe place away from the house. Make sure they are in approved containers and away from heat sources.

4. What to Do If a Fire Starts

Even with the best precautions, fires can still happen. If a fire does start, knowing how to respond quickly can make all the difference:

• Call 911 immediately. Time is critical, and the faster emergency services can respond, the better.
• Evacuate the area. Make sure everyone gets out of the building and moves to a safe location. Do not re-enter the building until it’s declared safe by authorities.
• Use fire extinguishers for small fires. If the fire is small and manageable, use a fire extinguisher to put it out, but don’t take unnecessary risks. If in doubt, evacuate.

5. SERVPRO of Twin Falls Is Here to Help

At SERVPRO of Twin Falls, we specialize in fire damage restoration. Our team of experts is trained to handle every aspect of fire recovery, from soot and smoke removal to rebuilding and restoring your property. We understand the stress and worry that comes with a fire, and our goal is to help you get back to normal as quickly and smoothly as possible.

If you’ve experienced a fire or want more information on fire prevention and safety, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here 24/7 to assist you with any restoration needs.

Conclusion

Fire prevention during the dry season is not just about protecting your property; it’s about safeguarding lives. By taking proactive steps, you can reduce the risk of fire and ensure that your home or business remains safe during these critical months. Remember, SERVPRO of Twin Falls is always here to help in the event of a fire, offering professional restoration services to get you back on your feet. Stay safe, stay prepared, and let’s work together to prevent fires this dry season.

Understanding Fire Damage: Types and Severity

6/17/2024 (Permalink)

A house fire is a devastating event. Beyond the emotional toll, the physical damage to your home can be overwhelming. At SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, we understand that restoring your property after a fire requires not only expertise but also compassion. The first step on the road to recovery is understanding the different types and severity of fire damage.

Types of Fire Damage:

• Direct flame damage: This is the most visible type of damage, caused by the fire itself. Materials like wood, furniture, and drywall can be charred, warped, or completely destroyed depending on the intensity and duration of the fire.
• Smoke and soot damage: Smoke particles can travel far beyond the fire's origin, leaving a greasy film and unpleasant odors. Soot can stain walls, ceilings, and belongings, requiring specialized cleaning techniques.
• Heat damage: Even without direct flames, intense heat can cause cracking, warping, and discoloration of walls, floors, ceilings, and even structural components.
• Water damage: Firefighters use water to extinguish flames, which can lead to significant water damage throughout the structure. This requires prompt action to prevent mold growth.

Severity of Fire Damage:

The severity of fire damage depends on several factors, including:

• Temperature of the fire: Different fires burn at varying temperatures, with hotter fires causing more extensive damage.
• Duration of the fire: The longer a fire burns, the more time there is for heat and smoke to spread and cause damage.
• Materials involved: Some materials are more flammable than others and will suffer greater damage.
• Ventilation: Good ventilation can help limit smoke and soot damage, while poor ventilation can worsen it.

How SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties Can Help

At SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, our fire damage restoration technicians are highly trained and equipped to handle all types and severities of fire damage. We will work quickly and efficiently to:

• Assess the damage: Our team will thoroughly evaluate the fire damage, including direct flame damage, smoke and soot infiltration, heat damage, and water damage.
• Develop a restoration plan: We will create a customized plan to address all aspects of the damage, prioritizing safety and restoring your property to its pre-fire condition.
• Clean and restore your belongings: We use specialized cleaning techniques to remove smoke, soot, and odors from your belongings, salvaging as much as possible.
• Structural repairs: Our team can handle repairs to walls, floors, ceilings, and roof damage caused by the fire.
• Deodorization: We use advanced techniques to eliminate lingering smoke odors from your property.

The fire restoration process can be complex, but you don't have to go through it alone. Contact SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties today for a fast and professional fire damage restoration experience.

From the Ashes: Recovering Your Home After a Fire with SERVPRO of Twin Falls

5/16/2024 (Permalink)

The aftermath of a fire can be devastating. The emotional toll is immense, and the sight of your once cherished home damaged can feel overwhelming. However, amidst the chaos, there's hope for restoration. SERVPRO understands the importance of getting your life back on track, and we're here to guide you through the fire damage restoration process.

The Hidden Hazards of Fire Damage

While the flames themselves are a clear danger, fire damage goes beyond the immediate burn marks. Here are some hidden threats to be aware of:

• Smoke Residue: Smoke permeates everything, leaving a film that can stain surfaces, irritate eyes and lungs, and even contain harmful toxins.
• Structural Damage: Fire weakens support beams, melts electrical wiring, and can compromise the structural integrity of your home.
• Water Damage: Firefighters use water to extinguish flames, which can lead to secondary water damage that requires prompt attention.

SERVPRO - Your Partner in Fire Restoration

At SERVPRO, we take a comprehensive approach to fire damage restoration, addressing all aspects of the damage:

• Emergency Response: Our highly trained technicians are available 24/7 to respond quickly and secure your property.
• Fire Damage Assessment: We'll thoroughly assess the extent of the damage, including smoke, water, and structural issues.
• Content Cleaning and Pack-Out: We'll meticulously clean and restore your belongings, or pack them out safely for off-site storage.
• Deodorization: We use advanced techniques to remove smoke odors and ensure your home smells fresh again.
• Structural Repairs: Our team can work with qualified contractors to restore any structural damage caused by the fire.

Beyond Restoration - Peace of Mind

SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties goes beyond just fixing the physical damage. We understand the emotional impact of a fire, and our team is here to provide support and guidance throughout the restoration process. We'll work directly with your insurance company to streamline the claims process and ensure a smooth recovery.

Don't Let Fire Take Your Home Away

If you've experienced a fire loss, don't try to navigate the complexities of restoration alone. Contact SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties right away. We'll be there for you, every step of the way, to help you turn your house back into a home.

Smoke Cleanup Focuses on Fire Damage in Twin Falls

3/13/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO provides excellent fire damage and soot cleanup for Twin Falls houses and properties.

Restorers Prioritize Soot and Smoke Removal

If you've ever had the misfortune of experiencing a fire on your property, you're well aware of the daunting cleanup process that follows. The black residue left behind, commonly known as soot, can be challenging to remove. Moreover, it can pose serious health risks if not handled with care. Fortunately, professionals like our SERVPRO® crew are experts at managing such a threatening situation.

What To Expect from Our Experienced Team

Thoroughly removing soot and cleaning surfaces are crucial in restoring fire damage in Twin Falls homes. Our team prioritizes safety and wears protective gear while cleaning soot containing harmful chemicals, acids, and carcinogens.

The Focuses of Cleaning Soot and Smoke Damage

• Air Quality - To improve air quality and remove soot after a fire, slide open windows and doors to ventilate the room. This and air filtration technologies can significantly enhance the environmental conditions during the soot cleanup.
• Dry Cleaning - Our HEPA vacuum cleaner efficiently removes surface soot with a gentle brush attachment. We gently scrub the affected area for stubborn stains using a dry sponge. Dry sponges eliminate soot without adding moisture, which could make things worse. We work in small sections, replacing the sponge as needed.
• Wet Cleaning—We have cleaners who remove soot from walls and furniture without damaging them. Before cleaning, we conduct a small test in an inconspicuous area to avoid any adverse reactions or damage.

It is of utmost importance to clean soot in Twin Falls homes after a fire for the safety and well-being of everyone. SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is the go-to choice for fast, reliable, experienced recovery professionals regarding fire damage restoration.

We are available 24/7 to assist you during disasters or small house fires. Call us now at (208) 735-1447.

How to Handle A Minor Fire In Your Home

2/28/2023 (Permalink)

To ensure safe and effective evacuation, the National Fire Protection Association recommends using a portable extinguisher to put out small fires. Remember PASS: Pull the pin; Aim low towards the base of flames; Squeeze the lever slowly & evenly while sweeping side-to-side with the nozzle. For maximum safety protection, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties suggests you select multi-purpose extinguishers that can be used on all types of household blazes and is also large enough for each family member to handle it easily.

Home Safety in Winter: How to Prevent House Fires

11/10/2022 (Permalink)

Home Safety in Winter: How to Prevent House Fires

As the temperatures drop and winter sets in, we all start spending more time indoors. While cozying up by the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa sounds like the perfect way to spend a cold winter's night, it's important to take some precautions to prevent house fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, home structure fires peak in December and January. In this blog post, we'll share some tips on how you can keep your home safe from fires this winter.

1. Keep things that can catch fire at least three feet away from heat sources like fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, and space heaters. This includes items like newspapers, magazines, furniture, clothing, and bedding.
2. Never use your oven to heat your home. Not only is this a fire hazard, but it can also release harmful gases into the air.
3. Inspect and clean your chimney and fireplace before using them for the first time each winter. A build-up of soot and debris can cause a chimney fire. 
4. Make sure you have working smoke alarms in your home and test them monthly. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.
5. If you're using a space heater, choose one that has been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Look for a space heater with an automatic shut-off so that if it tips over, it will turn off on its own.
6. Never leave candles unattended—blow them out before leaving the room or going to bed.
7. Use flashlights instead of candles during a power outage. If you must use candles, make sure they are placed in sturdy candle holders that won't tip over easily.
8. Avoid overloading electrical outlets and extension cords. If you must use an extension cord, make sure it is rated for the intended use (such as indoor or outdoor) and never nail or staple them to walls or baseboards as this could create a fire hazard. 
9. Never leave children alone in a room with lit candles or an operating space heater—even for a minute! Teach children to stay clear of these items and never touch them without an adult present. 

10 bonus tip: Call us to learn about our free Home Fire Safety Checklist for more Winter fire safety tips! 

With some careful planning and attention to detail, you can help prevent house fires this winter season! If you do have a home fire, the most important thing to do is to call a team of experts like SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, and SERVPRO of Woodriver Valley. This local team has the knowledge and experience necessary to restore your home and make it look "Like it never even happened." Whether you need help cleaning up soot or smoke damage, or you need furniture, appliances, or other belongings replaced, these professionals will be there for you every step of the way. With their fast response times and efficient work process, they can help get your life back on track after a devastating home fire. So if you find yourself in a situation like this, don't hesitate – call the experts at SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties and SERVPRO of Woodriver Valley today!

What to Expect from a Fire Damage Restoration

10/26/2022 (Permalink)

What to Expect from a Fire Damage Restoration

If the worst happens and your house does sustain fire damage, it doesn’t necessarily mean the loss of your home and all your possessions. After the flames have been neutralized by the fire service, there are things that you should expect to see in a fire damage cleanup and restoration.

Key Steps:

1. Safety Assessment: This is completed alongside insurance companies and the fire marshal to determine the extent of the damage.
2. Board-Up and Roof-Tarp: Every access point to the home, such as windows and new holes must be covered to prevent more weather damage.
3. Water Removal: Fire damage can often cause water damage, so this must be dealt with before continuing.
4. Soot and Smoke Removal: All walls, surfaces, nooks, and crannies must have the smoke and soot removed with the proper technology.
5. Cleaning and Sanitizing: Surfaces and salvageable items of the property must be cleaned and sanitized.
6. Structural Repairs & Construction: Once the interior is complete, the team should embark on the real rebuild of the structure.

Where to Go

If you’re in need of a comprehensive fire damage restoration, contact SERVPRO and we’ll make it like it never happened.

5 Common Causes of House Fires

7/28/2022 (Permalink)

Call us today!

Fire damage can be catastrophic for your home, in some cases even leaving your house uninhabitable. It’s important to know what causes house fires so you can stay on top of things in your home.

Cooking 

Cooking, whether on a gas or electric heater can cause fires to flare up in your home. One common cause of this is water being introduced to hot oil in a pan, so make sure to cook with caution!

Electrical Issues 

If your electronic belongings have shoddy wiring or the outlets have started to malfunction, you could be at risk of causing a house fire. Always have a home thoroughly inspected before you move in and keep an eye on your devices throughout your time there.

Heating

Heaters, especially space heaters and things of the sort are a common cause of house fires. Make sure to follow any spatial allowance guidance with anything like this.

Candles

The candle is one of the only times we actually like to see fire in the house, but remember that if you don’t give them plenty of space and make sure to blow them out properly, they could cause something much less pretty.

Smoking

This one is simple enough. Just smoke outside when you can, your furniture will thank you for the lack of odor, and you might save your own life.

If you have the bad fortune of suffering fire damage at home call us today and we’ll make it like it never even happened.

The Importance of Professional Fire Restoration

5/10/2022 (Permalink)

Call us today for fire restoration!

Any house fire is a tragedy, but you might be lucky enough not to lose the entire property. Upon inspecting your charred, but salvageable home, you might believe that you could complete an effective fire damage cleanup, but really, you should always bring in professionals.

Firstly, it’s unlikely that you have the proper equipment or expertise to clean the effects of the damage away – simply wiping away ashes with a mask on your face won’t cut it. Secondly, the recovery process could take much longer if you attempt to complete it yourself, as it’s not an easy task to complete. Thirdly, you could easily end up throwing away salvageable goods or things you could claim on insurance. It also goes without saying that the effects of fire could linger around the home, potentially affecting your health.

Your home is your sanctuary, so it’s crucial to recruit restoration professionals with experience in dealing with fire damage. At SERVPRO, we have an expert team of technicians with the knowledge and technology needed to help your home recover from fire damage to the best possible degree.

If you find yourself in a situation like this, call SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties, and we’ll work to make your home feel “Like it never even happened.”

7 ways to prevent fire damage in your home

4/29/2022 (Permalink)

If you find yourself in need of fire damage cleanup call the professionals at SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties.

Here are a few interesting statistics about smoke alarms brought to you by the National Fire protection Association.

Facts and figures about smoke alarms

• In 2014-2018, smoke alarms sounded in more than half (54%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments.
• Almost three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (41%) or no working smoke alarms (16%).
• The death rate per 1,000 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke alarms compared to the rate in homes with working smoke alarms (13.0 deaths vs. 5.8 deaths per 1,000 fires).
• In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, two of every five (41%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries.
• Dead batteries caused one-quarter (26%) of the smoke alarm failures.

Below are a few simple precautions you can take around your home to prevent and/or minimize a fire in your home or business.

1. The single most important preventive measure a homeowner can take is installing and maintaining smoke/carbon monoxide alarms throughout the home.
2. Working smoke alarms should be found in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.
3. Change the batteries in smoke/carbon monoxide alarms changed regularly. (A good time to do so is when the time changes in the spring and fall.)
4. Make sure you have an accessible fire extinguisher on each level of your home and be sure everyone in the house knows how to properly extinguish a blaze.
5. Reduce the risk of fire outside of the home by removing dying or dead trees and shrubs and by also keeping drybrush and debris at least 30 feet away from the home.
6. Keep gutters, roof, and eaves clear of debris?
7. Be sure any candles in the home are placed away from curtains and other furniture, as well as out of reach of children and pets.

If you find yourself in need of fire damage cleanup call the professionals at SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties.

Snow-Damaged Roof in Kimberly?

2/15/2022 (Permalink)

We restore storm damage 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Countiesresponds to storm damage emergencies every year in Kimberly. Here is some information from the Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety to help you determine how much the ice and snow on your roof weighs:

Ice:One inch of ice equals one foot of fresh snow.

Fresh snow: Ten to twelve inches of new snow equals one inch of water or about five pounds per square foot of roof space, so you could have up to four feet of new snow before the roof becomes stressed.

Packed snow: Three to five inches of old snow is equal to one inch of water, or about five pounds per square foot of roof space, so anything more than two feet of old snow could be too much for your roof to handle.

• Total accumulated weight:Two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could weigh as much as sixty pounds per square foot of roof space, which is beyond most roofs’ typical snow load capacity.

Call Us!

When your Kimberly home or business needs storm damage restoration services, SERVPRO®of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Our technicians have the equipment and experience to restore storm damage, “Like it never even happened.” Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are independently owned and operated.

Escape Planning Tips for Twin Falls?

2/8/2022 (Permalink)

We restore fire damage 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

The Twin Falls Fire Department has a whole section dedicated to fire prevention and fire safety. One part of fire prevention involves the development of an escape plan. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties responds to fire damage emergencies each year and offers these escape planning tips for the National Fire Protection Association:

• Make a home escape plan. Draw a map of your home showing all of the doors and windows. Discuss the plan with everyone in your home.
• Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily.
• Have a designated place (tree, mailbox, light pole) a safe distance away from the house where everyone should meet.
• Practice your home fire drill at night and during the day with everyone in your home, twice a year
• Practice using different ways out
• Teach children how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them
• Close doors behind you as you leave

Call Us!

When your Twin Falls home or business needs fire damage restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Our technicians typically arrive within four hours of your call. Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are independently owned and operated.

Fire damage tips for Clover?

1/11/2022 (Permalink)

Our technicians respond to fire damage emergencies 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties responds to fire damage emergencies every year in Clover. Here are some tips from our website on things you can do while waiting for help to arrive:

What To Do After A Fire

• Limit movement in the home to prevent soot particles from being embedded into upholstery and carpets
• Keep hands clean so as not to further soil upholstery, walls, and woodwork
• Place clean towels or old linens on rugs, upholstery, and carpet traffic areas
• If electricity is off, empty freezer and refrigerator and prop doors open
• Clean and protect chrome with a light coating of petroleum jelly or oil
• Wash houseplants on both sides of leaves
• Change HVAC filter
• Tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers

What NOT To Do After A Fire

• Don't attempt to wash any walls or painted surfaces or shampoo carpet or upholstery without contacting us
• Don't attempt to clean any electrical appliances that may have been close to fire, heat, or water without consulting an authorized repair service
• Don't use any canned or packaged food or beverages that may have been stored near the fire, heat, or water
• Don't turn on ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet. The wiring may be damaged.
• Don't send garments to an ordinary dry cleaner. Improper cleaning may set smoke odor.

Call Us!

When your Clover home or business needs fire damage restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are independently owned and operated.

Holiday Decoration Fire in Rock Creek?

12/14/2021 (Permalink)

We restore fire damage 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

Do you know that more home fires happen during the winter months than at any other time of the year? SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties wants everyone in Rock Creek to have a fun and fire-safe holiday season this year. The National Fire Protection Association offers these helpful tips for staying safe while entertaining this winter season:

Holiday Entertaining

• Test your smoke alarms and tell guests about your home fire escape plan
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles
• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet
• Stay in the kitchen when cooking on the stovetop
• Ask smokers to smoke outside. Remind smokers to keep their smoking materials with them so young children do not touch them.
• Provide large, deep ashtrays for smokers. Wet cigarette butts with water before discarding them.
• Blow out lit candles when you leave the room or go to bed
• Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or going to bed

Holiday Fire Facts

• Candles start more than one-third of home decoration fires
• More than two out of every five decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source

Call Us Today!

When your Rock Creek home or commercial business needs fire damage restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are independently owned and operated.

Fire Safety Tips for Hazelton?

11/29/2021 (Permalink)

We restore fire damage 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

More fires happen during the winter months than at any other time of the year. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties offers these key fire safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association:

• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children
• Watch your cooking
  Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food
• Give space heaters space
  Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Inspect electrical cords
  Replace cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs, or have loose connections
• Be careful when using candles
  Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn. Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Have a home fire escape plan
  Make a home fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.
• Install smoke alarms
  Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms, and outside sleeping areas. Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms
  Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace batteries once a year or when the alarm “chirps.” Replace any smoke alarm that is more than ten years old.

Call Us Today!

When your Hazelton home or business needs fire damage restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Soot and Smoke Damage in Kimberly?

11/3/2021 (Permalink)

We respond to fire damage emergencies 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

Contents restoration services for Kimberly residents.

When my kitchen was damaged by fire, smoke odor and oily soot went into every room of the house. My insurance adjuster told me to call SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties.  

They provide a full range of fire damage restoration services, including contents restoration for your belongings. At all times, we will work to restore versus replace your property. We pretest every item to ensure we are using the most effective cleaning method and may use one or a combination of the following:

• Dry Cleaning - used for cleaning light residues or to pre-clean before wet cleaning
• Wet Cleaning - an effective cleaning method for removing moderate to heavy residues
• Spray and Wipe - effective for items that can’t withstand wet cleaning
• Foam Cleaning - used for upholstery fabrics that might shrink or bleed if wet cleaned
• Abrasive Cleaning - involves agitation of the surface being cleaned 
• Immersion Cleaning - contents are dipped into a bath of the cleaning product 

Call Us!

When your Kimberly home or business has fire damage, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® We’ll clean and restore your fire damage, “Like it never even happened.” Call us today at 208-735-1447.

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Fire Safety for Jerome?

10/11/2021 (Permalink)

We restore fire damage in Jerome County.

Fire Extinguisher Safety Tips for Jerome

The National Fire Protection Association recommends using portable home fire extinguishers when the fire is confined to a small area, everyone has exited the building, the fire department has called, and the room is not filled with smoke. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties offers these fire extinguisher safety tips from the NFPA:

• To operate a fire extinguisher, remember the word PASS:
• Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you, and release the locking mechanism
• Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire
• Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly
• Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side
• Select a multi-purpose extinguisher that can be used on all types of home fires that is large enough to put out a small fire but not so heavy as to be difficult to handle
• Choose a fire extinguisher that carries the label of an independent testing laboratory
• Read the instructions that come with the fire extinguisher and become familiar with its parts and operation before a fire breaks out
• Install fire extinguishers close to an exit and keep your back to a clear exit when you use the device

Call Us!

SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties has a team of fire damage restoration technicians on-call 24-hours a day in Jerome. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll clean and restore your fire damage, “Like it never even happened.”

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Cooking Fire in Clover?

8/30/2021 (Permalink)

Cooking fires are the leading cause of fire damage in Twin Falls County.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the United States, and most cooking fires in the home involve the kitchen stove. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties responds to fire damage emergencies each year in Clover, and we offer these tips from the NFPA for cooking safely:

• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop.
• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking
• Keep anything that can catch fire (oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, or curtains) away from your stovetop

Call Us!

When you need residential or commercial fire restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Our restoration technicians are on-call 24-hours a day, every day. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll clean and restore your fire damage in Clover, “Like it never even happened.”

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Grilling Fire in Rock Creek?

8/3/2021 (Permalink)

We are trusted leaders in fire damage restoration services in Twin Falls County.

Rock Creek Residents Need to Know

Summer is outdoor grilling time in the United States and SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties wants everyone to have a safe and fun time grilling this season. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 61 percent of Americans own a gas barbeque. It is important to check propane grills for leaks before using them for the first time each year. Here are some tips from the NFPA to help you determine if your gas tank hose has a leak:

• Apply a light soap and water solution to the hose. A propane leak will release bubbles.

·      If your grill has a gas leak, by smell or the soapy bubble test, and there is no flame, turn off both the gas tank and the grill

·      If the leak stops, get the grill serviced by a professional before using it again

·      If the leak does not stop, call the fire department

·      If you smell gas while cooking, immediately get away from the grill and call the fire department. Do not move the grill.

If the flame goes out, turn off the grill and gas and wait at least five minutes before re-lighting it.

Call Us!

When you need emergency fire restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Here to Help. ® Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll restore your fire damage in Rock Creek, “Like it never even happened.”

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Wildfire Risk Reduction Tips for Twin Falls?

7/5/2021 (Permalink)

We respond to fire damage emergencies 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

Wildfire season is here, and it’s a good idea to look at ways you can protect your home from wildfire danger. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties has been helping the residents and business owners in Twin Falls restore fire-damaged properties for years. Here are some tips from Idaho Firewise and the National Fire Protection Association for creating defensible space and landscaping around your home:

A minimum defensible space of 100 feet is recommended for homes and outbuildings on flat ground—up to 200 feet or more on sloped sites.

Tips for Landscaping Around Your Home:

• REMOVE dead vegetation and other flammable materials, especially within the first 5 feet of the home
• KEEP your lawn hydrated and maintained. If it is brown, cut it down to help reduce fire intensity.
• PRUNE tree limbs, so the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet above the ground to help reduce the chance of fire getting into the crowns of the trees
• MOVE construction material, trash, and woodpiles at least 30 feet away from the home and other outbuildings
• DISPOSE of branches, weeds, leaves, pine needles, and grass clippings that you have cut to reduce fuel for the fire

Call Us!

When your home or commercial business has a fire damage emergency, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is ready to respond to your call 24-hours a day. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll restore your fire damage in Twin Falls, “Like it never even happened.”

Franchises are Independently Owned and Operated.

Fire Damage in Jerome Home?

6/7/2021 (Permalink)

We are trusted leaders in fire damage restoration in Jerome County.

No one was home when my house caught on fire. Some kids across the street were playing with bottle rockets during the day, and one landed on the heavy shake roof of my house and caught the roof on fire. When I arrived on the scene, it looked like a total loss from the outside, but it was actually only the roof that had burned. We were lucky.

My insurance adjuster told me to call SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties, and I’m glad he did. The SERVPRO team inventoried all of our belongings and packed out everything salvageable for cleaning and restoration. Their team cleaned up the fire and soot debris and helped me pull up the water-saturated carpeting from the hallways and bedrooms. SERVPRO was with me every step of the way, from the initial cleanup to the final restoration. Now you would never know that there had been a fire in my home!

Fire Restoration Process

1. Emergency Contact
2. Inspection and Fire Damage Assessment
3. Immediate Board-Up and Roof-Tarp Service (if needed)
4. Water Removal and Drying (if water damage is present)
5. Removal of Smoke and Soot from All Surfaces
6. Cleaning and Repair
7. Restoration

Call Us!

When you need fire restoration services, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is ready to respond to your call 24-hours a day, every day. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll restore your fire damage in Jerome, “Like it never even happened.”

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Independently Owned and Operated.

Emergency Responder Access for Wildfires in Twin Falls?

5/11/2021 (Permalink)

We respond to fire damage emergencies 24-hours a day in Twin Falls County.

Wildfire season is coming to Twin Falls and now is a great time to prepare your home for wildfires. SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties offers some wildfire risk reduction steps that can make your home safer during a wildfire from the National Fire Protection Association:

Emergency Responder Access

Ensure your home and neighborhood have legible and clearly marked street names and numbers. Driveways should be at least twelve feet wide with a vertical clearance of fifteen feet for emergency vehicle access.

• Develop, discuss, and practice an emergency action plan with everyone in your home
• Include details for handling pets, large animals, and livestock
• Know two ways out of your neighborhood and have a predesignated meeting place
• Always evacuate if you feel it’s unsafe to stay—don’t wait to receive an emergency notification if you feel threatened by the fire
• Conduct an annual insurance policy checkup to adjust for local building costs, codes, and new renovations
• Create or update a home inventory to help settle claims faster

Call Us Today!

When you have a fire damage emergency, SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is ready to respond to your call 24-hours a day, every day. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll restore your fire damage in Twin Falls, “Like it never even happened.”

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Independently Owned and Operated.

Faulty Electrical Cord Fire in Filer?

4/14/2021 (Permalink)

We mitigate fire damage emergencies in Twin Falls County.

Filer fire?

SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties responds to fire damage emergencies 24-hours a day in Filer. We witness firsthand the damage even a small contained fire can do to a structure. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), electrical distribution or lighting equipment, such as wiring, lighting, cords, and plugs, was involved in an estimated average of roughly 34,000 reported home structure fires per year between 2014 and 2018.

Here are some important reminders about electrical safety from the NFPA on when to call a qualified electrician or your landlord:

• Frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers
• A tingling feeling when you touch an electrical appliance
• Discolored or warm wall outlets
• A burning or rubbery smell coming from an appliance
• Flickering or dimming lights
• Sparks from an outlet

Also, inspect electrical cords for damage and replace them or have a qualified electrician repair them. Electrical cords should not run across doorways or under carpets. Plug major electrical appliances directly into a wall receptacle outlet.

Call Us Today!

SERVPRO® of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties has a team of highly trained restoration technicians on-call 24-hours a day to respond to fire damage emergencies in Filer. Call us today at 208-735-1447. We’ll clean and restore your fire damage, “Like it never even happened.”

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is Independently Owned and Operated.

3 Services That Help Fire Restoration

12/7/2020 (Permalink)

3 Services That Help With Fire Restoration 

Dry-Cleaning Companies

Dry cleaners can help to clean porous items, like carpets ad other fabrics. Smoke damage tends to make these materials smell, and the potentially carcinogenic chemicals from the smoke are not safe for workers to breathe in. Therefore, the cleaning service will put the fabrics through steam washes to clean them, making them sanitary and safe.

Remediation Specialists

Remediation companies are great for content cleaning of permanent fixtures and removing damaged content from the premises. The team will use chemical cleaners and steam machines to restore smoke damaged non-porous items. They will also use technology, like ultrasonic systems. The primary goal of these companies is to ensure that the building is sanitized and deodorized before the restoration process.

Specialized Cleaners

If your business has unique documents that were damaged in the fire, then you may need the expertise of specialized cleaners. There are specific restoration experts that can salvage porous items, like paper and photos. If the fire damaged your files, then reach out to one of these specialists. Also, if computer systems or other content storage devices were damaged by smoke, many tech experts claim to be able to clean and restore electronic systems.

Whether you need dry-cleaning services or you want a specialized cleaner for your computer systems, you can salvage more than you think from a fire. Reach out to a restoration company to discuss the cleaning methods they use.

Fire Damage Restoration

11/10/2020 (Permalink)

During some fire damage in Wood River Valley, smoke can penetrate deeply into the more porous materials inside your residence. When this occurs, removing all foul odors can prove to be difficult. In many cases, burnt smells get eliminated when all torched substances, soot residues, and soils get cleaned and removed. However, in some cases, tainted aromas can still be prevalent even after cleaning procedures.

If items still smell burnt after cleaning, our highly trained team of SERVPRO fire and smoke restoration technicians or FSTs can utilize a variety of pieces of specialized equipment and techniques. The advanced technology at our disposal enables us to mimic the behavior of smoke with deodorants and chemically neutralize burnt odors. We also offer fast 24/7 service so that we can immediately begin restoration operations right away, which can help reduce the number of unpleasant smells prevalent.

First off, before using any deodorization equipment, we make sure our team has the necessary safety equipment. If the operations are hazardous, we seal off the area we are working in during the deodorization procedures. We then use items like electric sprayers to dispense chemicals into your stinky structure.

Ventilation box fans also often get used to help create air circulation and "air out" the building. For situations where strong, pungent aromas prove to be an issue, our FSTs at SERVPRO can utilize other machines such as a fogger or ozone generator. Foggers work by breaking deodorizing chemicals down to microscopic particles so they can penetrate materials as deeply as the smoke did. An ozone generator creates unstable O3 molecules that oxides malodor particles and neutralizes them.

SERVPRO SERVPRO WOODRIVER VALLEY

208-788-0183

Fire Damage Restoration

10/15/2020 (Permalink)

Fire Damage before restoration

A Competent Restoration Firm Can Handle Fire Damage in Your Twin Falls Home Efficiently

People who are considering seeking the help of a fire restoration company in Twin Falls should know a few things about the range of services that companies like SERVPRO provide. Fire damage can extend to different lengths depending on the cause of the fire and its duration. Unless a fire was significant enough to burn down home, there is always a chance that restoration to its original state is possible, or better but, this depends on whether you hire the right service provider for the job.

To handle the fire damage in your Twin Falls home, our technicians can go through the house looking for both significant and minor damage. While a gaping hole might be visible, a small flaw in the electrical wires that supply power to your house might be unnoticeable to the average homeowner. We leave nothing to chance so we can restore a home efficiently.

Many times, firefighters extinguish fires before they burn down many possessions in a home. However, highly combustive items like furniture, drywall, countertops, and cabinets require restoration. It is unlikely that you have the expertise to restore these items to their original state, which is the reason people rarely consider fire restoration a DIY task. For instance, the walls and ceilings need repainting after replacing the damaged areas.

Regarding furniture, restoration depends on the extent of the fire damage. Some items need replacing, while others only need a reupholster to look as good as they did when they were new. Our crew can use paintbrushes of different softness and sizes to brush residues from ornamental or decorative areas of hard-surface furniture. If the ceiling and walls of your home have substantial deposits of loose smoke particles or smoke webs, we can use the cleaning brush attachment of a vacuum cleaner to agitate the residues from the surfaces.

Another thing we are concerned about while offering restoration services is eliminating the smell that lingers in a house after firefighters have extinguished a fire. Odor issues are significant when fires burn for a longer time or when many materials burn. Our SERVPRO team can use deodorizing granules or pellets and advanced machines like Ultra Low Volume (ULV) foggers to eliminate the smells. Our goal is to restore a house to the state it was before the fire or better.

If you need fire restoration services in Jerome, Buhl, or Kimberly, call SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties at our emergency number - (208) 735-1447. We have the tools and knowledge required to restore your house to get the results you need to see.

More about Twin Falls.

Fire Damage Restoration

10/5/2020 (Permalink)

Fire Damage In Twin Falls Home

Count on SERVPRO’s Highly Qualified Team of Trained Managers and Technicians to Clean Up Fire Damage in Your Twin Falls Home Using Best Practices

The soiling deposited on surfaces of your Twin Falls dwelling and infiltrating into furnishings, household goods, and personal possessions after a fire is unlike ordinary dirt and grime. In addition to containing toxic compounds created during combustion, the soot can adhere tightly to walls, ceilings, floors, appliances, and more. Trying to remove it with conventional products and without specific training can worsen the damage and expose the individual doing the cleaning to hazardous substances.

Why Are Fire Residues Challenging to Clean?

Before professional restorers attempt to clean up fire damage in your Twin Falls residence, they have some targeted assessments to complete. Before they can begin on residue evaluation, any water damage from firefighting efforts must be mitigated and remediated. As some members of our crew operate the pumps, extractors, air movers, and dehumidifiers to remove fluids and moisture from the structure, project managers begin the painstaking task of looking closely at the types of soot found and planning for its safe abatement.

How Do We Handle Dry Soot?

This type of residue is left behind after paper, and wood or cellulose-based items fuel the fire. The resulting blaze is hot and fast, well-oxygenated, and deposits a loose, ashy residue. Rubbing and using water or oil-based cleaners smear and grind this kind of soot into the surfaces, damaging and staining them. SERVPRO employees use the following to clear this kind of soiling:

    •    Feather dusters
    •    Dry (chemical) sponges
    •    Dry cloths and towels
    •    Brushes of various sizes and stiffness depending on circumstances
    •    Pressurized air
    •    HEPA-filtered vacuums

How Do We Handle Wet Soot?

When electrical boxes and cords short and burn, rubber and plastics melt, and damp or tightly packed padding or fabrics provide materials for the flames, smoldering occurs. The oxygen level is limited, and the temperature of the burn lower. Soot from this kind of scenario is thick and sticky. Our Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)-trained crews approach this residue by:

    •    Spray and wipe techniques, with the spray cleaner matched to the type of residue (water or oil-based, dependent on our skilled assessment)
    •    Foam cleaning for fabric and upholstery that cannot be submerged or washed
    •    Immersion tubs and ultrasonic machines for loose, non-porous objects
    •    Industrial laundry machines and dry cleaning for fabrics and window treatments

How Do We Handle Protein-Based Soot?

Many fires start in the kitchen, and the residues produced when food, oils, and grease are overheated, or flame up, are particularly tricky to find and remove. The residue is made up of the dehydrated protein in various food products. It forms a thin, nearly transparent film on surfaces, including contents and building materials far from the original fire site. It adheres very tightly and has significant amounts of oil in its composition. We need to:

    •    Search the entire home for evidence of this soot as it is incredibly malodorous and must be removed to avoid lingering smells
    •    Pretest the surfaces affected because of the aggressive methods we might need to employ
    •    Use solvents and abrasive techniques to loosen the varnish-like coating

What Do We Consider While Evaluating the Surfaces Involved?

The soot nearly always has a cleaning product, additives, and approaches that eventually break the bond between the residue and the surface. Not all surfaces can endure the efforts needed without adaptation. For examples, care must be taken:

    •    When a wood-product surface is covered in a thin veneer that might not hold up to vigorous scrubbing with an abrasive tool or cleaning product
    •    When a surface is porous because it is risky to saturate or soak it with cleaning products
    •    When a surface might have an adverse chemical reaction to a particular cleaning product or additive

What Are Other Safeguards Required During Fire Damage Cleanup?

Because of the toxic substances coating, every surface, and the potential hazards of some of the cleaning products used, personal protective equipment (PPE) is nearly always a requirement for our crew members. To shield you and your family from the fumes and toxins, we often set up a containment area using 1.6 mil polyethylene. A negative pressure air scrubbing system helps by trapping airborne particulates in HEPA filters and venting to the outside.

The care taken by SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties to match residues with appropriate cleaning products and techniques results in the best outcome for our residential customers. Call us at (208) 735-1447 to learn how we make it “Like it never even happened.”

How Do Fire Disaster Recovery Professionals Decide Which Cleaning Products and Strategies to Use to Remove Residues in Twin Falls?

5/23/2020 (Permalink)

Call us to learn how we make it “Like it never even happened.”

Count on SERVPRO’s Highly Qualified Team of Trained Managers and Technicians to Clean Up Fire Damage in Your Twin Falls Home Using Best Practices

The soiling deposited on surfaces of your Twin Falls dwelling and infiltrating into furnishings, household goods, and personal possessions after a fire is unlike ordinary dirt and grime. In addition to containing toxic compounds created during combustion, the soot can adhere tightly to walls, ceilings, floors, appliances, and more. Trying to remove it with conventional products and without specific training can worsen the damage and expose the individual doing the cleaning to hazardous substances.

Why Are Fire Residues Challenging to Clean?

Before professional restorers attempt to clean up fire damage in your Twin Falls residence, they have some targeted assessments to complete. Before they can begin on residue evaluation, any water damage from firefighting efforts must be mitigated and remediated. As some members of our crew operate the pumps, extractors, air movers, and dehumidifiers to remove fluids and moisture from the structure, project managers begin the painstaking task of looking closely at the types of soot found and planning for its safe abatement.

How Do We Handle Dry Soot?

This type of residue is left behind after paper, and wood or cellulose-based items fuel the fire. The resulting blaze is hot and fast, well-oxygenated, and deposits a loose, ashy residue. Rubbing and using water or oil-based cleaners smear and grind this kind of soot into the surfaces, damaging and staining them. SERVPRO employees use the following to clear this kind of soiling:

    •    Feather dusters
    •    Dry (chemical) sponges
    •    Dry cloths and towels
    •    Brushes of various sizes and stiffness depending on circumstances
    •    Pressurized air
    •    HEPA-filtered vacuums

How Do We Handle Wet Soot?

When electrical boxes and cords short and burn, rubber and plastics melt, and damp or tightly packed padding or fabrics provide materials for the flames, smoldering occurs. The oxygen level is limited, and the temperature of the burn lower. Soot from this kind of scenario is thick and sticky. Our Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)-trained crews approach this residue by:

    •    Spray and wipe techniques, with the spray cleaner matched to the type of residue (water or oil-based, dependent on our skilled assessment)
    •    Foam cleaning for fabric and upholstery that cannot be submerged or washed
    •    Immersion tubs and ultrasonic machines for loose, non-porous objects
    •    Industrial laundry machines and dry cleaning for fabrics and window treatments

How Do We Handle Protein-Based Soot?

Many fires start in the kitchen, and the residues produced when food, oils, and grease are overheated, or flame up, are particularly tricky to find and remove. The residue is made up of the dehydrated protein in various food products. It forms a thin, nearly transparent film on surfaces, including contents and building materials far from the original fire site. It adheres very tightly and has significant amounts of oil in its composition. We need to:

    •    Search the entire home for evidence of this soot as it is incredibly malodorous and must be removed to avoid lingering smells
    •    Pretest the surfaces affected because of the aggressive methods we might need to employ
    •    Use solvents and abrasive techniques to loosen the varnish-like coating

What Do We Consider While Evaluating the Surfaces Involved?

The soot nearly always has a cleaning product, additives, and approaches that eventually break the bond between the residue and the surface. Not all surfaces can endure the efforts needed without adaptation. For examples, care must be taken:

    •    When a wood-product surface is covered in a thin veneer that might not hold up to vigorous scrubbing with an abrasive tool or cleaning product
    •    When a surface is porous because it is risky to saturate or soak it with cleaning products
    •    When a surface might have an adverse chemical reaction to a particular cleaning product or additive

What Are Other Safeguards Required During Fire Damage Cleanup?

Because of the toxic substances coating, every surface, and the potential hazards of some of the cleaning products used, personal protective equipment (PPE) is nearly always a requirement for our crew members. To shield you and your family from the fumes and toxins, we often set up a containment area using 1.6 mil polyethylene. A negative pressure air scrubbing system helps by trapping airborne particulates in HEPA filters and venting to the outside.

The care taken by SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties to match residues with appropriate cleaning products and techniques results in the best outcome for our residential customers. Call us at (208) 735-1447 to learn how we make it “Like it never even happened.”

Why Should I Call the Professionals for Water Removal After Fire Loss?

4/16/2020 (Permalink)

We can be reached at (208) 735-1447 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SERVPRO Has the Equipment and Manpower to Address Fire Loss, and Water Removal Needs in Your Twin Falls Home

After having a fire in your Twin Falls home, you get stuck with a lot of debris, along with a copious amount of water from emergency responders extinguishing it. Rather than trying to take on the restoration yourself as a DIY project, it is better to call in the help of skilled technicians who can get the job done in a fraction of time. Even if you have some do-it-yourself skills, nothing compares to the training and level of expertise that the professional restoration team brings to the job.

How Do You Address Restoration?

SERVPRO acts fast to get you the results you deserve when you require mitigation of fire loss and water removal in Twin Falls. All of our trucks are fully equipped with the tools necessary to facilitate cleanup so that your home is back to normal quickly. We are always Faster To Any Size Disaster, including post-fire damage where you are dealing with elements like:

•   Smoke infiltration
•   Pungent odors
•   Soot and smoke residue
•   Water and flood debris
•   Structural damage, and much more

What Makes Your Team Qualified for the Job?

We utilize the latest techniques and remain up to date on all available training to ensure we provide our customers with the quality service they need in a time of crisis. We remove damaged materials, address staining and odors, and negate potential harm from mold and mildew growth by ensuring all moisture is located and dried. After mitigation is wrapped up, we set reconstruction plans in motion to restore your interior to like-new condition.

How Can I Be Sure Water Removal Was a Success?

Whenever your Twin Falls property has significant water on site after a fire loss, SERVPRO responds immediately by:

•   Commencing with water extraction efforts immediately before moisture seeps into floorboards and behind walls. 
•   Using specialized drying equipment like air movers, industrial fans, dehumidifiers, and drying mats
•   Employing the use of moisture meters and sensors to locate any areas where water may have migrated.
•   Removing saturated carpeting and the padding beneath for replacement.
•   Cutting strategic holes in the walls to allow for full cavity drying.

How Long Can I Wait Before Addressing the Fire Damage in My Home?

The longer that you wait to execute fire loss cleanup, the more damage there is. Harsh residue from soot and smoke permeates through porous materials and sticks to non-porous surfaces. Almost immediately, grout and wooden surfaces begin to darken, and materials like fiberglass or your appliances can start to discolor.

The more time passes, you also have damage in the form of:

•   Permanent staining of fabrics and upholstery
•   Corrosion and tarnishing of metals
•   Discoloration of paint on your walls and ceilings
•   Deterioration of wooden furniture and flooring
•   Crumbling vinyl
•   Drywall and other materials throughout the house begin to discolor

We Feature IICRC-Certified Technicians

Our teams follow standards put forth by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), which ensures you have skilled professionals on your side. A fire loss is severe, but when mixed with water damage, it creates a unique situation best addressed by experts in the field of restoration. Safety is paramount, and our team arrives on-site wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). We also take measures to ensure soot, moisture, and debris are not transferred from affected areas of the home into other rooms by wearing foot covers and tarping off workspaces.

Will I Still Smell Smoke After Fire Loss Restoration?

We know that air quality is imperative, so we pay attention to any areas where smoke may have traveled. We inspect your home’s HVAC system to determine if soot particles may have infiltrated and then take the time to determine whether your insulation must be replaced. In some cases, we can remove the first few inches of the insulation and replace it. In more severe cases of smoke infiltration, we may suggest removing all of the insulation for a full replacement. 

Following the full cleanup and drying, the final step is ensuring that your interior is cleaned and disinfected. Our skilled technicians deodorize your property and the contents. We use a range of specialized cleaning and sanitization methods by way of:

•   EPA-registered cleaners and deodorizers
•   Hydroxyl generators 
•   Sealants
•   Thermal Fogging, and more

When you are faced with fire loss, we are here to help with prompt restoration efforts and water removal. Call our team at SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties at (208) 735-1447, and we can send technicians out to begin the assessment phase. We are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency service so that your home is “Like it never even happened.”

How Professionals Restore Fire Damage in Twin Falls

2/25/2020 (Permalink)

This home suffered significant fire damage, but restoration was possible. Call SERVPRO for fast and effective fire damage remediation.

A Competent Restoration Firm Can Handle Fire Damage in Your Twin Falls Home Efficiently

People who are considering seeking the help of a fire restoration company in Twin Falls should know a few things about the range of services that companies like SERVPRO provide. Fire damage can extend to different lengths depending on the cause of the fire and its duration. Unless a fire was significant enough to burn down home, there is always a chance that restoration to its original state is possible, or better but, this depends on whether you hire the right service provider for the job.

To handle the fire damage in your Twin Falls home, our technicians can go through the house looking for both significant and minor damage. While a gaping hole might be visible, a small flaw in the electrical wires that supply power to your house might be unnoticeable to the average homeowner. We leave nothing to chance so we can restore a home efficiently.

Many times, firefighters extinguish fires before they burn down many possessions in a home. However, highly combustive items like furniture, drywall, countertops, and cabinets require restoration. It is unlikely that you have the expertise to restore these items to their original state, which is the reason people rarely consider fire restoration a DIY task. For instance, the walls and ceilings need repainting after replacing the damaged areas.

Regarding furniture, restoration depends on the extent of the fire damage. Some items need replacing, while others only need a reupholster to look as good as they did when they were new. Our crew can use paintbrushes of different softness and sizes to brush residues from ornamental or decorative areas of hard-surface furniture. If the ceiling and walls of your home have substantial deposits of loose smoke particles or smoke webs, we can use the cleaning brush attachment of a vacuum cleaner to agitate the residues from the surfaces.

Another thing we are concerned about while offering restoration services is eliminating the smell that lingers in a house after firefighters have extinguished a fire. Odor issues are significant when fires burn for a longer time or when many materials burn. Our SERVPRO team can use deodorizing granules or pellets and advanced machines like Ultra Low Volume (ULV) foggers to eliminate the smells. Our goal is to restore a house to the state it was before the fire or better.

If you need fire restoration services in Jerome, Buhl, or Kimberly, call SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties at our emergency number - (208) 735-1447. We have the tools and knowledge required to restore your house to get the results you need to see.

 More about Twin Falls.

Fire Damage Technicians In Twin Falls Discuss The Use Of Ozone Generators

1/28/2020 (Permalink)

Our team of professionals can help you. Call us today at (208) 735-1447.

Working To Improve Air Quality In Your Twin Falls Home After You've Experienced a Fire

After a fire burns inside your house in Twin Falls, soot residues and pungent aromas can remain after the blaze gets extinguished. Professional restoration companies like SERVPRO know that dealing with foul odors can become a significant part of any fire damage mitigation project. Smoke can leave behind soils and soot residues as well as penetrate non-porous materials like carpets and upholstered items. To eliminate odors, we can use a variety of equipment and techniques.

During many fire damage projects in Twin Falls, our SERVPRO team spends much of their time figuring out how to deodorize your possessions and building materials. Deodorization procedures work by either masking or pairing actions. During masking, pleasant smelling fragrances are applied to cover up the foul odors. Pairing works by the deodorants causing a chemical reaction with the malodor particles and neutralizing them.

Ozone generators can also get utilized when eliminating pungent aromas from your house after something burns. The machines generate ozone or O3 molecules and dispense them into the atmosphere. These unstable ozone particles spread across the house to find malodor molecules that will take an Oxygen molecule from the O3 compound. When this occurs, the malodor molecule gets oxidized, and therefore the smells are chemically neutralized.

However, the O3 molecules created by the generator are harmful to humans and all living things. Before the process gets implemented, all people, pets, and plants must be removed from the structure that was negatively affected. The house must also be thoroughly dried before using the ozone generator inside your home because O3 molecules can create Hydrogen Peroxide when reacting with water.

Next, we set up air movers inside the affected areas within your home so that the get dispersed throughout your house. We can then also place the ozone generator as high as possible because O3 molecules are heavier than the air in the atmosphere, and they will sink to the floor. In some situations, we can also seal the affected regions with a containment chamber so that the ozone molecules get concentrated on a specific area inside your house.

If you ever notice foul odors remaining inside your residence after something burns, call SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties at (208) 735-1447 any day of the week. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

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Why Hire Experts to Handle Fire Damage in Your Jerome Residence

11/5/2019 (Permalink)

We will tell you Why SERVPRO is the way to go with your Jerome fire damage.

Fire damage is no game, call SERVPRO for help today.

After a fire disaster, your home needs thorough and urgent restoration. The flames, soot residue and water from firefighting efforts can cause immense damage to personal items and building materials. Fire damage can be overwhelming, and you may think your home is hopelessly lost. However, this is not always the case.

An experienced restoration firm can assess the damage quickly and take measures to help you restore normal living conditions and avoid secondary damage. When your Jerome home has fire damage, you can hire SERVPRO franchise professionals to perform the cleanup work.

If left unattended, fire damage in your home may increase. Problems such as mold growth underneath floors and lingering odors in porous materials can become expensive to fix. We offer emergency services meant to prevent fire and smoke damage from getting worse, provide a safer work site for individuals who enter a home, and prepare the house for mitigation and restoration work to start. We can provide you with several emergency services to meet those needs. One of these services is evaluating the loss site for any health or safety hazards.

We can also pre-clean your furniture and carpets to eliminate heavy soot and wipe acidic soot residues from metals and porcelain to prevent corrosion. Our restorers can also remove the charred materials that remind you of a fire loss. Restoring your home to its normal state requires the right approach and equipment. Our crew has the appropriate equipment to deal with the damage effectively.

Most times, firefighters use water to extinguish fires. If there is water in your home, we can extract it using wet/dry vacuums or pumps. We can then set up drying equipment and monitor moisture content and humidity levels using equipment like infrared cameras and moisture meters. Infrared cameras offer a big picture of where moisture may be present quickly. We then use the moisture meter to inspect the problem areas the camera has displayed and measure moisture level or content. Smoke odors can linger in your property after a fire. We can deodorize your home to make it habitable using equipment like:

•         Thermal foggers
•         Air scrubbers
•         Hydroxyl generators

We have dealt with fire disasters for many decades and can, therefore, tackle any problem. Apart from cleaning up homes, we also offer rebuilding services. Our SERVPRO technicians can also help you document the losses so you can get a fair settlement amount and avoid disputes or discrepancies with your insurance company.

When you have a fire loss in your home, SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is the right restoration company to call. We can make the fire loss seem, “Like it never even happened.”  Contact us 24/7 at (208) 735-1447.

 Click here to learn more about Jerome.

What You Can Do About Fire Damage Remediation In Your Jerome Home

9/22/2019 (Permalink)

Whatever part of your home gets damaged during the fire, SERVPRO can offer remediation and cleanup services. Call right away.

Threats in DIY Fire Debris Removal for Jerome Residents

Ever since people have owned their own land and built their own homes in Jerome, proud property owners have sought to give their houses the recovery and restoration work that it needs when disasters strike. While many modern homeowners trust in the efficient response and powerful equipment and products available to our SERVPRO team, some still stay committed to DIY restoration for fire losses in their property. Even the initial tasks like fire debris removal can come with some hazards and risks if residents attempt it without any knowledge of what to expect.

As much as many might like them to, YouTube videos cannot tell you everything you need to know about fire damages in Jerome residences. With every situation being uniquely different from other fire loss incidents, it is no surprise why most property owners choose the experience and extensive training of our Fire & Smoke Restoration Technicians accredited through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC.) Self-training might help you overcome specific effects in your home, but here are some things that you need to know to address fire debris removal in your damaged house.

Use the Proper PPE

Debris removal can generate considerable dust, spreading particulates and contaminants throughout the environment. Even elements like soot and smoke particles can circulate during controlled demolition tactics and shoveling debris and rubbish from the property. While our professionals can utilize tools like air scrubbers to reduce this threat, it is also recommended to wear appropriate protective equipment. Tyvek suits, safety glasses, respirators, and gloves are among the chief components of safe work attire for debris removal.

Tread Carefully

Appearances can be deceiving after a fire loss incident, especially regarding the structural integrity of specific areas of your home. Though you want to get the mitigation work completed as promptly as possible, be sure to carefully tread throughout affected areas to limit unexpected and injury-causing mishaps like structural collapses and failures.

From our licensed team of residential contractors (RCE-43137) to our restoration specialist that can help with both damage assessment and debris removal, our SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties team is here to help. Give us a call anytime at (208) 735-1447.

Click here to learn more about Jerome.

Our Certified Professionals Are Ready To Restore Your Twin Falls Home After A Fire Disaster

7/3/2019 (Permalink)

Our technicians have the experience and state-of-the-art equipment to restore your home to pre-damage condition.

The Road to Recovery after Fire Damage in Twin Falls

As a Twin Falls homeowner, your reaction of terror and hopelessness is understandable in the aftermath of a fire. Our team of highly-qualified fire disaster restoration technicians use their Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Reconstruction Certification (IICRC) training to clean up the water, soot, and burned debris fast. Your home and its contents return safely to preloss condition with our help, and we work with your homeowner's carrier every step of the way.

Rapid response time is crucial to fire damage recovery in Twin Falls, and we deliver. We arrive at your door as soon as possible after your first call, ready to assess the scenario and develop a comprehensive plan to mitigate further harm, remediate the current damage, and assist with arranging for repairs and rebuilding.

SERVPRO crews have employees who hold either or both IICRC Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT) and Fire and Smoke Restoration Technicians (FSRT) certifications. Water removal must proceed first for safety from electrical shock and slip and fall accidents, and other crew members are lining up the appropriate products, tools, and techniques to clear the varying types of soot from surfaces. Professional evaluation of residues is critical as they are toxic and respond very differently and often with undesirable results to ordinary cleaning methods. We also anticipate the need for deodorization services if deep cleaning and debris disposal does not eradicate odors. Our team has innovative equipment like air scrubbers, thermal foggers, and hydroxyl generators available for improving air quality after fire damage.

The contents of your home might benefit from a pack-out and treatment at our production facility while the on-site crew continues powering through the soot cleanup and remediation steps for the final restoration of badly burned and heated damaged structural components. SERVPRO production facility technicians use a broad range of strategies to transform soiled, wet, and smelly contents to “Like it never even happened.”

Our SERVPRO holds a general contractors license and can help perform or arrange for a host of reconstruction and repair tasks on the way to abating the fire damage in your dwelling thoroughly. Avoiding the need to line up contractors for each phase of the project is a great comfort to our customers, and we take pride in returning you and your family to your rehabbed, clean, dry, sanitized, and deodorized home.

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is prepared to help when your home suffers fire damage. Call on us at (208) 735-1447 for caring and professional restoration services.

Residential Contractor License #: RCE-43137

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We Can Be Reached 24/7 If Your Jerome Home Experiences A Fire

6/13/2019 (Permalink)

Give us a call at (208) 735-1447 as soon as the fire is out so we can help you restore your residence and back to the life you know best.

Fire Damage Cleanup For Your Jerome Home

A lightning strike to your Jerome home can start a direct ire since the core temperature of the lighting is around fifty thousand degrees Fahrenheit. The harm to your structure and possessions can be quite extensive. Wood and other flammable construction materials can quickly explode when they are exposed to the high temperatures of a lightning strike.

When you Jerome home has experienced fire damage from spring thunderstorms, you need immediate assistance to restore the damage. SERVPRO, a professional remediation company, can quickly come to your rescue. We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster. Plus, with our expertise and experience, we can have your home fixed up in no time.

The main objective of SERVPRO techs when providing emergency services during restoration is to protect both you and your family and your home. We want to prevent the fire and smoke damage from creating additional damage. We also strive to provide a safe work site for anyone who enters your structure, and then we can prepare for mitigation and restoration of the site.

Every fire loss is unique, so the kinds of emergency services vary from job to job. They can include building inspections so we can evaluate your home for any safety or health hazards, boarding up the structure to secure the property and prevent intrusions, and drying the structure from water that was used when the fire was extinguished.

We may need to establish emergency electricity for lighting and heat. Some situations require us to deodorize the areas that were affected. The degree of smoke odors present might require this step to make your home habitable again. We may use thermal fogging or air scrubbers to do this.

Sometimes, initial cleaning is a good idea. If restoration isn’t begun directly after the fire is out, some pre-cleaning can stop even more damage from smoke and soot residues occurring. Furniture and carpeting can be pre-cleaned to remove the worst stains. Soot residues are acidic and can be wiped from porcelain and metals, and we take charred materials out of your home that could remind you of the loss from the fire.

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties treats each case of fire damage individually, and your home in Roseworth, Hazelton, or Buhl is no different. Give us a call at (208) 735-1447 as soon as the fire is out so we can help you restore your residence and back to the life you know best.

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We Are Available 24/7 For Your Jerome Fire Damage Restoriation Services

5/28/2019 (Permalink)

When dealing with fire damage we neutralize the odor and this involves specialized equipment like the one pictured.

Cleaning Air Ducts from Fire Effects in Jerome Homes

Part of what allows fire loss effects to spread so completely throughout your Jerome residence is the open air ducts and HVAC system that can become accessed by soot, smoke, and debris particulates. Since many of the residents throughout our service area regularly allow these appliances to run almost continually to condition and temper the air inside of a home, when disasters strike, these pathways for conditioned air become penetration points for damaging fire loss effects.

While multiple fire damage effects must get addressed in your Jerome home after a disaster, an often overlooked area during restoration and recovery is the ductile network. Our SERVPRO professionals include all areas of your property in with the full and thorough inspection of the damage when we first arrive at your address and have sophisticated cameras to travel the full length of these duct shafts to determine the extent of buildup, damages, and hazards that exist throughout the system.

With this inspection of the HVAC system, we can determine not only the effect that the fire has on these components but also the existing buildup and threats that existed before the fire incident. Our air duct cleaning experts have advanced tools that can match the size of your specific ducts and run a bristled brush through each segment of this network to break sediment and buildup loose, along with the more recent effects like soot and smoke residue as well.

With high-powered vacuums positioned at specific vent locations, we can extract loose debris and particulates before they have the chance to re-enter the environment and continue to cause problems, agitate allergens, or lead to potential health effects for our SERVPRO professionals exposed or your family.

By cleaning out the air ducts, you can help to restore peak efficiency to your HVAC system, and the process can address specific fire-damage conditions like odors and soot/smoke buildup. No matter when these emergencies occur, you can count on our SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties fire restoration professionals. Call us anytime at (208) 735-1447.

Hunting and fishing licenses and permits can be purchased online or “over-the-counter” at various independent businesses click here for more information.

Fire Damage Remediation in Jerome: Do You Really Need It? This Will Help You Decide!

4/30/2019 (Permalink)

Looking at the fire damage and debris in your home can feel overwhelming.  Contact SERVPRO to be your partner through the remediation process.

Your Jerome Home Catches Fire Even When the Fields Do Not

Fires in Jerome are not an everyday occurrence, but they certainly leave us worried when they happen. In the blink of an eye, our home may be in the path of a raging fire and safety is our primary concern. However, it is more likely that a grease fire spirals out of control and a small part of our home catches on fire. In either case, preparation is the first line of defense to protect us against the elements.

Even when it seems that the fire damage to your home in Jerome is not extensive, it is best to reach out to a professional team like SERVPRO. Our technicians are IICRC-certified in the latest methods to remove smoke damage and restore your home. Most importantly, we are available 24/7 to respond to your call for help and start taking action as soon as the emergency is under control. Do not let the residue of smoke, soot, and water sit on your property and damage it even further.

Once our Green Fleet arrives, we make sure the structure of your home is secure and coordinate with building contractors as needed. Simultaneously our truck-mounted pumps are extracting water from your home, and our SERVPRO team is using handheld tools to access hard-to-reach places and extract water from there as well. As we assess the damage, we remove salvageable material and belongings to a safe area to mitigate any more losses.

One of the areas of excellence for our SERVPRO crew is the identification of different smoke residues. Depending on what went up in flames (natural or synthetic), what it leaves behind can be very different. To address the needs of each type of residue, we apply material-specific solutions specially designed for this purpose, all while protecting your goods including furniture and decor.

When you think of fire damage, think of SERVPRO of Twin Falls and Jerome Counties. It does not take an extensive fire for your home to be disrupted and we are a resource when that happens. Call us at (208) 735-1447 and let us leave your home "Like it never even happened."

Click here for more information about the city of Jerome.

Our Professionals Discuss The Importance Of Space Heater Safety In Your Buhl Home

1/22/2019 (Permalink)

Once the fire is out, dial (208) 735-1447 to reach us any time, and we can help get your life back to normal.

Safely Using Space Heaters And Fire Damage Restoration For Your Buhl Home

A good source of supplemental heat in colder weather in your home in Buhl, space heaters can also, unfortunately, pose a significant risk for fire if not used correctly. Fires can be started by space heaters when they are put near combustible items, the heater does not have adequate safety features, or they are not plugged in correctly.

Safety should also be the top priority when using space heaters. However, if you have experienced a fire from one of these devices, you should reach out to SERVPRO for professional fire damage remediation in your Buhl home. We have the training and experience to restore your home to its previous state before the fire.

When setting up your space heater, first ensure you keep it 36 inches or more from any combustible or flammable materials. Put the heater on the floor unless it is otherwise designed to do so. The area you are using the heater in should also be free of any flammable liquids. Don’t place them on a surface that is easily combustible or ignitable, like carpets or rugs, and do not use them to dry clothing.

If an accident with a space heater has happened in your home, SERVPRO technicians can come and help you restore your home. Any smoke or soot residues that were left behind can be cleaned up, and the sooner, the better, as they continue to erode whatever surface they are on until this is done. We also work on deodorizing your home from the lingering smoke odors.

Keep your electric heaters out of any areas that are moist or wet, such as bathrooms, since water can lead to a fire hazard. Be sure as well to plug the heater directly into an outlet, as using an extension cord can result in overheating and fire.

Clean the space heater on a regular basis as well, following the guide form the manufacturer for specific advice on inspection and maintenance.

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties is here to help you any time you experience a fire at your residence in Clover, Hazelton, or Filer. Once the fire is out, dial (208) 735-1447 to reach us any time, and we can help get your life back to normal.

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SERVPRO Rescues Twin Falls Possessions from Permanent Smoke and Soot Damage

12/12/2018 (Permalink)

Soot and Smoke Cleanup Needs the Skills Offered by SERVPRO for Twin Falls Property Owners

Techniques Used To Restore Fire Damage In Twin Falls

A fire in a structure has some predictability, but each home showcases its own combination of unique fire damage. Variations in building materials, furnishings, flooring, stored items, and the source of the fire make the smoke and soot damage different home to home and even room to room in the same dwelling. Our professional crews match assessed damage to appropriate cleanup strategies and products.

When your Twin Falls home suffers fire damage, ordinary cleaning methods often miss the mark. The training our crew member pursue from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) prepares them to make correct cleaning tool and product choices as they follow research-based techniques to bring your home’s structure and contents back to preloss condition.

Soot characteristics differ depending on the types of materials burned. Light, ashy soot on surfaces is the result when a hot, fast-burning fuel like paper burns. Slower, lower temperature fires occur when fabrics smolder, leaving heavier, sticky soot. Many fires start in the kitchen where grease and food provide a protein-based fuel that covers items in a thin but hard to remove residue. SERVPRO stocks the tools and cleaning aids that help remove each type of soot most efficiently.

Light, loose soot is managed with dry sponging and vacuuming to avoid smearing and spreading. The sticky coatings from electrical and fabric fires need a cleaning product with wetting agents and surfactants that loosen and dislodge, permitting SERVPRO crews to wipe away the debris with cloths or damp sponges. Protein fires require a solvent and abrasive tools to remove the shellac-like soot remaining and a professional touch that ensures the soot is cleared yet the underlying surfaces remain unharmed.

Fire residues are acidic and corrosive, causing despair for homeowners who fear that the soot and ensuing deterioration ruin treasured personal possessions. SERVPRO production technicians use a broad range of methods to halt the corrosion and restore the function and appearance of everything from light fixtures and knick-knacks to furniture, bedding, window coverings, and clothing. We save both time and money for our customers with our restoration approach, avoiding the need to discard irreplaceable items and the expense of replacement.

SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties offers residents high-quality fire restoration services, transforming smoky, sooty chaos to “Like it never even happened.” Call us at (208) 735-1447 for a speedy fire damage assessment and immediate remediation.

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Fire in your home

9/19/2018 (Permalink)

-Fire and its devastating effects

Fire is one of the most devastating disasters a family can face. It can both destroy your home as well as your belongings in two stages. The original fire and then the damage caused by smoke and soot. We at SERVPRO have the products and training to help restore as much of your loss as possible. 

-secondary damages from smoke

Secondary damages from smoke can cause up to 75% of the total loss. Combustion of home building materials such as PVC can produce an acidic smoke and residue. This can cause etching of glass, deterioration of electronics and many other secondary issues. One important thing to remember is how quickly secondary damages will occur. Within hours, plastics will begin to yellow, clothes may become stained or deteriorated, and the same may happen to other soft goods like couches or rugs. It’s very important to move quickly so we can restore items first before having to replace them.

-Our cleaning process

Our highly trained and certified staff know how to respond to a fire. Some important steps would be to clean what we can inside the structure ASAP to prevent tarnishing of metals and etching of glass, pack out affected materials to be restored, isolate those materials, use an ozone machine to chemically remove odors, and use vacuums equipped with hepa filters to remove much of the soot. We use many of our own chemicals and cleaners that are made by and specifically for SERVPRO in order to clean structures efficiently.

Ways to prevent/minimize a fire damage to your property

6/4/2018 (Permalink)

Home fire in Burley, ID

Here are a few interesting statistics about smoke alarms brought to you by the National Fire protection Association.

• In 2009-2013, smoke alarms sounded in more than half (53%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments.

• Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

• No smoke alarms were present in more than one-third (38%) of the home fire deaths.

• One of every five (21%) of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.

• In reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, almost half (46%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected smoke alarms.

Below are a few simple precautions you can take around your home to prevent and/or minimize a fire in your home or business.

• The single most important preventive measure a homeowner can take is installing and maintaining smoke/carbon monoxide alarms throughout the home.
• Working smoke alarms should be found in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.
• Change the batteries in smoke/carbon monoxide alarms changed regularly. (A good time to do so is when the time changes in the spring and fall.)
• Make sure you have an accessible fire extinguisher on each level of your home and be sure everyone in the house knows how to properly extinguish a blaze.
• Reduce the risk of fire outside of the home by removing dying or dead trees and shrubs and by also keeping drybrush and debris at least 30 feet away from the home.
• Keep gutters, roof, and eaves clear of debris?
• Be sure any candles in the home are placed away from curtains and other furniture, as well as out of reach of children and pets.

If you find yourself in need of fire damage cleanup call the professionals at SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties.

Tips to Avoid a Kitchen Fire

9/5/2017 (Permalink)

Unattended Cooking Twin Falls, Idaho

Did you know the kitchen is where more home fires occur than anywhere else in the house and that cooking is the number one cause of home fires?

1. Never leave cooking food unattended – stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen, even for a second, turn off the stove.
2. Check your food regularly while cooking and remain in the home while cooking.
3. Use a timer so you’ll remember that the stove or oven is on.
4. Don’t wear loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.
5. Keep the kids away from the cooking area. Enforce a “kid-free zone” and make them stay at least three feet away from the stove.
6. Keep anything that can catch fire - pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, and towels or curtains—away from your stove, oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.
7. Clean cooking surfaces on a regular basis to prevent grease buildup.
8. Consider purchasing a fire extinguisher to keep in your kitchen. Contact your local fire department to take training on the proper use of extinguishers.]
9. Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make sure all stoves, ovens, and small appliances are turned off.

Fire/Smoke Damage Is Restored with Professional Help

8/31/2017 (Permalink)

Kitchen Fire

SERVPRO Provides Cleanup for Fire/Smoke Damaging Events.

Homeowners/Business owners go years managing their own home/business without ever calling anyone to help. A major event like a fire can change in a blink of an eye. SERVPRO focuses on providing high-quality fire damage restoration service to meet your needs.   We arrive quickly, and with agreement from you and your insurance adjuster, puts together the restoration plan that guides the crew assigned to the steps needed to cleanup and then restore your home to pre-fire loss condition.   Our team members are familiar with current fire restoration industry standards and follow the guidelines of the IICRC. and the use of products and equipment that meet or exceed the standards. We evaluate the structure and contents throughout your entire home/business soiled with residue and select appropriate and effective tools and cleaners to remove the soot and debris. Charred areas may be sanded down and refinished or replaced, if necessary. Restoration is our mission, to save time and money, and to reduce the disruption to your home/business. After the visible effects of the fire disappear we resolve any odor issues with strategies ranging from thorough cleaning through spray neutralizers to thermal fogging, in extreme cases.    If you are home/business owner that experience a fire this year, SERVPRO of Twin falls and Jerome Counties stands ready to help. Call our offices at (208) 735-1447 to set up a time to come and visit with you to see how we can help to bring you home/business back to preloss condition.

Twin Falls & Jerome Counties Smoke and Soot Cleanup

6/1/2017 (Permalink)

Smoke and Soot Damage Can Cause a Pervasive Odor in Your Twin Falls or Jerome Counties Home.

Smoke and soot is very invasive and can penetrate various cavities within your home, causing hidden damage and odor. Our smoke damage expertise and experience allows us to inspect and accurately assess the extent of the damage to develop a comprehensive plan of action.  

Smoke and soot facts:

• Hot smoke migrates to cooler areas and upper levels of a structure.
• Smoke flows around plumbing systems, seeping through the holes used by pipes to go from floor to floor.
• The type of smoke may greatly affect the restoration process.

Different Types of Smoke

There are two different types of smoke–wet and dry. As a result, there are different types of soot residue after a fire. Before restoration begins, SERVPRO of Twin Falls & Jerome Counties will test the soot to determine which type of smoke damage occurred. The cleaning procedures will then be based on the information identified during pretesting. Here is some additional information:

Wet Smoke – Plastic and Rubber

• Low heat, smoldering, pungent odor, sticky, smeary. Smoke webs are more difficult to clean.

Dry Smoke – Paper and Wood

• Fast burning, high temperatures, heat rises therefore smoke rises.

Protein Fire Residue – Produced by evaporation of material rather than from a fire

• Virtually invisible, discolors paints and varnishes, extreme pungent odor. 

Our Fire Damage Restoration Services

Since each smoke and fire damage situation is a little different, each one requires a unique solution tailored for the specific conditions.  We have the equipment, expertise, and experience to restore your fire and smoke damage.  We will also treat your family with empathy and respect and your property with care.

Have Questions about Fire, Smoke, or Soot Damage?
Call Us Today – 208-735-1447