Fire in Fairfield Laundromat

9/15/2020 (Permalink)

Cleaning up even after a small fire is a long process for your Fairfield business.

A fire in your Fairfield business can be devastating. You may need to close your doors for extensive cleaning and repairs from top to bottom, causing a large loss in revenue and productivity. SERVPRO of Westport/Fairfield understands the stress for a business owner following a fire, and has the experience to help you restore your business to pre-damage conditions.

TV Fire in Fairfield Laundromat

In this local laundromat, an old TV caught fire causing extensive smoke and soot damages to the storefront. 

Fire Damages

As seen in the photo above, soot and smoke stained all surfaces in the storefront. Every washer, dryer, fan, countertop, ceilings and walls were affected. The floor was also covered with black debris and soot. A strong odor of fire and smoke also remained in the laundromat long after the fire was put out. A few windows in the storefront were also broken from the heat of the fire and the firefighting efforts. 

Water Damages

When you think of a business on fire, you don’t necessarily think about water damage as well. Unfortunately when the fire department is called for a fire, most of the time the building will sustain water damage from the firefighting efforts. In this case, roughly half an inch of standing water covered portions of the storefront and required water extraction. 

Laundromat Fire Cleanup Process

1 | Emergency Contact - 911 & SERVPRO

This business owner acted fast after his fire and contacted his business owners insurance before the flames even went out. From there, his insurance company referred SERVPRO of Westport/Fairfield to handle all cleanup and restoration of the laundromat. 

2 | Inspection and Fire Damage Assessment

Immediately after being contacted, SERVPRO dispatched a Project Manager to inspect and assess damages from the fire. The Project Manager worked with local authorities to learn what happened, what the source of the fire was, and when he could have our crews out to begin cleaning. 

3 | Immediate Board-Up and Roof Tarp Service 

This step isn’t always needed for a smaller fire, but in this case the laundromat did need a board up of 2 windows in the front of the store. Many times, windows will be broken by the Fire Department or shatter on their own from the heat of the fire. Securing your property is highly important after a fire to ensure there will not be additional damages and to keep pests out.

4 | Water Removal and Drying 

Before crews can begin cleaning and soot, smoke, or structural damages, they must remove all water and begin the drying process in the business. Tackling water damage first is important to help ensure that the structure doesn’t begin to decay from excessive moisture and to prevent the growth of mold. In this business, crews had to extract standing water and set up fans and dehumidifiers to ensure it properly dried out. 

5 | Removal of Smoke and Soot from All Surfaces

Once water damage was under control, the crews moved on to removing any soot and smoke from all surfaces. That included washing machines, dryers, fans, counters, shelves, clothing, office areas, walls, floors, ceilings and more. This is accomplished mostly by using chem sponges and rags to remove soot and smoke residues. This process is long and must be completed by hand, but will return any business to pre-fire conditions.

6 | Cleaning and Repair

Other than removing soot and smoke stains, the crews also removed any damaged or non salvageable materials from the laundromat. This included the original TV and some contents that were close to the source of the fire. 

Crews also worked to ensure that there would be no lingering smoke smell once the cleaning & repairs were completed. They set up air scrubbers, ozone machines, and cleaned the duct system to remove all smoke particles from the air and prevent any from getting kicked up again. 

7 | Restoration

In the final step of fire damage restoration, crews were sure to handle small touches to ensure this laundromat was restored to pre-damage conditions. All ceiling tiles were replaced that needed to be, and all contents were returned to their original placements at the end of the job. 

Fire in Your Business? Call SERVPRO for Immediate Service - 203-707-1952

SERVPRO of Westport/Fairfield is a 24/7 damage restoration service specializing in fire, water, mold and COVID-19. Whatever the damage, we will work hard to make it “Like it never even happened.”