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Fire Damage Cleanup

The importance of fire damage cleaning

In Taiwan, tens of thousands of fire accidents occur every year. In addition to property damage, do you know that a lot of poison will be produced after a fire, which will affect your health?
Did you know that if not cleaned and repaired within a week of a fire, soot can quickly corrode your building and equipment, causing extensive damage?
Do you know what happens after a fire accident? What dangers might lurk?
What should I do in these situations?
How to choose a professional fire cleaning company?

Post fire environment

Please understand that after a fire breaks out at a fire scene, the following situations generally occur:

  1. Cut off water, electricity, lighting and other potentially dangerous places.
  2. There are smoky substances and pungent odors in the air.
  3. A large amount of fire fighting sewage is mixed with various harmful substances.
  4. The building is in a mess, broken equipment and items are everywhere, and the air is filled with smoke and dust.
  5. It can be seen that the house has been damaged to varying degrees due to heat radiation and smoke.
  6. After three days, metal surfaces exposed to air will begin to rust.

 

The goal of fire cleaning company

  1. Immediately remove or cover damaged and irreparable property on site to reduce sources of contamination.
  2. Isolate heavily polluted and lightly polluted places to avoid cross-contamination.
  3. Remove contamination from equipment or other surfaces prior to covering.
  4. Clean up the scene environment and carry out fire damage recovery.

 

Sequence of steps for fire damage recovery

Order

Work Matters

Precautions

Step 1

 

First, prepare the following equipment:

  1. Qualification ladder
  2. Fans, vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, drainage pumps
  3. Rain boots, activated carbon masks, goggles, rubber gloves, aprons and other personal protective equipment
  4. Dry rag, brush and other cleaning tools
  5. Rust removal oil
  1. If the height of the wall exceeds two meters, it is recommended to use a long pole to avoid the danger of people falling.
  2. When there is a lot of water, please drain it first.
  3. Confirm that the water and electricity facilities are complete.

 

Step 2

Wear safety protective equipment according to the degree of danger to ensure safety during cleaning.

Complete attire. If there is chemical pollution on site, please wear protective clothing.

Step 3

 
  1. Open doors and windows to enhance indoor ventilation.
  2. Eliminate on-site water accumulation.
  3. Turn on the fan to avoid smoke and dust affecting breathing and health.
  4. In confined spaces, it is recommended to turn on the air purifier to filter the air.
  1. When using electricity, please pay attention to electricity safety.
  2. To control the humidity of the environment.

 

 

Step 4

 

Start cleaning up soot and dust:

  1. Vacuum most of the soot and dust.
  2. When the fire area is large, the wall and the ground can be washed with clean water, but the humidity needs to be controlled to avoid accelerated corrosion.
  3. Wipe away the remaining soot and dust with a dry rag.
  4. After removing the soot and dust, the metal surface must be oiled.
  1. Metal parts are strictly prohibited from getting wet to avoid serious corrosion
  2. Keep the center of gravity stable when climbing the ladder.
  3. If washing with water, the electrical box, switch, socket, etc. should be covered in advance to avoid electric shock.

Step 5

 

Isolate or cover decontamination areas or equipment to control humidity and reduce the possibility of cross-contamination.

 

Step 6

Notify BELFOR to assist with processing.

If the above steps still cannot solve your problem, please contact us for consultation.

 

Fire Cleaning FAQs

1. Why should the site be kept ventilated after a fire?

Because after the fire, a large amount of toxic substances such as dioxins and chloride ions will be produced on the site, which will endanger human health and cause corrosion of the metal surface of the equipment.

2. Why do we need to remove water on site first?

Because when the site humidity is high, the combination of chloride ions will produce hydrochloric acid, which will accelerate the corrosion of the metal surface.

3. How are chloride ions produced?

PVC is the second most general-purpose plastic with a wide range of uses, especially cables, furniture, floors, etc. Once it is heated and burned, it will produce a large amount of chloride ions and flood the accident site.

4. Why wear PPE for fire damage recovery and cleanup?

Since there are various dangers in the fire scene, which are easy to cause injury, such as electric shock, stabbing, falling, etc., in order to ensure the safety and health of fire cleaning work, please be sure to use personal protective equipment.

5. Why use a vacuum cleaner?

The most effective way to remove soot left on the scene after a fire is with a vacuum cleaner.

6. Why wipe with a dry rag?

After a fire, chloride ions in the environment will attach to metal surfaces. If you wipe it with water, the water molecules will combine with the chloride ions to produce hydrochloric acid through a chemical reaction, and the metal will rust after a few hours.

7. Why should the metal surface be coated with anti-rust oil?

Anti-rust oil is used on equipment and metal surfaces in fire repair projects to isolate the air on the metal surface and delay the speed of rust and oxidation.

Why do you need a professional fire cleaning company after a fire?

BELFOR's professional disaster recovery team has helped many companies and factories recover from fire pollution.

BELFOR is a leader in the disaster recovery market, bringing together global knowledge, experience, procedures, chemicals, equipment and tools to provide customers with a complete service.

Since its establishment in 1993, BELFOR Asia has continued to assist various industries: from semiconductors, high-tech industries, science and R&D, pharmaceuticals, food biotechnology, telecommunications and information processing, machine tools/metal processing, power generation and distribution, petrochemicals, pulp and paper, transportation, marine and offshore facilities cooperation – assisting with post-fire cleaning services, disaster recovery of buildings, machinery and equipment to resume operations in the shortest possible time.

Please call +886 2 2620 1200 or contact us.

fire damage cleanup