Fire and smoke damage in Miami-Dade: the water comes out first.
A fire loss is two problems at once: soot and odor on one side, and the water the fire service used on the other. Cleaned in the wrong order, smoke residue gets driven into a damp wall. We take the water and the drying, and we'll tell you on the call which of the rest we can do ourselves.
Soot, odor, and the water that came with it
Water removal first
The water used to put the fire out comes out first, and the building is dried and made safe before cleaning starts. Cleaning soot off wet drywall drives it deeper into the paper.
Soot behaves differently by fuel
Different fuels leave different residues. Protein smoke from a kitchen fire, synthetic soot from furnishings and dry char all need different methods and different chemistry.
Odor comes from what's still in there
Odor goes when the material holding it is cleaned properly or taken out. Sealing a room and spraying something into it is why smells come back a month later.
Smoke gets into the ducts
Smoke travels through the duct system and settles. Cleaning the rooms and leaving the ducts is why houses still smell of smoke months later.
Belongings get sorted and photographed
Sorted into what's salvageable, what needs specialist cleaning, and what's a total loss, photographed and inventoried as we go so the contents claim is documented.
An open structure has to be secured
While the building is open, weather and access keep adding to the loss. Tell us on the call and we'll say whether we can secure it or who we'd bring in to do it.
Fire and smoke questions
Will the smoke smell go away?
Not by masking it. Smoke odor sits in material, so it goes when that material is cleaned properly or removed, and it stays when something is left in place: insulation, duct interiors, or the back side of the drywall. Anyone who promises the smell gone in one visit without opening anything up is guessing. We'll tell you what we think is holding it and what it would take to deal with.
Should I try cleaning the walls myself?
It's better not to. Dry soot smears when it's wiped, and a wiped wall often has to be replaced where a properly cleaned one wouldn't. The same applies to running the air conditioning, which pulls soot into the ducts.
Do you handle the rebuild after a fire?
No. We dry the building and document it, and we'll tell you which parts of the cleaning we're taking on. We stop at a repairable surface. Framing, drywall, and finishes go to a licensed general contractor, and we'll hand your builder a documented scope so nothing is missed at the handover.
What happens to belongings that can be saved?
They're inventoried, photographed, and cleaned on site where possible. For heavy smoke exposure we recommend a specialist contents cleaner and will coordinate it rather than pretending everything can be wiped down in place.
Soot sets. So does the water under it.
Call and we'll tell you what to leave exactly where it is until a crew gets there.