Fire events are especially devastating to a building. The complexity of damage to a building due to fire is a result of the exceptional action of smoke. Smoke can penetrate wall, ceiling and floor cavities of a structure and cause unseen damage and odour. A thorough survey of a fire damaged building is therefore vital to determine the extent to which fire, heat and smoke has penetrated into and ultimately affected various building fabric and contents.

Smoke Characteristics

When surveying a fire damaged building, to provide accurate advice, DMA considers the many different smoke characteristics which will often include;

• Heat created by smoke will often migrate to cooler areas which generally includes the higher levels of a structure
• Smoke will flow in and around plumbing and electrical fixtures, which can result in smoke moving from space to space as a result of penetrating wall and ceiling cavities
• The type and expanse of the smoke will greatly affect the fire damage restoration process and the timeframe in which mitigation measures should be enacted

Smoke Damage Causes 

Typical types of fire events which will leave smoke and residue include;

• Man-made or synthetic materials. These are hydrocarbon (HC) materials such as Poly Vinyl Chlorides (PVC), plastic, fabrics and even electronics which will cause thick black smoke and will result in smeary residues. This damage is not easy to clean and requires specialist attention including dry-chemical cleaning and vacuuming.
• Protein rich substances which includes many food groups, will burn slow, contain minimal heat and can often result in a sticky yellowish brown residue when the organic materials evaporate. This damage is cleaned with the appropriate proportioned cleaning solutions.
• Natural substances which includes timber, paper and some natural rubbers and leathers, will burn fast and at high temperature and often result in dry powdery residues which are often black in colour. Detailed wire brushing and sanding, dry-chemical cleaning and vacuuming are typical cleaning solutions.

In addition to the initial fire and smoke damage, significant water damage from firefighting efforts and fire suppression systems is also very common and often equally damaging. Where this occurs, DMA’s damage mitigation advice will often replicate those comparable to water and mould damage mitigation.

Trained Specialist

As fire damage claims can be a complicated process, DMA’s damage mitigation advice immediately preceding an event is critical and will therefore include specialist advice on the following key subjects;

• Fire and smoke restoration
• Water damage mitigation
• Odour control
• Building fabric cleaning
• Building fabric protection