Fire Damage
Fire damage refers to physical damage that occurs on the property due to burning. Usually, the damage may be triggered by an actual fire, smoke, or the effect of corrosive substances. Besides the high-temperature effects, fire damage may encompass carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as chemical poisoning from thermal irritants. Unfortunately, the impact caused by fire damage can be long-term since it could permanently damage the respiratory system of an animal or human.
Types of Fire Damage
While fire damage is a general term that refers to the effect caused after a fire outbreak, experts have different classifications based on the source of the damage. These are often known as the classes of fire damage. They include:
- Class A: This fire type involves flammable solids like plastics, paper, and clothes cloth. The trigger of this type of fire is a combustible material.
- Class B: This category of fires is caused by flammable liquids. Sometimes the liquids form after a solid turns into liquid and catches fire.
- Class C: Refers to fires whose trigger is flammable gasses. Common examples include butane, natural gas, hydrogen, and propane.
- Class D: These are fires that involve combustible metals such as potassium, magnesium, and sodium.
- Class E: Usually, this category of fires is caused by mixed triggers, often in category A, and B as well as electrical triggers.
- Class F: This is a unique category of fire sources that are often relatively hotter than most. It is also more destructive and usually involves fats and cooking oils.
Besides the categories mentioned above, most insurance companies tend to divide fire damage into two major categories. These are fire damages caused by actual flame/fire and secondary damages caused by smoke or fumes from fire incidences. Fire Damage Cleanup is one of our core services.
Causes of Fire
Fires that harm or affect people are often accidental. However, there are many causes of such fires, and it helps to understand these causes. This may be the only way to avoid fire damage so keep reading to know potential triggers of fires.
- Electrical faults – Most serious fires in residential and commercial premises have resulted from improper use of electricity. Surprisingly, many people are clueless about the proper use of electricity. Electric fires resulting from short circuits and other electric triggers have gone on to cause serious damages, yet they would have been avoided with proper use of electricity. To prevent such fire damages, it is essential to have regular electric inspections on a building to ascertain that everything works well. Furthermore, electric safety should be taught to all users considering that short circuits can happen at any time and sometimes without warning.
- Gas leakage – This happens majorly for gas fires. Leaks could occur accidentally or as a result of human negligence. Regardless of the reason, gas leaks are serious and can be a major source of fires and fire damages. Always observe gas safety when utilizing it.
- Poor handling of flammable materials. As already mentioned, fires can be triggered by different flammable materials ranging from solids to gases. When dealing with such highly flammable material, you must understand what is at stake and take necessary precautions. Since it may be unavoidable to avoid such flammable material, make sure that you can appreciate the potential dangers they pose and take the steps needed to keep them away from catching fire.
The Extent of Fire Damage
There are different ways to look at fire damage to make conclusive assessments. In most cases, the extent of the fire damage is often triggered by the fire intensity behind it. For example, when the fire source is an electric short circuit or a gas leak, it is highly likely to spread faster than when caused by other sources. Therefore, the damage extent is also expected to be more severe in such cases. Nonetheless, fire damage effects are always devastating regardless of the cause. From an expert’s view, fire damage can be considered differently. It helps to note that the resettling effect or damage is often due to a combination of factors. This is crucial information in case one intends to get fire damage restoration services.
In most cases, fire damage is caused by soot, smoke, and heat from the fire. All these issues affect items differently and have a role to play in restoration. Below is a broad categorization of the fire damage extent that you ought to know.
- Damage caused by actual fire. Fire in itself is potentially devastating and often causes immense suffering. The immediate effect of fire is burnt. Usually, it can burn your belongings and appliances. Depending on the severity of the burn, some items may be impossible to restore.
Heat Damage
- It is possible not to contact fire directly but still get affected by heat. The heat produced by the fire can cause severe damage to humans as it could cause skin burns. The degree of burns caused by heat ranges in severity and could be anything mild to severe that causes hospitalization.
- Smoke damage. Smoke is toxic. It is even more dangerous when caused by a fire accident since the synthetic items burning can be a source of poisonous smoke that causes severe damage to the body’s organs. Findings often reveal that most people who perished in fire accidents first succumbed to the effect of the poisonous smoke after they inhaled the toxic gas. It is possible to recover from heat and fire damage than to overcome the effect of inhaling toxic gas. Therefore, it is even more important to exercise caution when getting into a house that has been damaged by fire when it is still smoking.
If you intend to take any action after fire damage, it helps to know which type of fire damage has occurred, as this gives a better perspective on the best restoration services to follow.
Preparing for Fire Damage
Unfortunately, sometimes fire accidents are unavoidable. No one sees it coming, and as such, it may not be easy to control. Nonetheless, as long as you live in a home where you utilize some of the resources that could be fire triggers, it is essential to know how to prepare for any eventuality in case of fire outbreaks. There are simple steps that one can take to ensure that they protect themselves and their loved ones. Some of the necessary precautions taken by most homeowners include:
- Installing smoke detectors. This is a fast and easy way to get ahead of smoke damage that could be fatal. Smoke alarms will alert homeowners to respond quickly in case of a fire outbreak. Ensure to have these installed in every area of the home, including bedrooms, kitchens, and living areas. A timely response could save many lives in case of any fires.
- Keep testing the smoke alarms or detectors. It is one thing to install a smoke alarm and another to ensure it works. In most cases, homeowners ignore some of these safety precautions until too late. There is a high possibility that batteries may run out from your smoke detectors, rendering them useless in case of a fire outbreak. It is your responsibility to keep testing the alarms every month to ensure that they work perfectly. You never know when an actual fire may break out.
- Discuss escape plans with family at least twice a year. Make sure your family members understand the exit strategy in case of fire outbreaks. It is important to practice fire drills and talk about getting out of the house if there is a fire. You can even invite professional firefighters to help your family understand how important this is. Most families perished because they did not respond appropriately when the fire broke out.
- Get out, and stay out when fires break out. There is always a huge temptation to go back inside the house to get something valuable when a fire breaks out. Your focus should always be on getting out of the house and staying out. If you have forgotten something valuable, make sure to ask for professional help to get it out and not attempt to retrieve it yourself, as the outcome could be disastrous. Let the experts handle the process.
Taking Action when a Fire Breaks Out
You could do several immediate things when you find yourself in a fire outbreak. The situation around you should inspire your actions. In most cases, one of the following things should happen immediately.
- Get the fire extinguisher. It is essential to know how to safely open and use it as a safety measure.
- Focus on getting out and staying out, then calling for emergency services.
- Shout for help if you happen to notice the fire outbreak. Besides saving yourself, you will be alerting others who may not be aware of what is happening. Always shout for help as you leave the burning building.
- Use fire exits or secondary ways to burn buildings if doors are closed, or door handles are too hot to touch. Do not attempt to open such entry or exit ways to avoid being burned.
- If it is unavoidable to escape through smoke, make sure you go low and try to move below the smoke. The idea is to avoid inhaling the poisonous smoke as this could cause more harm than the actual fire.
- If you cannot move out of a room due to excess smoke, fire, or flames, stay calm and place a wet towel under the closed door. Your following line of action should be calling for expert help and directing them to your actual location. It is easier and safer to have fire-fighting experts lead you out than to attempt to leave a burning building on your own blindly. Only open the door and signal the rescue team with your flashlight once you realize they are nearing your location.
- Once outside the burning building, assemble at the central meeting place or stick to the emergency communication plan if it is impossible to meet at one place. No matter what happens, make sure you are calm.
What to Do If Your Clothes Catch Fire
No one foresees what could happen when a fire breaks out. If you are caught up in such a situation, and your clothes catch fire, you should do a few quick things to minimize the potential damage. These include:
- Stopping your tracks. Whatever you were doing before, stop and let everything go.
- Drop on the ground immediately and try to cover your face if possible. It would help if you strived to protect the face since it is more sensitive.
- Roll on the ground for several minutes until the fire is extinguished. At no point should you panic and start running. Doing this will only fuel the burning clothes and cause you more harm and damage.
- Once the fire is out, cool your body in cold water to soother the burns and try to reach out for emergency services. You will need immediate medical attention to take care of the burns on your skin.
Preventive measures may be the best way out of any potential fire outbreaks when all is said and done. However, knowing what to do in case of a fire outbreak is helpful since it could save lives. It would be best if you also understood the different types of fires and the extent of fire damage for proper restoration. Fortunately, there are expert fire restoration service providers you can contact any time you need assistance with this. The bottom line is to understand the possibilities of fire outbreaks, the potential causes, and the action to take when such emergencies happen. Fires can be devastating as they leave a trail of damage and serious consequences. However, they are not a reason to despair – at least not with fire damage restoration services available. All is not lost. If you act promptly and start the restoration process immediately, you get legal clearance to do so. Prioritize your safety and act quickly to salvage whatever is left.
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