How Commercial Fire Damage Can Hurt Groveland Farm Supply Inventory If Not Professionally Mitigated

4/23/2017 (Permalink)

After a fire is extinguished, warehouse fires often leave surprising amounts of damage.

Commercial Fire Damage

After a fire is extinguished, warehouse fires often leave surprising amounts of damage. This damage can take different forms simply because of the various types of inventory and goods that are warehoused.

When a fire hits a warehouse in Groveland that is used to store farm supply goods, commercial fire damage can seem minor and easily cleaned up by current employees. One problem with this is often readily apparent – many insurance adjusters rarely honor claims that do not have third party accounting. There are other concerns for cleanup after a fire, however.

Different types of fertilizer can affect smoke residues. Soot always contains corrosive substances, no matter how clean the fire was. When chemicals have been in the fire or even near it, these chemicals can affect the quality of the soot. This highly corrosive soot can eat away at any metal. In the case of farming vehicles and other related items such as trailers, these are typically painted. Soot is capable of finding its way under the paint, leading to future corrosive activity. Small items such as hand tools, clothing, boots, and other merchandise all need to be cleaned.

Products that are designed for feed and medicines often have detailing that catches soot. These items need to be cleaned of all soot before sale. Soot might resemble charcoal, but it can contain chemicals that could adversely affect animals that ingest even small amounts. Consuming even small amounts of soot can be unsafe in large part because some chemical compounds change when exposed to heat.

Employees who work inside a warehouse with unmitigated fire damage are at risk of continued inhalation of soot. Soot can be removed by manual cleaning, but a significant amount can be left behind in locations that are not easily accessible. Even though these places may be hard to reach, if soot can find a way in, as soot breaks down, those same particles are eventually released back into the air.

At SERVPRO, our employees know how to remove visible soot, but also how to remove particles that make soot a stinky, smelly, and ongoing reminder of the fire. With the use of equipment that produces a safe and naturally occurring gas, hydroxyl, or OH, that is more powerful at cleaning the air of impurities than ozone. Being safer than ozone, hydroxyl can be used in occupied buildings, around plants, and even in areas where carpets are still damp.

The sale of smoke-affected items can lead to dissatisfaction, and that can result in subsequent complaints to the makers of these products. Soot can ruin the finishes on products of any kind, and also creates an undesirable environment for employees. Having a professional and experienced company like SERVPRO perform the needed cleanup can prevent these and other problems from taking place. Protecting your employees from the risks inherent in cleaning up after a fire while obtaining excellent results and third-party verification is always the better option.

We at SERVPRO of Minnetonka know farming is a vital part of our community, and work hard to ensure that businesses affected by commercial fire damage and other disasters can continue providing goods and services locally. When your business has just such an emergency, call us at (952) 473-4837. We are always here to answer the phone and can start working on restoring your business.