Risks of Poor Fire Clean Up Job

2/10/2023 (Permalink)

After facing a fire, SERVPRO of Portland is available 24/7

When you have a fire, you want it cleaned up quickly and efficiently. However, depending on the cause of the fire and its extent, professional help may be needed to ensure that smoke damage is minimized as much as possible. If you choose to clean up after your own fire damage or hire someone who doesn't know what they're doing, then you could end up making things worse than they already are!

Damages are not always visible

It's possible that the damage to your home may not be visible to the naked eye.

Smoke damage can leave your structure of your home damaged. Structure damage includes walls, ceilings and floors. It can cause odor problems from mold growth caused by moisture trapped in porous materials like drywall or wood paneling and furniture.

Professional help

Smoke contains many harmful chemicals. Some of these chemicals are toxic and require professional experience and equipment for adequate cleanup. A small amount of smoke can be dangerous. If you don't know how to clean up after a fire yourself, hire a professional who does know how to do so safely.

If the smoke is not cleaned up correctly, it can become permanent. Smoke odor damages property value by devaluing homes on the market or even reducing their resale value after moving out of them due to poor air quality caused by fire cleanup jobs gone wrong.

Done right the first time

It is important to hire a professional fire damage clean up company to ensurer the job is done right the first time. If you don't, your home could be at risk of further damage and secondary damages. A good company like SERVPRO of Portland will have the experience and expertise in this type of work to ensure a job well done.

Poor fire damage clean up jobs can result in long-lasting damage

The first step in restoring your home after a fire is removing the smoke odor. The second step is removing any fire damage that may have occurred to your property, including drywall and other building materials. The third step involves making sure there's no mold growth on or around anything that was damaged by water or smoke during cleanup efforts. Finally, you need to make sure all of your belongings are safe and secure while they're being cleaned up by professional contractors who know what they're doing!

If these steps aren't taken properly, then long-lasting damage could result - which means more money down the line when it comes time for repairs or replacement costs because everything needs fixing again after being exposed so long without proper care being taken previously.

If you are facing the aftermath of a fire, it is important to remember that there are lasting risks involved. Poor fire damage clean up jobs can result in long-lasting damage if not handled by professionals. The best way to avoid these problems is by hiring experts like SERVPRO of Portland who know how to handle this type of job and ensure all areas are clean before leaving your home or business premises.

Smoke & Soot Cleanup

8/21/2022 (Permalink)

Soot buildup on these light fixtures after a fire occurred in a local business in Portland.

Smoke & Soot Cleanup

Smoke and soot are very invasive and can penetrate various cavities within your Portland, ME home, causing hidden damage and odor. Our smoke damage expertise and experience allow us to inspect and accurately assess the extent of the damage to develop a comprehensive plan of action.  

Smoke and Soot Facts:

• Hot smoke migrates to cooler areas and upper levels of a structure.
• Smoke flows around plumbing systems, seeping through the holes used by pipes to go from floor to floor.
• The type of smoke may greatly affect the restoration process.

Different Types of Smoke

There are two different types of smoke–wet and dry. As a result, there are different types of soot residue after a fire. Before restoration begins, SERVPRO of Portland will test the soot to determine which type of smoke damage occurred. The cleaning procedures will then be based on the information identified during pretesting. Here is some additional information:

Wet Smoke – Plastic and Rubber

• Low heat, smoldering, pungent odor, sticky, smeary. Smoke webs are more difficult to clean.

Dry Smoke – Paper and Wood

• Fast burning, high temperatures, heat rises therefore smoke rises.

Protein Fire Residue – Produced by evaporation of material rather than from a fire

• Virtually invisible, discolors paints and varnishes, extreme pungent odor. 

Our Fire Damage Restoration Services

Since each smoke and fire damage situation is a little different, each one requires a unique solution tailored for the specific conditions.  We have the equipment, expertise, and experience to restore your fire and smoke damage.  We will also treat your family with empathy and respect and your property with care.

How To Eliminate Smoke Odor From Your Home

6/20/2022 (Permalink)

An unpleasant smoke odor may linger in your Portland, ME, home even after the fire has been controlled and the damage repaired.

How to Get Rid of Smoke Odors in Your Home

A fire at your Portland, ME, home may cause many problems. Lingering smoke smell is likely to be one of the most stubborn. Fortunately, there are several smoke cleaning methods available.

Understanding Smoke Damage

The temperature and speed of the fire, as well as the items, burned, determine the type of smoke. There may be more than one type. Wet, dry, and protein smokes are common in house fires.
The types of smoke present are important factors when choosing a cleaning method. Fortunately, a fire restoration service can tell you which type of smoke you are dealing with and the best way to remove it.

Eliminating Smoke Odor

Although it may be tempting to cover the smell of smoke with air fresheners, this won’t take care of the problem permanently. The only way to keep the odor from returning is to remove the smoke particles from the air and surfaces. The following are some of the most effective tools available for smoke cleaning:

• Air filters
• Ozone machines
• Thermal foggers

Filtration devices work by circulating air and trapping the smoke particles in a HEPA or carbon filter. Ozone machines generate a compound, ozone, that binds with the smoke particles to create a new compound that does not smell. These two methods are ideal for eliminating smoke particles that are present in the air.

However, there may also be particles located inside porous surfaces. When the fire raised the temperature of the affected area, porous surfaces expanded. When the area cooled, the surfaces contracted, and the smoke odor became trapped inside. A thermal fogger works by heating the area again, causing porous surfaces to expand, allowing the deodorizing fog to reach the trapped particles.

Even after the fire has been extinguished and the damage repaired, an unpleasant smoke smell may linger in your Portland, ME, home. Thorough smoke cleaning is the only way to permanently remove the odor.

How To Handle a House Fire

4/18/2022 (Permalink)

Our Disaster Recovery Team is available 24/7, 365 days a year to help with any size fire or water loss. Even if you just have a question, call us.

What To Do If Your House Is On Fire

House fires are common occurrences that affect and devastate many families every year. Residential blazes are scary, unpredictable, and alarming, so ensuring you and your family have a specific fire escape plan in place is crucial to your safety. Follow these simple steps, and be prepared during and after a potential emergency.

1. Be Alert and Take Action

If you experience a house fire in Casco Bay Islands, ME, promptly perform the following measures:

• Enact your emergency escape plan
  
• Dial 911 and alert emergency personnel to your situation
  
• Secure medical care for any people or pets with severe burns or injuries
  
• Call worried family and friends to let them know you are safe
  
• Do not reenter your home until a proper fire damage assessment is complete

2. Put Safety First

Following a fire, confirm with firefighters that it is safe to reenter your home. Dress in boots, long pants, sleeves, helmets, protective eyewear, and masks as you inspect your damaged residence. Consider consulting a professional smoke and soot removal team to clean your house and restore it to a safe and livable status.

3. Check-In

It is crucial to remove any smoke-damaged paraphernalia from your home. Specifically, dispose of any food that might have soiled due to heat or smoke. Physical damage is only a portion of the devastation fires create. Despite devising even the most detailed fire escape plan, many survivors experience feelings of guilt and angst in the months following the disaster. Make it a point to check-in with your family members regularly. Ensure they appropriately deal with their stress and get professional help for anyone struggling mentally or financially. Further, watch your household pets, making sure they don't exhibit any long-term symptoms from the fire or smoke.

As ravaging as fires can be, remind yourself that your successful fire escape plan saved your family's lives. Remember that everything else is replaceable, and all that matters is the safety of your loved ones.

3 Steps to Emergency Preparedness at Home

3/14/2022 (Permalink)

Basic safety equipment like a fire extinguisher and first aid kit are essential, but you should also prepare an emergency kit for your family.

Three Steps to Home Emergency Preparedness

Keeping your family safe in your home in Westbrook, ME, is surely a priority. There are a lot of hazards that can affect your family and being prepared goes beyond just having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Here are three steps to getting your home prepared for an emergency.

1. Make a Plan

Think about the different emergencies that might arise and create a plan for each. In case of a home fire, you should have a plan for how to get out of the house and a meeting spot outside in case your family gets separated. Depending on where you live, consider other disasters that could affect you:

• floods
• tornadoes
• earthquakes
• public health emergencies

The more you think ahead about what you should do in these situations, the easier it will be to act under pressure if the need arises.

2. Build an Emergency Kit

Having basic safety equipment such as a fire extinguisher and first aid kit is great, but you should also put together a complete emergency kit for your family. You should include ready-to-eat food, water, phone chargers, an emergency radio, flashlights, batteries, essential medication, toiletry items, cash, extra clothing, a whistle, spare masks and extra clothing. Make sure that your kit has at least enough supplies to last three to four days.

3. Communicate With Your Family

Discuss all of your plans with your family so that every member knows what to do. Make sure to talk about basic fire preparedness and safety even with young children in case you are unable to reach them immediately. The knowledge that your spouse and children are informed will help keep you calm when disaster strikes.

Your whole family should be prepared when an emergency arises. Whether it's knowing the location of the fire extinguisher or where to meet up if you are separated in a disaster, following these steps will help you get the household ready. If your family remains safe in an emergency the worst work you'll have afterward is contacting emergency restoration specialists to get your home back in order.

Is Smoke Damage Covered By Insurance?

1/6/2022 (Permalink)

In most cases, smoke damage will be covered by your commercial insurance policy.

Is Insurance Coverage For Smoke Damage?

If your commercial building or one adjacent to yours recently sustained a fire, and you are left dealing with smoke-related damage, you may be worried about making a claim with your insurance company. Is smoke damage a covered loss? Read on to learn everything you need to know about smoke claims to put your mind at ease.

Soot Damage and Insurance

In most cases, damage from smoke will be covered by your commercial insurance policy. This is even the case if the fire occurred at a company right next to yours. However, there are some steps you need to take to properly file your claim and increase the chances of it being accepted. They are as follows:

1. Contact your insurance company to report the smoke damage and file a claim.
2. Assess your loss and prepare a smoke cleanup plan with the help of professionals.
3. Record proof of any damage and repairs through photographs, receipts and other documents.
4. Prepare for the insurance adjuster to arrive for surveying purposes.

Following the steps above will increase the chances of restoring your property as best as you can. Having a solid plan in place will also make it more likely that your insurance company will approve your claim.

Smoke Cleaning Assistance

As you can see above, creating an action plan for cleanup is one of the most important parts of this entire claims and restoration process. A reliable Westbrook, ME, fire damage restoration company should be able to arrive on an emergency basis, assess the situation and help you build a cleanup plan that will likely include reducing odors and eliminating smoke from your building.

Smoke damage isn’t always easy to deal with, and communication with your insurance provider can be even more frustrating. Following the steps above and knowing where to turn for cleanup help can make your business’s post-fire future more positive.

Be Content With Content Cleaning for Your Fire-Damaged Business

12/22/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Portland not only will clean up and repair your home or business, but we also clean up the contents inside them. Call us!

Be Satisfied With Cleaning Your Fire's Content. -Loss Of Profit

Your business’ assets are threatened when a fire-related event takes you by surprise. Even if items in the building were not ignited, they still are likely damaged by secondary damage like smoke. This damage, fortunately, can be treated by an expert fire damage restoration crew using several industry standard practices. With professional dry-cleaning and special cleaning machines, most items that didn’t become ash can likely be restored and sanitized.

How Is a Smoky Smell Removed?

Smoke will settle into anything porous enough to let it settle. It could end up in a variety of fabric assets inside your Portland, ME, business property:

• Upholstery
  
• Carpet
  
• Curtains
  
• Clothes
  
• Blankets, pillows and bedding in sleep areas or break rooms

Washing these items without professional content cleaning allows the smell to fully set in the fabric. These items need to undergo the process of deodorizing. In this process, smoke is removed using vents and oxidization.

Affected clothing typically undergoes dry-cleaning. It is the most cost-effective way to thoroughly clean special clothing or uniforms of smoke.

Where Are Smoky Items Stored?

Companies often offer remote warehouses with racks to store property for repair. Here, there are machines that use ultrasonic cleaning to even restore items that are nonporous from fire damage. This service is called content storage. Once the damaged item is restored in the shop where it is relocated, it is placed inside a storage box and organized for easy retrieval later.

Content storage also stores furniture that was unaffected by the fire so it can be protected from prolonged exposure or accidental damage during building repairs. It is advised to store anything that you believe to be smoky or at risk of future damage.

Cleaning Up Towards a Clean Business

Once the process is done, your business will smell fresh and become welcoming to operations restarting. With dry-cleaning and other services from a fire restoration company, the smoke doesn’t have to permeate the room to remind you of the damage. Your business can look and feel like a business again, not burnt food.

Unplugged: Saving Your Electronics From Smoke Damage

10/7/2021 (Permalink)

If your home suffers any fire damage, SERVPRO is always ready to help you, call us!

Unplugged: Preventing Smoke Damage To Your Electronics

If your home in Portland, ME, catches fire, you will have a long list of tasks that must be completed before it will be restored. When writing your checklist for fire cleanup, don’t forget your electronics. Soot and smoke can cause extensive damage to electronic equipment, and only a remediation professional can ensure that it is cleaned effectively and thoroughly.

The Effect of Smoke on Electronics

During a fire, smoke goes everywhere. It gets in every crack and crevice, so electronic equipment such as your computer is not immune to smoke damage. Smoke can harm your computer in several ways:

• Shorting of circuits by the smoke’s magnetic charge
• Overheating caused by the black film soot leaves in its wake
• Degrading of delicate parts caused by high acidity level of soot

Saving Your Equipment

The majority of the fire cleanup process in regards to your electronic equipment should be reserved for the professionals. They have the right tools for the job. You can do a few things, however, to prevent further damage and possibly salvage your electronics. The simplest thing that can help is to unplug the machine and turn it off if you haven’t already done so. If it has a battery backup, it doesn’t hurt to remove that as well. If you notice residue on the outside, you can gently wipe it clean with a dry cloth, but don’t apply too much pressure. If your computer was affected by smoke damage, it may be a good idea to remove the hard drive. This increases your chances of being able to save the crucial components of your computer’s operating system.

Fire cleanup is an extensive process with dozens of steps. Don’t let your electronics fall through the cracks. Remediation specialists may be able to restore your equipment so that it can be used again, but it has to be tested in order to know for sure whether it’s safe to use.

3 Tips for Reducing the Risk of Space Heater Fires

7/19/2021 (Permalink)

Space heaters are portable devices designed to heat single rooms rather than entire houses.

Reducing The Risk of Space Heater Fires

Using space heaters can be a convenient way to keep certain areas of your Falmouth, ME home cozy, especially those that do not receive enough heat from the furnace or are located on an outer ground floor. While these units can be handy, they might also increase the risk of a fire and a burned space heater. Keeping a few safety tips in mind can help you reduce the possibility of space heater fires and ensure your family’s well-being.

1. Give the Unit Space

One of the most common causes of space heater fires is putting heaters in an area where they do not have enough room for proper heat flow. This can cause the unit to overheat and start a fire. Putting a heater in an enclosed space can also cause objects around it to catch fire, such as bedding, clothing and other fabrics. The risk is usually highest in the bedroom, where blankets and stuffed toys can fall off the bed and onto the heater and spark a blaze. A fire and smoke cleanup service can advise you about the best placement for your space heater.

2. Ground the Plug at a Wall Outlet

Most space heaters are designed to operate from one electrical socket. As such, plugging them into an extension cord or a multi-socket power strip may cause them to overheat. This may start at the plug itself, which can melt it or the cord. Overheating at the power source may also cause a power surge, which can result in a burned space heater or a fire.

3. Set Your Heater on a Stable Surface

When you first buy a space heater, it is important that you read all instructions and set your unit on a stable surface instead of a table or other object. If the surface is unstable, the unit can be knocked over and come into contact with flammable objects.

Space heaters can make your Falmouth, ME home comfortable. However, knowing how to use them safely is important to protect your family from the threat of a burned space heater or a devastating fire.

Caring for Your Electronics After a House Fire

7/8/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO can clean electronics after a fire.

Electronic Restoration

After a house fire, there is a lot you and your family can get done with old-fashioned soap and water. However, there are some things that are best left to professional fire cleanup crews, such as your electronics. Instead of just scrubbing these belongings clean, pros will need to

• Inspect for any present safety issues
  
• Clean away corrosives from inside the casings
  
• Perform a thorough inspection of the item after professional cleaning to ensure performance safety
  
  

Each of these steps is important, and none of them can be missed if you want a truly good electronic restoration experience in Falmouth, ME.

Initial Inspections

As a general rule, you should steer clear of any electronics you suspect may have been affected by smoke damage during the fire until a professional can perform a quick inspection. This is to ensure that no moisture or other particles have entered parts of the device that could make it dangerous.

Cleaning Procedures

Smoke carries acids and a number of different chemicals that can corrode the metal pieces inside of your electronics’ casings. These substances typically need more than just a damp cloth to clean properly, which is why all cleaning should be left to trusted electronics professionals. Usually, your fire cleanup crew will work alongside an electronics shop of your choice to get the best possible results.

Successful Restoration

Of course, after the initial cleaning, you’ll want to have either the electronics store owner or a cleanup pro check the electronics in question to ensure it's working properly. This can help them catch any unexpected remaining issues so that when you do get your belongings back, they’ll be good as new.

Getting the proper care for your home during fire cleanup in Falmouth, ME, is important if you want to get things back to normal again, and that includes your electronics. Fortunately, with the right crew, the process is easier, faster and more effective.

5 Things To Try When Your Smoke Alarm Beeps

4/6/2021 (Permalink)

Keep your family safe from fire and smoke damage.

How Do You Stop A Beeping Smoke Alarm

You installed a fire alarm in each room of your home in Falmouth Foreside, ME when you moved in. You regularly test the alarms to make sure they're working. The worst thing, then, is when one of the alarms starts beeping. It can take a while to figure out which one is beeping. Then, how do you make it stop? Here are five things to try.

1. Change the Batteries
Start simple and change the batteries. Even if you just did it, it's possible one of them is faulty or you accidentally mixed up an old one with a new one.

2. Use the Silent Button
Your fire alarm has a test/silent button. Try to use that to stop the beeping. This is probably also a good time to find the manual (or look it up online if it was thrown away) for ways to specifically test your brand of alarm.

3. Reset the Alarm
A slightly more complicated solution is to reset the whole device. Again, the manual or YouTube can provide help for how to conduct a full alarm reset. Don't get discouraged here, decide that it's not worth the effort, and leave the alarm unarmed. Fire damage occurs when you least expect it, so it's important to keep all of your detectors up and running properly.

4. Check for Dust
Some detectors are hardwired to your electrical system instead of using batteries. If dust is affecting the wiring, that could be a reason that your alarm is beeping. Use a keyboard air blower to clear out dust build-up.

5. Replace the Whole Thing
When no other solution will stop the beeping, it's time to replace the detector. They don't last forever, and chances are that it's been longer than you realize that since you installed your fire alarm. Don't put this off. The safety of your family could depend on functioning smoke detectors.
Troubleshooting your smoke detector can be a headache, but it's worth the effort to keep your family safe from fire and smoke damage. If a fire does occur, a fire damage assessment will help you determine the cause.

How To Clean Up Damage After a Fire

11/5/2020 (Permalink)

Fire damage to a local business in Portland, ME

How To Clean Up Damage After a Fire

Fire cleanup takes place in multiple stages. When your commercial property in Portland, ME, has water, fire and smoke damage, it all has to be dealt with before the building can be rebuilt. Fire restoration specialists take several steps to make sure your building is restored fully.

Water Damage
Before technicians can get to the soot damage done by the fire, they typically have to address the problems the water used to put out the fire left behind. Firefighters must use water liberally to ensure that all flames are extinguished, and this can lead to a lot of water damage. They must inspect and tear out all materials affected:

• Drywall
  
• Insulation
  
• Tile
  
• Carpet
  
• Textiles
  
  

Fire Damage
At the same time as the water damage removal is happening, the smoke cleaning crew is likely to remove materials with fire damage as well. If a support beam is burned beyond repair, for example, it has to go. Temporary supports are installed in its place until the final stage of the process when it can be rebuilt.

Soot Damage
The last step of the cleanup phase is soot and smoke damage cleaning. During a fire, these particles get everywhere. They don't just land on surfaces. They also get trapped in corners and cracks. It is not unusual to even find soot damage under floor tiles or in air ducts. To infiltrate all the areas that smoke and soot can go, a thermal fogger may need to be used. It disperses the cleaning agent the same way that a fire disperses smoke so that the detergent can get to every place the particles are hiding. Afterward, an ozone machine may be used to clean the remaining odor from the air.
Fire damage is only the start of what technicians have to handle during the cleanup stage of the restoration process. Both water and smoke damage must also be cleaned before rebuilding can begin.

How to Safely Use Candles In Your Home

9/24/2020 (Permalink)

Perhaps the easiest way to prevent a fire is simply not to use candles at all

Avoid Candle Fires In Your Home

With warm light and pleasant fragrances, candles can be an easy way to create the atmosphere that you want in your West Falmouth, ME, home. However, they can also become a safety hazard if they are not used properly. Candle fires are common, but the following tips can help you avoid them.

1. Don’t Leave Burning Candles Unattended
It may seem like an annoyance to extinguish a candle every time you leave the room. However, leaving it burning could result in a candle fire if something gets too close to the flame or if it burns too low. It is best to blow out candles before going to sleep as well, even if you are in the same room.

2. Keep Them Away From Flammable Items
When you are using a candle, you should be sure to have the area free of flammable objects. This can include papers as well as fabrics such as curtains and bedding. These types of items should be at least a foot away from any candles that are in use. Flammable liquids should be kept even further away.

3. Keep Them Out of Reach of Pets and Children
Both children and pets often come with an excess of energy and curiosity. For this reason, it can be easy for them to inadvertently start a candle fire. Keep burning candles in an area that is not within reach, and do not leave them unsupervised.

4. Use an Alternative
Perhaps the easiest way to prevent a fire is simply not to use candles at all. There are a variety of other ways that you can achieve a more relaxing home environment. If you are only interested in adding a nice scent to your home, a wax warmer is a great option. You can also buy battery-operated flameless candles that look and smell like the real thing.
While these tips can help you prevent an emergency, accidents can still occur. Whether it is small or large, fires often require smoke cleanup and some repairs. If this happens, a fire damage remediation company can help return your home to its previous condition.

Minimize Damage After a Fire with a Temporary Roof Repair

7/8/2020 (Permalink)

Roof damaged by fire in a Portland, ME building

The aftermath of even a small or partial-loss fire at your Portland, ME, business can have lingering effects. While the first concern may be the fire cleanup, the potential for further issues to occur should also be a top priority if the roof was damaged. As you wait for the roof repair to take place, leaving it exposed means opening the building up to potential problems.

Roof Damage Woes

Fire cleanup doesn’t happen overnight. Calling a fire damage and restoration expert that is Faster to Any Size Disaster is the first step in ensuring speedy and professional repairs. In the interim, whether the hole was caused by the fire, or firefighters had to create an opening for ventilation, it leaves the structure vulnerable to non-fire losses or worries:

Cost – The longer the roof is exposed, the higher the potential for further environmental damage that can quickly increase repair costs.
Vandalism – While it depends on the extent of the roof destruction, the gap could create an access point for vandals or thieves.
Pests – Animals and insects can easily find their way in through the smallest spaces.
Safety – If the damage isn’t severe, you may be able to continue operating out of the business structure, but that could mean a potential safety hazard for anyone in the building.

Temporary Covering
Although not a permanent fix, using tarp services is an ideal way to minimize secondary damage or other issues. These experts will properly affix boards and tarps to keep debris and precipitation from entering through the ruined areas. Regardless of the type of roof, they will have the know-how to securely seal off entry points and create an insulation barrier to help minimize costly repairs while determining whether the roof needs to be fixed or replaced.
When fire cleanup includes the roof, take quick action to contain the damage, and help ease the restoration process.

Fire Prevention and Preparedness for Pets

6/25/2020 (Permalink)

Your pets are an important part of your family, and you surely would do whatever you can to keep them from harm’s way. To help keep your pet and the rest of your family safe from the dangers of a home fire, here are several important steps you should take to prevent and prepare your pet for the possibility of a fire emergency in your home in Falmouth, ME.

Pet Fire Prevention

Like young children, your pets are not always aware of their surroundings and that their actions can result in a fire. Here are a few pet safety tips for preventing a fire:

• Don’t leave pets unattended near space heaters or an open flame
• Secure electrical cords that your dog might chew on
• Remove stove knobs or use safety covers
• Consider flameless candles or other candle alternatives
  

Pet Fire Preparedness

Once you have set up your home to help your pets from starting a fire emergency, you then need to start on your pet preparation and fire escape plan. When developing an evacuation plan with your family, identify which member of the family will be responsible for helping your pets get to safety, and make sure your dog comes when called.

Create a pet fire safety kit with medical supplies you might need to help your pet, some treats, and a leash or carrier. Also, add a pet alert window cling to a front window with information on all of your pets so firefighters can quickly find them.

While the tips in this guide can help you prevent a fire emergency and provide you with a plan for helping your pet if one does ever does occur, make sure to you don’t delay your escape if saving your pet isn’t possible. Once out of the house, never reenter until after firefighters extinguish the fire and the fire damage assessment team says your home is safe to enter.

How To Protect Your Home From Lightning Fires

5/29/2020 (Permalink)

Lightning strikes are rare, but when they hit, they can cause serious damage

Ways To Protect Your Home Against A Lightning Fire

Lightning strikes are rare, but when they hit, they can cause serious damage. You can protect your home in North Deering, ME, against a lightning fire in several ways.

Unplug All Electronics
If you know that a storm is approaching your area, unplug all of your electronics. A power surge can severely damage the system of electrical wires throughout the house. It can also destroy the electronics themselves. That includes your TV, computer and electric lamps. You should also unplug the toaster, blender, and any other electrical appliances in the kitchen. If you are going on an extended vacation, it's a good idea to unplug your electronics to reduce the risk of a house fire.

Install a Voltage Surge Protector
There will be times when you aren't home to unplug your electronics. If you're at work or running errands, you don't want to unplug everything each day before you leave the house. If you install surge protectors in the areas where electronics are positioned, they will limit the amount of voltage directed into the electronics.

Consider a Home Protection System
A home protection system combines aluminum material and highly conductive copper to provide a path of low resistance, which will safely ground dangerous electricity. If installed correctly, the system is 99% effective in protecting against a lightning fire. Some homeowner’s insurance policies will even offer a discount if you install a home protection system. If you need advice on installing a system, contact a fire assessment professional.
A protection system can include the following elements:

• Lightning rods
  
• Grounds
  
• Bonds
  
• Main Conductors
  
  

Check Your Insurance Policy
Make sure your homeowner's insurance policy covers damages from electrical storms. Some states are more prone to electrical storms, so it's critical that you are covered if you live in a high probability zone.
You can't totally prevent a lightning fire, but you can significantly reduce the risk by being proactive.

Here's How You Put out a Grease Fire

2/27/2020 (Permalink)

If the fire is still going, dump a liberal amount of baking soda on the flames

While it's true that a fire can start anywhere in your home, the kitchen is one of the most common places. There are a lot of hazards in this room, so you need to be cautious when you're cooking on the stove or using the oven. A grease fire is one of the most concerning types of fires you could encounter at home. Extinguishing these fires is not the same as most kinds.

What Causes Grease Fires?

If you're like many people in North Deering, ME, you probably use your fair share of cooking oil on the stove. Whether it's frying up bacon or sausage for breakfast or grilling up something else delicious on the stove or griddle, you may frequently contend with grease. The common reasons a grease fire may start include:

• Putting too much oil in the pan
  
• Leaving the room while something is frying or grilling on the stove
  
• Leaving panhandles away from the stove where other people can bump into them
  
  

Smother it Quickly
If a grease fire starts in the kitchen, don't panic. Your first job is to smother the flames and remove the fire's oxygen source. You can do this by grabbing a metal lid and covering the pan or burner.
Remove the Heat
You need to next kill the heat source. Turn off the stove or unplug the electric griddle.

Try Some Baking Soda
If the fire is still going, dump a liberal amount of baking soda on the flames. This should do enough to smother the flames and control the fire. It may require some fire cleanup, but you can control the damage.

What not To Do
Your first reaction to putting out a fire may be to dump water on the source. With grease, this won't work; it will only spread the flames. Never put water on these types of fires.
A licensed fire restoration company can clean up after a grease fire. Still, you don't want to get to this point. By following these pointers, you can stay away from these disasters.