Recent Fire Damage Posts

House Fires - More Common Than You Think

Name: SERVPRO of West Hartford
Telephone: (860) 206-6141

5/8/2024 (Permalink)

A beautiful house on North Main St in West Hartford was severely damaged by a house fire.

According to Red Cross, 40 percent of people living in America believe that they are more likely to win the lottery or get struck by lightning than they are to experience a house fire. Unfortunately, the Red Cross reports that more than $7 BILLION in property damage occurs from home fires every year and more than 30 people suffer injuries related to house fires every single day. At SERVPRO of West Hartford, we know the aftermath can cause damage throughout the entire home, both seen and unseen. Often times even the rooms that were not directly affected by the flames of the fire can sustain extreme damage. Intense heat can melt plastic, stress glass panes to the point of shattering, clothes and fabric furniture can absorb the soot and smoke, and equipment may no longer be safe because of a compromised electrical system.

SERVPRO of West Hartford has seen it all; a small kitchen fire, an electrical fire, a dryer fire, a fireplace or chimney fire, or even a puff back - when the oil burner backfires and fills your home with soot and smoke. Almost 100% of the times, these events are sudden, unexpected, and traumatic.

As soon as the fire department has given you the all clear to reenter your home, it is understandable if you don’t know where to begin. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford IMMEDIATELY. As you’re reading this, take a moment and save our phone number in your phone because you can’t be too prepared. 860-206-6141 is our direct office line and our phones are running 24/7. No matter the time, we can have a priority responder to you within an hour of your call. We are a trusted, experienced, and unbiased restoration company with highly trained, dedicated, and sensitive crews who can get to work immediately. We’ll walk you through the process of fire damage restoration as if we’ve been doing this for years because, well, we have.

Disasters can happen. When they do, call the team who is ready to help. SERVPRO of West Hartford is here for you.

West Hartford Fire Damage Occurs In Many Ways

9/14/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke and odor removal are included with SERVPRO's fire damage restoration service for your West Hartford property.

What a Home Needs After Fire Damage

A fire can be dangerous for homeowners, from overloaded circuits to grease flare-ups in the kitchen. It can be difficult to picture how SERVPRO can restore such damage to its original condition.

West Hartford fire damage can happen swiftly and overwhelm homes and businesses. The destructive capacities of structure fires present pressing hazards and threats for responding technicians, making our swift response a necessary element of the services we provide. Our 24/7 availability allows us to begin mitigation as soon as possible.

What Does Fire Mitigation Mean?

Mitigation is one of the critical elements of the restoration process, as this encompasses all of the initial actions SERVPRO takes to protect the house. There are many priorities in the early stages of recovery. We seek to provide several beneficial outcomes:

Less Fire Debris – Clearing heaps of ash, soot, and other remnant debris is one of the initial steps to improve conditions after fire damage.
Better Air Quality – Post-fire conditions are volatile and overwhelming. With circulating soot and carcinogenic particles, air quality improvement is a priority.
Removed Hazardous Materials – Destroyed bulk materials, charred remnants of building elements, and weakened structural supports can require removal to protect workers and house occupants.
Reduced Malodors – Smells are a common byproduct of fires, but it is important through cleaning and filtration to reduce the severity of these malodors.
Protected Contents – Through relocation or on-site cleaning, we work to protect the items that matter most to our customers.

The Advantage of Controlled Demolition

Many do not understand the demolition process and why it is vital after fire damage incidents. Initial property inspections can often show structural compromise throughout the building. To prevent this from getting worse and more materials becoming impacted and affected, our SERVPRO team uses our general contractor license and experience to carefully and confidently remove ruined construction elements. By removing damaged materials, we can more accurately inspect the rest of the property and prepare the residence for reconstruction to follow after cleanup.

Removing Soot After Extinguishment

Soot is one of the more widespread and visibly concerning products of a housefire. As challenging as this might appear, our technicians come equipped with many products and tools to lift soils and remove them from supporting substrates. A careful evaluation of the condition of hosting materials starts this process. We work through several strategies like surface cleaning, soda/media blasting, and even controlled demolition to overcome the present fire damage.

Post-Fire Smells

Malodors are a common byproduct of combustion but can be a challenge to overcome and remove without advanced tools and potent deodorizing products. Our professionals' early cleaning actions can help reduce the severity of these smells, though this will not remove the smoke scent entirely from the property. Neutralization often must include tools in our inventory like ULV or thermal foggers, hydroxyl machines, and more aggressive deodorizing methods.

When Should Repairs Take Place?

Many restoration companies ask customers to pursue vetting and securing a general contractor for any repairs and reconstruction needed on the property after restoration. This process could continue for weeks or more, and you still might not get the price you want or the timeline you hope. Our SERVPRO team has a general contractor license allowing us to transition from restoration to reconstruction quickly.

West Hartford fire damage is always stressful and can be a traumatic experience for homeowners. Our SERVPRO of West Hartford team understands how important it is to get you back to normal life, so we work around the clock on restoration and repairs needed. Give us a call when disasters strike at (860) 206-6141.

Fire and Soot Damage Can Make Your West Hartford Home Unlivable

8/8/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO techs can remove the sooty deposits stuck to the walls of your West Hartford home by the water from the extinguishing efforts.

We Restore Fire and Soot Damage in West Hartford

When a fire ravages your West Hartford home, it can cause all sorts of problems. A serious house fire could severely harm household contents and leave behind residues and foul odors. In the aftermath of a fire, acidic residues could discolor and damage structural elements and furnishings. Moreover, they are likely to spread odors throughout your residence.

SERVPRO’s been helping West Hartford residents restore fire and soot damage for over ten years. We have provided them with complete house fire clean-up services, including thorough smoke remediation and fire restoration work. As a result, SERVPRO has gained a reputation as the go-to company for fire, soot and smoke damage remediation. A brief listing of our cleanup services is as follows:

Expert evaluation of fire-impacted areas and materials to determine what can be saved and what needs to be replaced
Removal of dry, wet, greasy, or charred-on residues from household surfaces using industry-approved methods and state-of-the-art equipment
Sanitization of ventilation networks using HVAC cleaning systems to prevent the further spread of fire and smoke-related particles around your home
Thorough deodorization of your residence and its contents with cutting-edge foggers, injection devices, and industrial-grade deodorants
Complete restoration, including the rebuilding of destroyed rooms, replacement of irreparably damaged contents, and the repainting of fire-impacted surfaces

Considering all this, it is no wonder why SERVPRO has consistently been rated one of the best fire damage restoration firms in the West Hartford area.

If you suffer a residential fire, remember that your helpful neighbors at SERVPRO of West Hartford are always here. Rest assured that we can often return your home to its pre-fire state in less time than other local services. Call us at (860) 206-6141 whenever you need fire and soot damage remediated.

Effective Fire Damage Restoration Saves West Hartford Residents

8/8/2022 (Permalink)

Advanced equipment allows fire damaged West Hartford properties to appear "Like it never even happened." Call SERVPRO.

Quality Fire Damage Restoration in West Hartford

The time it takes to restore your fire-damaged West Hartford residence depends greatly on the firm you hire to do the work. This is true because a company’s training, experience, and equipment all contribute to its effectiveness in dealing with fire damage and completing restoration. Therefore, many area residents have benefitted from SERVPRO’s efforts.

SERVPRO, a well-known fire damage restoration service in West Hartford, has been helping local homeowners save time and money on remediation work for over a decade. Our talented technicians consistently provide them with top-notch fire and smoke damage services like house fire cleanup, smoke remediation, and fire restoration. Once onsite at your fire-damaged home, SERVPRO’s team of skilled professionals:

Thoroughly inspect your property and evaluate its fire-related issues so they know where the problems are, what it is going to take to fix them, and how long the process might take
Set up high-velocity box fans and air movers to rapidly push out smoke-fouled air and replace it with fresh outdoor air
Place air scrubbers and ozone machines around your residence to remove or neutralize remaining airborne smoke particles
Remove soot and fire residues from the interiors of air ducts with high-tech HVAC cleaning systems
Employ innovative, dry, wet, or abrasive techniques to eliminate residues from household surfaces and protect them from further discoloration and other damage
Use powerful foggers to neutralize foul smoke odors with commercial-grade deodorants and injection devices to treat upholstered furnishings similarly

In all of these ways, we work to restore your home to its pre-fire state in less time than other services can.

Keeping all of this in mind, feel safe knowing that SERVPRO of West Hartford is ready to help you with any fire damage restoration work you need to be done. Call us anytime at (860) 206-6141 for assistance.

You've Had A House Fire - Now What?

4/27/2022 (Permalink)

A fire's effects in your home can be felt long after the flames go out. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford to help you through the process.

If you have had a fire in your home, you may be feeling overwhelmed and more stressed than you’ve experienced before. After the fire department has gone, you may find yourself asking “What’s next?” The fire damage may be obvious, as well as the immediate water damage from the firemen’s hoses but the chemical agents and remnants can cause secondary damage well after the fire trucks have driven away.

At SERVPRO of West Hartford we understand the instinct to want to start doing things, to rent a steam cleaner or buy a bottle of cleaning spray and start trying to handle the mess yourself. What you don’t realize is that you may be exacerbating the problem. Cleaners and chemical agents can react with residue and create toxic fumes that could permanently ruin your home, make you very sick, or worse.

So what do you do when you’ve had fire damage? Call us at 860-206-6141 and call your insurance company. Because of our dedication and commitment to making your home look and feel like yours again. SERVPRO of West Hartford is listed as a preferred vendor to most insurance companies in the Connecticut area. Your insurance company will assign you an adjuster and reach out to us, or you can call us directly at 860-206-6141. Our emergency responders can be on site within an hour of your call. They will talk you through the process of what needs to be done, the general scope of work and give you a verbal estimate, all for no cost.

From there we can step in while you catch your breath. Our 24/7 crews are extensively trained in safe and efficient ways to return your home to as normal as possible. Our office staff is well versed in working with insurance companies and adjusters. Our project managers are there to answer your questions and make sure you are on the same page and comfortable with the process.

SERVPRO West Hartford completely understands that a house fire was not a situation that you expected, wanted, or likely prepared for. From the initial demo until the last little piece of decoration is cleaned of soot, we will be with you every step of the way. We have the equipment like air scrubbers which can remove the lingering smoke odors from rugs and couches. Our fire cleanup crews will blow your mind with how quick and thorough they are. Just read one of the reviews left by a recent customer:

“SERVPRO never let me down. They did an amazing job with my garage, it was caught up with some fire and the smell from it was horrible. And also everything was drenched from the firefighter’s efforts to put out the fire. SERVPRO crews really took the time to eliminate the odor and dry everything up. Incredible crews. I will definitely recommend your services to everyone I know.”

We are a locally owned company with national resources and we take great pride in all of the services we provide. We are proud to offer

Water damage restoration services
Fire damage restoration services
Mold remediation
Storm damage restoration
Commercial Cleaning Services

SERVPRO West Hartford will be faster to your disaster and can take your fire emergency from “disaster” to “did that even happen?”

Take Care of Your Smoke Detectors and They’ll Take Care of You

11/24/2021 (Permalink)

Firefighters in front of a burning house

Smoke and CO detectors can save your life, but only if you maintain them. Follow SERVPRO of West Hartford's tips and stay safe!

We all know how important smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are, right? And we all maintain them and make sure they’re working correctly, right? Right?

Well, no, not all of us do. According to Consumer Reports, a recent survey of more than 2,300 adults showed that many Americans don’t pay enough attention to these life-saving devices:

Can’t remember when they last tested their smoke detectors: 32%
Can’t remember when they last tested their CO detectors: 41%
Can’t remember when they last changed the batteries in their smoke detectors: 25%
Can’t remember when they last changed the batteries in their CO detectors: 31%
Can’t remember when they installed their smoke detectors: 53%
Can’t remember when they installed their CO detectors: 48%

SERVPRO of West Hartford hopes that this information acts as a reminder for you to check up on your smoke and CO detectors, so that they are ready to work if you have a fire emergency in your home. After all, according to the National Fire Protection Association, you and your family could have as little as two minutes to escape a house fire!

How to Maintain Your Home’s Smoke and CO Detectors

Put them in the right places

Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home, outside all sleeping areas and in each bedroom
Install a CO alarm on each level of your home and outside all sleeping areas
Ideally, your alarms are interconnected so that if one goes off, they all do. Professional installation may be required

Test your detectors once a month

Push the test button on each smoke and CO detector
If an alarm doesn’t sound, replace the batteries and retest. If the detector still doesn’t sound, replace it
If a detector begins chirping on its own, replace the batteries

Replace old detectors

Install new smoke detectors at least every 10 years
Install new CO detectors at least every 5 to 7 years
If a detector malfunctions (won’t stop chirping, for example), don’t just unplug it or pull the battery out. Replace it!

Recover From a House Fire

Smoke and CO detectors don’t prevent a fire from starting, of course. They give you and your family a fighting chance to escape without injury and a shot at minimizing the physical damage to your home and possessions. If you do have a fire in your home, call SERVPRO of West Hartford to handle your fire damage cleanup. We are the central Connecticut experts on fully restoring fire damage, from start to finish.

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of West Hartford has specialized training and experience in fire restoration and cleanup, as well as natural disaster and storm damage cleanup, water damage and mold remediation, and chemical and biohazard cleanup. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford (860.206.6141) any time.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Prevent a Holiday Kitchen Fire

11/23/2021 (Permalink)

Celebrate safely with your family and friends this holiday season—and that means avoiding a kitchen fire in your central Connecticut home!

’Tis the season for gathering with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. This year, we’re all ready to be together as safely as we can. Part of those safety concerns revolve around COVID, of course, but as with any gathering where there’s cooking, it’s wise to also be concerned about fire safety. According to the National Fire Protection Association, most house fires begin in the kitchen … and the #1 day for kitchen fires to happen is Thanksgiving!

With a crowd in the kitchen, lots of talking and laughing, and maybe some alcohol in the mix, too, a holiday dinner can turn in a fire disaster fast. Don’t let that happen to your family! Follow our tips for holiday kitchen safety.

Prevent a Kitchen Fire

In the happy chaos of holiday meal prep, remember to take these precautions:

Keep a class K fire extinguisher mounted in the kitchen to put out a fire quickly
Keep children at least 3 feet away from the stove and keep pets out of the kitchen entirely during holiday cooking
Turn your pot and pan handles toward the back of the stove to prevent people from bumping into them
Keep oven mitts and other flammable items at least 3 feet from the stove
Wear close-fitting or short sleeves while cooking
Never leave the kitchen if the stove is on

In Case of Fire ...

If a fire does break out in your kitchen, take these steps immediately:

For a stovetop fire: use a lid to smother a fire in a pan. Protect your hand with an oven mitt and carefully slide the lid over the pan, then turn off the burner. Leave the pan and lid alone until they’re completely cool.
For an oven fire: turn off the oven and keep its door closed to cut off the fire’s supply of oxygen.
For a clothing fire: Immediately drop to the floor, cover your face with your hands, and roll back and forth until the flames are out.

If you can’t quickly put the fire out and it starts to spread, use your fire extinguisher, have someone call 911, get everyone out of the house and be sure that you have a way out.

Once the fire is out, call SERVPRO of West Hartford to begin the fire damage cleanup. Holiday or no, we’ll arrive promptly and get going on our quick and complete damage restoration services.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Fire Damage Cleanup and Restoration: Our Process and Results

9/28/2021 (Permalink)

This East Hartford homeowner called SERVPRO of West Hartford after a kitchen fire damaged this two-family home.

A fire in your West Hartford-area home changes everything. Whether it’s a small, contained fire with mostly smoke and soot damage or a total loss, you’re facing a challenging cleanup and restoration process. The skilled pros at SERVPRO of West Hartford follow a time-tested process to restore your home and possessions to their pre-fire condition. After the flames are out, you can be confident that SERVPRO will restore your home and possessions quickly and completely.

Our Proven Process

Step 1: When you call SERVPRO—any time, 24/7—we’ll ask for details about your fire so that we can bring the right equipment and resources.
Step 2: Upon arrival, we inspect your home and assess the fire damage. With this information, we create a plan of action.
Step 3: If the fire has damaged your roof, windows or walls, we quickly board them up and cover them with tarps to prevent additional damage from the elements.
Step 4: If water damage has occurred, we get going fast on removing it. Once we’ve pumped out most of the water, we use dehumidifiers and air movers to remove the rest of the moisture and dry your home.
Step 5: Using our specialized equipment, products and procedures, we remove smoke and soot from ceilings, walls and other surfaces.
Step 6: Next, our crew uses a range of cleaning techniques to clean your possessions. We evaluate and clean, sanitize and disinfect your restorable items, and remove odors from your home with industrial air scrubbers and foggers.
Step 7: The final step is to return your home to its pre-fire condition. This process ranges from minor repairs, such as replacing drywall, painting and installing new carpet, to major reconstruction of one or more rooms.

Our Results

The photo above shows the “after” view of a completely gutted and rebuilt kitchen after a fire, which started in the kitchen of a two-family home in East Hartford and almost completely destroyed the building. Our cleanup was complicated by the residue left by the use of a fire extinguisher, but we determined that much of the damaged structure and possessions were actually salvageable.

This particular homeowner decided to remodel their kitchen as part of the restoration, and installed new cabinet fronts, countertops and appliances. A frightening fire situation was turned into an opportunity to upgrade the home, and we are thrilled that the homeowner trusted SERVPRO of West Hartford with the job.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Central Connecticut Fire Damage Cleanup Customers Speak About SERVPRO

8/18/2021 (Permalink)

Smoke and flames coming out of house windows

In central Connecticut, SERVPRO of West Hartford is the trusted fire damage restoration company that will get you and your home back to normal.

Big or small, a fire in your central Connecticut home is a shock to your system and a mess to clean up. What do you do when the firefighters leave? How do you clean up the structural damage? How do you remove the water that was used to extinguish the flames? How do you get rid of the soot on your walls, ceilings, furniture, personal items … even your clothes? And what about that awful smoky smell that just won’t go away?

If you’ve suffered a fire in your home in West Hartford or nearby towns, you know that what you really need is an expert company that you can trust to clean up the mess, restore your home and possessions to their undamaged condition, be your partner in dealing with the insurance company … and sympathize with the upheaval and shock that you and your family have experienced. In central Connecticut, that expert fire damage remediation company is SERVPRO of West Hartford. Please read on for some reviews by our customers.

“Top notch service crew and administration! Very happy with the work they did throughout my disaster! Fire damage is no joke and SERVPRO kept a clear channel of communication with us, our insurance company, and even the local fire department! They truly do go above and beyond. We hope this never happens again, but in any case, if that happens to either us or anyone we know or even hear about, we’ll be letting them know whose hands can best take care of them through such times like these and that is SERVPRO of West Hartford!”—Nathan in Hartford

“We had an early pre-Thanksgiving on the weekend before, but things went terribly wrong. Our oven caught fire from the build-up of burnt food that never got cleaned this year. We couldn't thank you enough for helping us through this recovery and saving our Thanksgiving in time!”—Joice P. in West Hartford

“My son's power strip caught fire after he plugged one too many things in. I was oblivious to everything and in shock, until my husband had SERVPRO come and they did their work. It truly was "Like it never even happened."”—Krystal T. in West Hartford

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

How SERVPRO Cleans Up Fire Damage in Your West Hartford Home

7/23/2021 (Permalink)

A firefighter puts water on a burning house

SERVPRO of West Hartford uses a three-part process to clean, restore and deodorize your home and possessions after a house fire.

Even a small fire in your West Hartford home can cause a lot of damage from smoke, soot, flames and the water and/or chemicals used to extinguish the flames. And after a fire, you are probably feeling pretty emotional and overwhelmed by the many decisions you have to make quickly to get your home back in pre-fire shape. You need to find a professional fire damage restoration company to swiftly and completely restore your home and possessions.

In West Hartford and central Connecticut, that company is SERVPRO of West Hartford. We are local fire damage remediation experts, yet we have the resources of a national company: the equipment, products, training, staffing and procedures to fully restore your home. Call SERVPRO and we’ll arrive at your home ASAP to evaluate your damage and get the fire cleanup process started.

These are the main components of SERVPRO’s fire damage restoration services.

We Restore Your House

A house fire leaves fire, soot and smoke damage on your walls, ceilings, trim and floors. Once we evaluate the damage to all parts of your home’s structure, we select and apply the right equipment and products to clean and restore each surface. We clean off the soot and smoke deposits, then deodorize and prepare the surface for repainting or refinishing. If possible, we save you money by completely removing lighter soot deposits so that you don’t have to repaint.

We Restore Your Possessions

Because there are many different kinds of objects and possession in your home, there are many different approaches to cleaning them, and SERVPRO has the tools, technology and know-how to restore everything appropriately. This includes furnishings such as area rugs, furniture, draperies and upholstery, and personal items such as electronics, kitchen items, clothing, bedding, artwork, books and documents.

We first assess the contents of your home to determine what is restorable, then test items to choose the method of cleaning that will be most effective without leaving damage. SERVPRO uses unique cleaning methods and products for every type of object.

Additionally, SERVPRO creates a digital inventory of all your damaged items, giving you an all-in-one list for documenting your insurance claim and tracking each item through the cleaning process.

We Deodorize Your Home and Possessions

SERVPRO of West Hartford completes your fire damage restoration job by clearing—not masking—your home of fire and smoke odors. We find the sources of the odors and use specialized equipment, such as foggers that penetrate all the crevices in your home and furnishings, to leave you with a 100% deodorized home.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

How to Escape a Fire in Your West Hartford Home

1/20/2021 (Permalink)

A diagram showing how to escape a house fire

During a housefire is not the time to figure out how to get your family safely out of your home. Do it now by following our guidelines.

Deep down, no one expects to have a fire break out in their home, yet that’s exactly what happens to more than 365,000 homeowners each year in the U.S. In a matter of minutes, our sanctuaries can become deathtraps!

What makes it worse is the fact that many home furnishings—such as carpets, upholstery and furniture—are now made of materials that can burn extremely hot and fast. This means that while twenty or thirty years ago, you would have had around fifteen minutes to escape your home, now you may have less than five minutes. Every second counts when a fire breaks out, especially at night, and especially when you’re in shock and under extreme stress.

That’s why you should make a plan now for your family to safely evacuate your home in case of a fire. Create the plan by answering these questions, then make sure your entire household understands it and practice it at least once a year—more is better.

How will you get out? Identify two ways out of every room, typically a door and a window—both of which should open easily and not be blocked.
Who needs to get out? Does your household include young children and elderly family members? Assign an adult to help them get out quickly. Children may sleep so deeply that they don’t hear a smoke alarm, and older or disabled folks may have trouble moving quickly.
Where will you go? Meet in front of your home a safe distance from your house—maybe in a neighbor’s yard, at your mailbox or by a street or stop sign. There, your family will wait for firefighters to arrive—and not re-enter the house for any reason.
What does the plan look like? Draw a diagram of your house, with the exits from each room and the exit routes from the house clearly marked. Also note the locations of smoke detectors and your outside meeting place.
Does everyone know the plan? Everyone in the house, including visitors and overnight guests, should be familiar with the escape plan. Household members should practice the plan one or more times a year, including during the nighttime.
What if the plan doesn’t work? If your exit routes are blocked, close every door between you and the fire, stuff a towel under the door, call 911 and wait by a window.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

3 Things to Know About Smoke Detectors

11/25/2020 (Permalink)

Avoid severe fire damage to your West Hartford home by buying, installing and maintaining your smoke detectors the right way!

You know how important it is to have working smoke detectors in your West Hartford home. They give you and your family a fighting chance to escape a house fire. Unfortunately, because our home furnishings have become more flammable over the years, you actually have very little time to escape a fire: only 3 to 5 minutes!

So, while every one of us has cursed a chirping smoke alarm in the middle of the night, that annoying little device may just save your life. There are a few things to know about smoke detectors that will make them more effective—and hopefully, less irritating.

The Right Kind

Start by buying the right kind of detector. You’ll have a few choices to make:

Battery or hardwired: The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends that your detectors are interconnected through wiring or a wireless signal. This way, if one alarm sounds, they will all sound, waking your family up throughout the house. In fact, new homes are required to have hardwired interconnected detectors with battery backup. The alternative is to buy battery-based detectors.
Ionization or photoelectric sensor: Photoelectric sensors better detect smoldering fires, and ionization sensors better detect flames. The ideal is a dual-sensor smoke detector, which alerts you promptly to both kinds of fires. Or, you could invest in both kinds of detectors and install them throughout your house.
With or without CO detector: You can buy dual-models that combine a smoke detector with a CO detector, or you can purchase each kind of detector.

The Right Place

Where you install your detectors makes a difference in their operation:

Install a detector inside each bedroom and outside each sleeping area. There should be at least one detector on each floor of your home, including the basement.
The detector should be installed on the wall, 12 inches or less from the ceiling.
Keep detectors at least 10 feet from cooking appliances and 3 feet from bathrooms, to avoid false alarms from steam or cooking smoke.

The Right Upkeep

Maintaining your smoke detectors is essential to their effectiveness:

Replace the batteries once a year, ideally when you change your clocks forward or back.
A chirping detector is annoying, but it’s telling you to replace the battery or replace the entire unit. Don’t just unplug and ignore.
Test all your smoke detectors each month. In case of failure, replace the battery or the whole unit.
Replace all your detectors after 5–7 years for a combination smoke/CO detector or 10 years for a smoke-only model.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Fire Safety Throughout Your West Hartford House

11/25/2020 (Permalink)

Knowing the dangerous spots in your West Hartford home—and taking simple safety measures—can help prevent fire damage from occurring.

Every year, there are upwards of 350,000 home fires in our country, and the results can range from inconvenient to disastrous. Avoid fire damage and destruction by knowing the areas of your home that pose the greatest risks—and following our tips to prevent a fire from starting.

Your Kitchen

About half of all house fires begin in the kitchen, so be especially careful when using your cooking and other appliances.

Oven and Stovetop

Most fires start here, so keep these appliances as clean as possible to prevent greasy residues from becoming fuel.
Stay in the kitchen when cooking and don’t leave pots and pans unattended on the stovetop.
Keep fabric, paper and other flammable items away from sources of heat.

Toaster or Toaster Oven

Stay in the room when you are toasting.
Regularly clean crumbs from your toaster.

Microwave

Never microwave flammable materials, including aluminum foil, certain plastic containers (check the bottom markings) and Styrofoam.

Dishwasher

Heating elements in an older dishwasher can overheat and spark a fire, so have yours inspected or replace it.

Your Living and Family Rooms

Living and family rooms contain many flammable objects, including furniture, curtains and drapes, lamps and electronics—and many of these newer items burn hotter and faster than those made 20 or 30 years ago.

Candles

Don’t leave the room when burning a candle.
Always fully extinguish the flame.
Keep children away from candles.
Keep candles away from flammable items.

Fireplace

Annual maintenance of your fireplace is essential. Call a certified chimney sweep to clean, inspect and repair any damage.
Use a metal or glass fireplace screen to keep sparks from flying out, and keep rugs away from the hearth area.
Fully extinguish the flames and properly dispose of the ashes.

Your Bedrooms

Your home’s bedrooms should be sanctuaries, but because they contain so many flammable objects—mattress, bedding, curtains, clothing—they can quickly become an inferno.

Smoke Detector and Escape Plan

Install a detector inside each bedroom, test it each month and replace the batteries each year.
Develop, communicate and practice a plan to escape a fire.

Mattress

Mattresses made prior to 2007 may not be flame retardant, so consider replacing yours.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Avoid a Chimney Fire in Your West Hartford Fireplace

11/23/2020 (Permalink)

The fire damage caused by a chimney fire at your West Hartford home can be devastating. Avoid it by setting a cleaner fire in your fireplace.

It’s so comforting to enjoy a crackling wood fire in your fireplace, especially with beloved family and friends gathered around. But that fire you are enjoying could eventually contribute to the biggest risk of a chimney fire: built-up creosote on the walls of the chimney.

What is a Chimney Fire?

Chimney fires are frequent and costly: each year more than 25,000 of them result in upwards of $125 million in damage to American homes. In a chimney fire, built-up creosote inside the chimney can itself catch fire. When that happens, you may hear cracking and booming from your fireplace, and in the worst cases, flames can shoot through the walls of your chimney to light your home on fire! The fire damage can be expensive—and deadly.

The way to prevent a chimney fire is to keep your chimney clean. Creosote is produced every time you burn a fire and condenses onto the walls of your chimney. If it is allowed to build up to more than a ¼-inch thickness, you need to have your chimney professionally cleaned by a chimney sweep. The sweep will remove the creosote and any debris, and will also inspect your chimney for cracks or other dangerous defects. It’s a best practice to have your chimney cleaned annually before the heating season begins.

Build a Safer Fire

Another important way to avoid a chimney fire is to set a clean-burning fire. Follow the steps below for a clean, hot fire that won’t deposit a lot of creosote inside your chimney:

Open the damper so that air moves quickly, swiftly carrying smoke up and out of the chimney
Don’t use too much firewood
Use only seasoned (dried for six months or more) hardwood
Use twigs and small branches for kindling
Use torn, crumpled newspaper or pine cones for tinder

The best, hottest and cleanest fires are built according to the top-down method. It may seem counterintuitive, but start your fire by placing the largest logs at the bottom and work your way up to placing the smallest logs on top. Lay your kindling and tinder on top of that. When you light the fire, it will catch on top and burn its way down.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Reduce Your Risk of a Dryer Fire in Your West Hartford Home

11/12/2020 (Permalink)

A clothes dryer's lint trap is filled with lint

Regular maintenance and an annual cleaning will help you stop a dryer fire before it starts in your home.

Each year, close to 35,000 Americans have an electrical fire in their homes, which account for one in every ten fire deaths. Of these electrical fires, the source in most of them is a home appliance.

With regular maintenance and cleaning, you can reduce the chance of an appliance fire in your home. When using any electric, gas or heat appliance, you should:

Clean, inspect and maintain them regularly, giving special attention to any appliance that’s more than 15 years old
Only use appliances that are certified by a reputable testing lab, such as Underwriters Laboratory
Only use appliances when you’re home and awake

Now, let’s look at ways to reduce risk in one of the most common sources of home appliance fires.

Clothes Dryers

The big risk with clothes dryers is built-up lint, which is a ready-made fuel that can easily catch fire. Not only does lint collect in the lint trap, but it can build up inside the dryer cabinet and hose, too. If lint collects around the dryer’s heating element or burner, a fire can flare up quickly. Take these everyday steps to prevent that from happening:

After every dryer load, empty the lint trap
Keep clothing with combustible stains, such as gasoline or furniture polish, out of the dryer
If your dryer is adjacent to your furnace, do not hang clothing or drop dryer lint near it
Replace vinyl hoses with smooth metal ducts

Once a year, clean built-up lint from your dryer, hose and exhaust (this task is easier if you have a dryer vent cleaning kit on hand):

Remove the lint screen, push a snorkel brush down into the trap and twirl it. You can also use a shop vac with a crevice tool.
Pull the dryer away from the wall and unhook the hose or duct from the dryer and the exterior vent. Clean the hose with a round brush and check to be sure you’ve gotten all the lint.
From inside, clean the exterior vent with the round brush as far as you can reach, then go outside and clean from that direction. While outside, clean the vent hood of any lint or debris. Reattach the hose once all the lint is removed.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

What to Do After a House Fire in Your West Hartford Home

10/5/2020 (Permalink)

A woman holds her head in her hands in front of a burned-out house

If your house catches fire, you need to get out in 3 minutes or less! Here's how to do it and what to do afterward to get your life back to normal.

Did you know that fires kill more people in America each year than all natural disasters put together? And a house fire in West Hartford can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage. For example, it can cost $50,000 or more to rebuild and restore a burned-out kitchen—and 44% of all home fires start as cooking fires.

The bad news is that while decades ago, house fires allowed residents around 15 minutes to escape, that timeframe has shrunk dramatically. Today, you need to get out of a burning home in around 3 minutes! Why this difference? Synthetic materials and furnishings in today’s homes are much more flammable, burn hotter and they produce more toxins when burned.

What Happens in a House Fire?

A timeline of a typical kitchen fire shows how quickly a fire can spread and destroy a home. Within just a few seconds, a stovetop boil-over can spill flammable oily contents onto the cooking flame or electric burner, causing flames to shoot up.

Within 30 seconds: Next, any grease or oil on the stovetop ignites, sending flames across the range and jumping to nearby combustibles, such as paper or dish towels. Smoke—composed of hot gases, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor and hydrogen sulfide, plus ash and soot—rises from the flames with the heated air. This may be your last chance at quickly putting the fire out. Don’t move the pot or pan, but cover it with a lid or cookie sheet to cut off its oxygen.

30–60 seconds: The fire gets bigger and hotter and ignites other objects in the kitchen, while smoke, which can burn your lungs and throat, spreads throughout the kitchen. Inhaling just a couple of breaths of the toxic gases in smoke can cause you to pass out.

1–3 minutes: The smoke thickens and spreads to other rooms and up the stairs, carrying deadly cyanide and carbon monoxide (which is the primary cause of fire deaths). The kitchen and its contents are being consumed and the temperature is now hot enough to kill humans. Thick smoke hovers just above the floor, filled with deadly toxic compounds. At this point, your family is rapidly running out of time to evacuate the house!

3–4 minutes: The heat soars to more than 1000 degrees F, and everything in the kitchen and other affected rooms bursts into flames in a flashover. Flames shoot out windows and doorways and the oxygen is sucked from the room. You can no longer navigate the stairwell. Synthetic furnishings, like sofas and carpets, burn and release huge amounts of heat. The flames begin to travel through interior walls to the second floor.

4–5 minutes: A passerby will see flames shooting out of windows and doors. The living room and other nearby spaces will flashover and your home is now at risk of floor or roof collapse. It is now almost impossible to rescue anyone on the second floor.

How to Escape a House Fire in 3 Minutes or Less

Your life and the lives of your family depend on creating and practicing an escape plan. Start by making a diagram of your house with windows and doors labeled. Map out two escape routes from each room, one of which is through a door. Identify an outside meeting place a safe distance from your house. At that point, you’ll call 911 from a neighbor’s house.

Next, make sure you have the right equipment to alert you to a fire and to allow you to escape. You should have smoke alarms on each floor and one near each sleeping area. Test your alarms each month, replace batteries once a year, and install new alarms every five years. Make sure all your windows open easily and doors can be opened from the inside without a key. If your family sleeps on the house's second floor, consider purchasing escape ladders to provide additional exit routes.

At least twice a year, practice your escape plan. Practice crawling and teach your children never to hide from a fire. Practice using escape ladders if you have them. And because most fires start at night, run one of your yearly drills after bedtime.

What Happens Immediately After a House Fire

After a house fire is extinguished, the structure and property may be gravely damaged. Do not enter the home until you have received permission from your local fire marshal. Between the flames, smoke and heat, what wasn’t destroyed outright may still be ruined. Appliances may have been melted inside, and synthetic materials will continue to emit toxins. Smoke and odor may have permeated every item in the house. You may even have a mold problem brewing caused by the water sprayed by firefighters. Structural weaknesses may cause your house to collapse.

At this point, you may want to call on the services of an experienced fire damage restoration company like SERVPRO of West Hartford to handle the enormous job of returning your home to livable condition. SERVPRO will send a crew in promptly to evaluate the job and can handle everything from start to finish: removing destroyed property; identifying and cleaning salvageable items; remediating damage from smoke, soot and water; coordinating with your insurer; and fully restoring your home to pre-fire condition.

What You’ll Need to Do After a House Fire

There are few disasters as shocking and devastating as losing your home to a house fire. You’ll have to make many critical decisions in a short period of time while emotions surge. Taking it step by step, here’s a process that will help you start putting your life back together.

Find a Place to Stay

Everyone who lives in your home, including children and even pets, will be deeply shaken after a house fire. Make it a priority to find a safe and comfortable place to stay—even if it’s just for a night or two. Your family will be able to rest, regroup and begin planning your next steps. You may prefer to stay with friends or family or at a hotel, but if that’s not possible, disaster relief agencies like the American Red Cross or Salvation Army can often set you up with temporary shelter at no charge.

Contact Your Insurance Agent

Get in touch with your insurance carrier as soon as possible. Your insurer may help you find a reliable cleaning and restoration company and may be able to provide funds for upcoming out-of-pocket costs. And of course, the sooner you get the claims process going, the faster you can get started on repairs or home replacement.

Ensure the Safety of Your Home

House fires can damage your home’s structure, putting it at risk of collapse, so don’t enter your fire-damaged home without a fire marshal’s okay. An inspection to determine if your home is safe to enter can be done by the fire marshal or your insurance company, who will search for hidden damage to wiring, wall supports and foundations.

Once your home is declared safe to enter, the next step is to document the damage, ideally with your insurance adjuster. You’ll also want to recover personal items and salvage whatever can be saved. For your safety, wear close-toed shoes, long-sleeved shirts and long pants, safety glasses and work gloves. Use a camera to document the damage to your house and property.

The firefighters who responded to your fire may have turned off your gas, water and electric utilities to prevent more damage. Again, wait for a home safety inspection and an all-clear from your fire marshal before you turn these utilities on again. You can inadvertently cause another fire, a gas leak or water damage.

You don’t want your empty, fire-damaged home to become a refuge for squatters and looters, so be sure to report your fire disaster to the local police and ask them to keep an eye on your property while you are sheltering elsewhere. Consider boarding up your windows and doors for even more security.

Save Undamaged Possessions

Once you’re able to reenter your damaged-but-not-destroyed house, you’ll want to remove items that weren’t damaged by the fire, especially personal items such as clothing, toys, memorabilia, important papers, etc. If you hire a fire restoration company like SERVPRO of West Hartford, we can work with you to clean your important items so that you can quickly access them.

Catalog Your Damaged Items

Daunting as it is, you’ll need to create a full accounting of all your possessions and furnishings that were destroyed or damaged in the fire. This catalog will be crucial in receiving full compensation from your insurance company. Many insurers even require receipts, serial numbers and other details. It’s a huge challenge to do this when your home has just been damaged or ruined. Some homeowners have been able to assemble this information for certain items by searching their online bank statements for the cost and date of purchases.

SERVPRO of West Hartford makes creating this catalog much easier. Room by room, we evaluate the damaged and undamaged items in your home, take photos and document key information to create a digital record. Then, we wrap and pack up the undamaged objects that require storage and the damaged objects that require cleaning and restoration. We transport all your possessions to our warehouse where they are carefully stored, cleaned, restored and tracked. Once your home repairs are complete (or your new home is ready for move-in), we reverse the process and replace all your personal items and furnishings into your home.

Beyond your possessions, you’ll also need to list important documents that were lost in the fire. Certain critical items, like drivers’ licenses, birth certificates, passports, titles and deeds, medical records, tax information, etc., will need to be replaced immediately.

You’ll need to get rid of these household items after the fire (while documenting items and their value for insurance purposes):

Perishable food: If your electricity has been off for more than four hours, toss your refrigerated food. A full freezer may keep food for up to eight hours.
Non-perishable food: Unfortunately, other foods, even those in cans, that have been exposed to heat, water and firefighting chemicals must be thrown out.
Cosmetics and medicines: High temperatures, water, smoke and firefighting chemicals can ruin these products, so out they go, too.
Electrical equipment: Check for water and heat damage before you use any electrical items, such as small appliances or entertainment devices. You’re better off throwing out any questionable items to eliminate the possibility of another fire.

Plan Your Finances

You may need to pay out-of-pocket for some or all of the costs of restoring your home before you are reimbursed by your home insurer. Be prepared to lay out as much as tens of thousands of dollars before your insurer cuts its check to you.

Your house fire may require you to replace lots of furnishings and personal possessions, such as clothing, electronic devices and more. As you purchase new items, keep your receipts so that you can submit them to your insurer for reimbursement. Again, expect to make a cash outlay before your insurance claim is settled and you receive compensation.

One thing that doesn’t stop after a fire disaster is bills. Your insurance policy may or may not cover your mortgage. You’ll still have other recurring costs to cover, though, such as car and credit card payments. While your home is being repaired, it may make sense to cancel cable and internet.

We’re Here for You

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Prevent a Chimney Fire!

1/20/2020 (Permalink)

Flames shoot out of the top of a chimney.

A chimney fire can be a fast-moving disaster that destroys your home and puts your family at risk. Avoid a fire in your home by following this advice.

Each year in the U.S. there are 25,000-plus chimney fires, which cause more than $125 million in property damage. A poorly maintained chimney can lead to a fast, loud, terrifying and destructive chimney fire—or a slow, quiet and eventually, equally damaging one.

Either way, you will not be able to control a chimney fire. It’s a true emergency, so call 911 immediately! Because firefighters have to fight the flames from the top of the chimney, they will send water flooding through your house, causing water damage on top of the fire damage. Simply put: you can lose your home to a chimney fire.

Fortunately, by performing regular maintenance and keeping watch for any signs of trouble, you can prevent most chimney fires. Read this article to understand what a chimney fire is, how it starts and how to stop one from occurring in your home.

Chimney Fires, Fast and Slow

With a fast chimney fire, you’ll first hear cracks and pops that could be as loud as gunshots, followed by a deep, rumbling sound. You’ll see black, flaming creosote falling into the firebox. And then, it’ll seem like an explosion. Flames will shoot out of the top of the chimney and back down into the firebox. Smoke will get pushed into your living space. Finally, the flue may crack, allowing flames to shoot into your walls.

Slow-burning chimney fires don’t get enough air or have enough fuel to burst into plain sight, but they can still be hazardous. You may not even know the fire took place until you get your chimney inspected. Still, the temperatures reached in a slow-burning fire are high enough to cause the same amount of damage to the chimney structure and nearby combustible parts of your home as their louder and more shocking siblings.

What Causes a Chimney Fire?

The job of chimneys that serve fireplaces and wood stoves is to expel the substances produced when wood burns. These by-products of combustion include smoke, water vapor, gases, unburned wood particles and more. These substances exit the fireplace or wood stove at high temperatures and flow up into the relatively cooler chimney, resulting in condensation and the eventual buildup on the inner walls of the chimney of a black or brown residue called creosote. The longer the smoke stays in the flue, the more likely it is that creosote will form. Creosote can be crusty and flaky, or sticky and drippy, or shiny and hardened—and each form is highly combustible. When creosote builds up on the inside of your chimney and the internal flue temperature gets high enough, a chimney fire can start and burn at up to 2,000°F.

Creosote is more likely to build up in your chimney if your fireplace or stove:

is burning unseasoned wood
isn’t pulling in enough air
has cooler than normal chimney temperatures

What to Do if You Have a Chimney Fire

If you discover a chimney fire, immediately:

Get everyone out of the house, including yourself
Call 911

If you can do so—only without putting yourself at risk—take these additional steps to help save your home:

Place a chimney fire extinguisher or fire suppressant into the fireplace or wood stove, which will consume oxygen and starve the fire
Pour sand or baking soda onto the fire in the firebox (keep a bucket of sand nearby for this purpose)
Close the glass doors on a fireplace or the air inlets on a wood stove

Once outside, use a garden hose to spray down your roof (not the chimney) to keep the fire from spreading while you wait for the fire department.

Once the chimney fire is completely out, call an expert fire damage restoration company like SERVPRO of West Hartford, who will remove all traces of damage, smoke and soot from your home and possessions.

And before you light another fire, hire a certified chimney sweep to inspect for fire damage restoration to your chimney and fireplace, whether it’s masonry, prefabricated metal or a wood stove.

Prevent a Chimney Fire: Regularly Clean and Inspect

Every chimney is vulnerable to a chimney fire. It’s how you maintain your fire-burning equipment that makes the difference and keeps you safe.

Once oily, black, sticky creosote has condensed on the inside of your chimney, it will lurk there, building up and growing into a real fire hazard, until it is removed.

Additionally, rain, wind or animals can carry flammable debris into the chimney, which can quickly fuel a chimney fire if touched by loose embers from a fire. If a chimney is not protected by a flue cap, wind can blow leaves and twigs inside, and birds, squirrels and other vermin can build nests.

The best way to ensure that you never have a chimney fire is by cleaning and inspecting it regularly. A chimney sweep will remove both creosote and any debris that’s in your chimney. In addition, the sweep will inspect your chimney to detect:

creosote built up to a honeycombed or puffy appearance
warped metal in the damper, smoke chamber or chimney
cracked, damaged or collapsed flue tiles
discolored and/or distorted chimney cap
creosote flakes and pieces on the roof or ground
roofing material damaged by hot creosote
cracks in exterior masonry
soot deposits around mortar joints of masonry or tile liners

Try to have your chimney cleaned and inspected each year before fire burning season starts. (If you haven’t done it yet this season, call today before you light another fire!)

In addition to scheduling an annual chimney cleaning, you should pay attention to the condition of your chimney and fireplace. Schedule another cleaning when you notice creosote that:

falls into the firebox during a fire
resembles a honeycomb on the inside of the chimney
is more than 1/4-inch thick

You’ll also want to do more frequent cleanings if you:

burn fires more than a couple of times a week
use a lot of artificial logs
burn green or unseasoned firewood

Prevent a Chimney Fire: Pay Attention

In addition to scheduling an annual chimney inspection, you should watch for these indications that you may be headed for a chimney fire. If you spot any of them, call a certified chimney inspector before you light your next fire.

Buckling brick or stone

Look for cracking or settling of masonry inside the firebox or anywhere on the surround or hearth. Just a small gap can provide a direct route for sparks and high heat to reach the flammable parts of your home’s structure.

Soot in your firebox

If you notice crumbly black soot accumulating in your firebox, that may mean that creosote is building up, so call for a chimney cleaning.

Debris in your firebox

Of even more concern is finding what appear to be broken tile or pot shards in your firebox. Older homes may have masonry fireplaces with terra-cotta chimney liners, so finding these pieces may mean the liner has already been damaged by a chimney fire. Do not use your fireplace until it’s been inspected by a certified chimney sweep.

Smoky odors

If you smell smoke beyond what you’re used to when you use your fireplace—or smell it outside the room the fireplace is in—extinguish the fire and call 911. Your local fire department will check for danger and damage to your chimney with heat-sensing guns or thermal imaging.

Changes in your walls

If heat has been escaping from cracked masonry, a damaged liner or an improperly installed prefab metal firebox, your home’s wood framing can become dry and charred and capable of igniting at a much lower temperature. Signs of excessive heat inside your walls include pictures falling off the wall or areas of bubbling or peeling paint. Call for an inspection if you see any of these changes.

Prevent a Chimney Fire: Prepare Your Fireplace

Beyond cleaning and inspecting your chimney and keeping an eye on potential trouble spots, you should always follow some best practices in preparing your chimney and fireplace or stove so that it burns efficiently and safely, every time.

Keep the damper open to maintain sufficient airflow during a fire (the damper is the metal plate in the flue that regulates the draft). This will allow enough air to quickly move heated smoke up the chimney. Likewise, when using a wood stove, avoid closing down the stove damper or air inlets too soon or too much. Overloading the firebox of a wood stove in an attempt to get a longer burn time also contributes to creosote buildup.

Insulate your chimney’s flue liner (the layer between the flue and chimney walls) to prevent flue temperatures from getting too cool, which can encourage fire by-products to condense and form creosote. Wrap a heat-resistant insulation blanket around the liner or pour an insulation mix such as vermiculite into the space between the liner and flue.

Install a chimney cap on the crown around the outside opening of the flue to keep debris and critters out of your chimney. A cap will also prevent acidic rainwater from entering and corroding the chimney.

Prevent a Chimney Fire: Burn Fuel That’s Clean, Never Green

When you start a fire, you want it to burn hot, fast and clean to create far less smoke, vapor and unburned wood particles, allowing little to no creosote to form in the chimney. On the other hand, low-temperature, slow-burning fires, particularly those left to smolder overnight, produce more smoke and leave behind more unburned combustible material. When that hardens into creosote on the chimney walls, there’s an increased risk of chimney fires.

Use the right fuel and build your fire the right way by following these tips.

Always burn seasoned hardwood. That means the wood has dried for at least six months and has a moisture content of 20 percent or less (you can test this with a wood moisture meter). When you burn green or unseasoned wood, energy is used initially just to evaporate the water trapped in the logs’ cells. This, in turn, keeps the resulting smoke cooler and more likely to condense in the chimney and form creosote.

Use the best fire starters for fuel, kindling and tinder, such as well-seasoned hardwood or CSIA-approved logs. Never use gasoline and kerosene to start a fire—these flammable liquids can quickly create a conflagration. And burn coal only in a coal-burning wood stove, because it can significantly raise the temperature in the flue, increasing the risk of a chimney fire.

Build a clean fire by using the top-down burn method, in which the largest logs are at the bottom of the fire and the smallest pieces at the top. Start by placing the largest pieces of wood in the bottom of the fireplace or wood stove, with the ends at the front and back, which allows the air to mix well with the fuel. Next, stack four to five smaller levels of wood on top of the first layer, each layer perpendicular to the one below, until the stack is about half the height of the fireplace. Then place kindling (the smallest pieces of wood) in smaller and smaller pieces, adding wood shavings or crumpled newspaper on top. Light the material on the top and the fire will gradually burn its way down to the largest logs.

Use dried twigs or branches for kindling and torn or crumpled newspaper or pine cones for tinder. Cardboard or glossy magazine pages contain chemicals that can emit toxins when burned.

Enjoy a Happy Ending to Your Fire

Before retiring for the night or leaving your home, always extinguish your fire safely and thoroughly. Use a fireplace poker to spread out the wood and embers, then shovel ash from the bottom of the fireplace to cover them. Next, completely cover the cooled wood and embers with baking soda, which will extinguish any remaining embers. After the firebox cools (for a minimum of three hours, but preferably eight), shovel the ashes into a metal container. Fill the metal container with water and store it outside your home and away from other flammable materials until you’re ready to discard them.

Enjoy your clean and safe fireplace, avoid a chimney fire … and live happily ever after!

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Stay Warm—and Safe—With a Space Heater

11/27/2019 (Permalink)

A space heater is plugged into an outlet.

Space heaters are a great way to ward off the chill. But they do bring risks, so please follow these safety guidelines to prevent a fire in your home!

Space heaters cause about one-third of all winter house fires and 80 percent of all winter heating fire deaths, and more than half of those deaths are caused by having combustible materials too close to the heater.

The good news is that space heaters are getting safer and more efficient. Many of today’s space heaters are not just better-looking but also safer. In the past 10 years manufacturers have improved technology and added built-in safety features like a tip-over shut-off switch.

Be Safe

Follow these simple safety rules to greatly reduce or eliminate any space heater hazards.

Use newer space heaters, not older models.
Always buy a new—never used—space heater.
Only buy a space heater that has a safety certification from the Underwriters Laboratories or Intertek’s ETL Mark.
Don’t leave your space heater on when you’re not in the room.
Plug your heater directly into an outlet, not an extension cord or power strip. Those devices could overheat and start a fire.
Keep a three-foot perimeter around the space heater clear of people, furnishings or objects.
Never store clothing around or on the heater. Don’t place it too close to curtains or a bed.
Keep children and pets away from the space heater. Either could knock it over.
Unplug the heater when you’re not using it.

Safety Features to Look For in a Space Heater

Certification. Make sure the heater you buy carries a safety certification label from an independent testing organization, such as the UL mark, the ETL label from Intertek or certification from CSA International.

Shutoff features. A smart sensor that automatically shuts off a heater when it overheats is a must. You’ll also want a tip-over switch that does the same if the heater is knocked over.

Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) plug. Most space heaters don’t come equipped with a GFCI plug, which prevents electric shock. If yours does not, do not use it around water.

Sturdy cord. To prevent overheating, never use an extension cord or a power strip with an electric heater. Most space heaters come with a cord that’s 6 feet long.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO®

of West Hartford today at 860-216-2785

We’re Here for You

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
716 Oakwood Ave, West Hartford, 06110
IICRC Certified
Noemi DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860-216-2785
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860-216-2785

Two Essential Fire Prevention Products

11/25/2019 (Permalink)

You vastly increase your chances of surviving a house fire when you install and maintain smoke detectors and a fire sprinkler system.

About 80% of the 4,000 annual fire deaths in the United States occur at home. Two key products that can help protect your home and family from a devastating fire are smoke alarms tied to a central alarm system and automatic fire sprinklers.

Smoke Alarms

Smoke alarms provide crucial minutes to escape a fire safely, cutting your chance of fire death nearly in half. There should be at least one smoke alarm installed on every level of your home, including the basement, and one inside each bedroom.

Hard-wired smoke alarm systems can maximize the alarms’ effectiveness; when one alarm detects a fire, the others will sound automatically, too, alerting everyone to the fire. Consider having a hard-wired system connected to a central alarm network that will also signal the fire department.

Remember: smoke alarms that don't work can't protect you. All smoke alarms, including hard-wired ones, need batteries (which enable them to operate during power outages). Maintain your home’s smoke alarms with these timely tasks:

Test your smoke alarms monthly.
Change the batteries each year.
Replace smoke alarms that are ten or more years

Automatic Fire Sprinkler System

An automatic home fire sprinkler system is the single most effective way to minimize a fire's impact on a home and its residents. It can contain and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes firefighters to arrive on the scene. A sprinkler system can also be tied into the central alarm network, which will alert the fire department if a sprinkler goes off. Cities that require residential sprinklers, such as Scottsdale, Arizona, have seen a dramatic drop in fire deaths and property damage.

And, contrary to what many people think, home sprinklers are actually quite cost-effective, particularly when installed during new construction (they add, on average, only 1 to 1 ½% to the total cost of building a new home).

People often underestimate fire's power and speed and overestimate the time they have to escape. That’s why installing and maintaining these two essential products—hard-wired smoke alarms and a home fire sprinkler system—can make a life-saving difference for your family.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Light Bulbs Can Pose Overlooked Fire Hazards

11/22/2019 (Permalink)

Be safe! Choose the correct wattage when replacing light bulbs in a fixture and never use bare incandescent bulbs in a closet.

Do you have exposed (unshielded or “bare”) incandescent bulbs lighting your closets? If so, you must switch them out immediately.

While under normal circumstances a 60-watt light bulb will get no hotter than 175 degrees Fahrenheit, under some conditions it could reach up to 500 degrees, hot enough to ignite nearby objects. It’s easy enough to imagine forgetting to turn off the light in your pantry or closet, allowing that light to heat up over many hours in close proximity to flammable items.

Previously, unshielded incandescent bulbs were permitted in closets as long as the bulb was at least 18″ away from the closet shelf. But today, exposed incandescent lights are no longer allowed in closets—period. The 2014 National Electric Code (NEC) prohibits all unshielded incandescent bulbs from use in closets.

Replace uncovered incandescent bulbs with LED or CFL bulbs, which operate at much cooler temperatures. It’s one of the quickest, easiest and least expensive fixes you can make—and it sure can make a difference in keeping you, your family and your home safe from fire.

Use the Correct Wattage

Using a bulb that has wattage too high for a fixture can cause a fire. Lamps come with a sticker or tag detailing what wattage bulb can be used. But often, after a lamp is purchased, the sticker is removed for appearance’s sake, and the wrong wattage bulb is used.

Keep the sticker or tag to your lamp in a safe place, or do not remove it from the lamp.
When replacing the bulb, reference your sticker or tag, or get the same wattage bulb that was in the lamp originally.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Will You Know How to Escape a House Fire?

11/12/2019 (Permalink)

A hand-drawn floorplan of a house showing escape routes

Having and practicing a plan to escape from a house fire can mean the difference between life and death.

If a fire starts in your home, it’s critical that you and your family get out of the house fast, ideally in less than two minutes! Yet, you may be struggling to breathe in sheer darkness—while you attempt to keep yourself and your family members calm. Develop and rehearse an escape plan before a fire starts, and you’ll have a much better chance of escaping safely.

Make an Escape Plan

If you have young children (under 6) who cannot get outside by themselves, assign an adult to help each child get out safely.
Determine two ways out of every room in your home, in case one exit (typically a door) is blocked or dangerous to use.
Choose a meeting place a safe distance from your home.

Practice the Plan

Fires can start anywhere and at any time, so practice the plan at different times of the day and night using different ways out. Do this at least twice a year.

For night-time drills, your children should start the drill in their bedrooms and wait for the alarm.
One adult should sound the smoke alarm and start the timer. Everyone should move swiftly to the safe meeting spot.
In a real fire, you may need to get low and stay below smoke. Practice this, too.
Once everyone arrives at the meeting place, stop the timer. Did everyone get there in less than two minutes? If not, run the drill again.

Other Important Tips

Test your smoke alarms each month. Make sure your kids recognize the sound. There should be a smoke alarm on every level of your home, and one in each bedroom.
Teach children to never hide from firefighters and never go back inside a burning building. Once you’re out, stay out!
Teach everyone to check doors for heat with the back of a hand before opening and, if the door is hot, to use a different way out.
If you need to use an escape ladder, show everyone where you keep it and practice how to use it.

In a real fire, once your family is gathered at the safe meeting place, call 911 and keep everyone close until firefighters arrive!

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Fire Hazards in Pre-1980 Homes

10/31/2019 (Permalink)

If your home is 40 or more years old, it may contain deadly fire hazards, such as an aging electrical system and no fire breaks. Get inspected now!

Almost 50,000 electrical house fires occur each year in the U.S., and if your house is more than 40 years old, you could be at risk of a fire largely because of your home’s age. The key to preventing many of these tragedies is a routine home inspection, especially if your house was built before 1980.

How is Your Wiring?

Unseen fire risks may by lurking in outdated wiring. Pay attention to these warning signs of a failing electrical system:

flickering or dim lights
sparks or smoke
burning smells or unusual sounds like sizzles
any kind of electrical shock
damaged insulation
frequent power outages
warm or hot outlets or switches
a shrinking television picture
a need to use extension cords for everyday use

If you see any of these warning signs—or you can't remember the last time your electrical system was inspected—don’t delay! Many homes built before 1980 haven’t been inspected since they were built. Hire a licensed and insured electrician or electrical inspector to prevent a fire disaster in your home.

If Your House Was Built Before 1940

Many pre-1940 homes were built with balloon framing: a continuous wood stud wall that stretches from the foundation to the attic, with no fire breaks. This means a fire can spread from the floor to the roof in mere seconds!

If balloon framing is a possibility in your home, you definitely need to have it inspected! Unfortunately, a major remodel may be necessary to install fire breaks in your walls and ceilings. Still, costly home fire restorations are better than a devastating fire.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how you can protect your home and business from fire, water, mold, sewage, storm, natural disaster and other damage.

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Ralph DiCristofaro
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

Where Do House Fires Usually Start?

10/10/2019 (Permalink)

A house burns and flames shoot out windows.

A devastating house fire can be prevented by paying attention to safety at 5 key areas in your home.

Every year, 350,000 American families experience a house fire. While a fire can start almost anywhere in your home, some areas catch fire much more often than others. Fires start for many reasons—faulty electrical wiring, overheated appliances, unattended candles and fireplaces—but you can take simple precautions at these five locations to help prevent a fire at your home.

Kitchen

Half of all residential fires start in the kitchen, with its many appliances that use heat and electricity. Never leave food cooking on a stovetop unattended. Keep fabric and material, like potholders or dishcloths, away from heat and flame. Don’t let grease and residue build up on your oven or stovetop.

Appliances

Your electric, gas or heat-generating appliances are potential fire hazards, and appliances 15 years or older are particularly prone to fire damage. Only run appliances when you’re home, and regularly clean, inspect and maintain all your appliances.

Dryers: Keep vents and filters clean by removing lint after each use, and at least once a year, clean the lint from the exhaust hose at the back of the dryer.

Dishwashers: Don’t run these unattended—dishwasher heating elements, especially in older models, can overheat and catch fire.

Microwaves: Don’t heat materials that are flammable, such as aluminum foil, Styrofoam or certain plastic containers.

Toasters/Toaster Ovens: Never use these appliances unattended. Clean your toaster or oven regularly, because crumbs can accumulate and become stuck at the bottom, creating a fire hazard. Be aware that the electrical elements inside an older toaster can become faulty and may not turn off, which could start a fire.

Bedroom

Bedrooms are filled with potential fire hazards: bedding, mattresses, curtains and plush items. If your mattress was made before 2007, when flame-retardant safety standards were put into place, think about replacing it. Install smoke alarms in each bedroom and make a fire escape plan that includes two ways to exit the room (usually through the door and a window).

Chimneys and Fireplaces

As they age, chimneys and fireplaces can develop structural problems, leading them to burn too hot. Chimney liners can loosen or detach, allowing burning embers and ash to travel to walls, attics and roofs. Regularly clean and maintain your chimneys and fireplaces. At least once per year (or when creosote or soot builds up to a quarter inch), have a professional inspect and clean them. Keep rugs and other fabrics away from the fireplace, and always place a screen in front of the fireplace.

Living Room

Like bedrooms, living rooms contain many potentially flammable items: electronics, curtains and furniture. If you burn candles, place them away from combustible objects and materials and never leave a burning candle unattended.

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

We’re Here for You

SERVPRO of West Hartford
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.206.6141
24-hour emergency service

If your home or business suffers damage from a fire, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141

If you have a fire or water emergency, please call us now at (860) 206-6141

Recent Fire Damage Posts

House Fires - More Common Than You Think

West Hartford Fire Damage Occurs In Many Ways

What a Home Needs After Fire Damage

What Does Fire Mitigation Mean?

The Advantage of Controlled Demolition

Removing Soot After Extinguishment

Post-Fire Smells

Fire and Soot Damage Can Make Your West Hartford Home Unlivable

We Restore Fire and Soot Damage in West Hartford

Effective Fire Damage Restoration Saves West Hartford Residents

Quality Fire Damage Restoration in West Hartford

You've Had A House Fire - Now What?

Take Care of Your Smoke Detectors and They’ll Take Care of You

How to Maintain Your Home’s Smoke and CO Detectors

Recover From a House Fire

We’re Here for You

Prevent a Holiday Kitchen Fire

Prevent a Kitchen Fire

In Case of Fire ...

We’re Here for You

Fire Damage Cleanup and Restoration: Our Process and Results

Our Proven Process

Our Results

We’re Here for You

Central Connecticut Fire Damage Cleanup Customers Speak About SERVPRO

We’re Here for You

How SERVPRO Cleans Up Fire Damage in Your West Hartford Home

We Restore Your House

We Restore Your Possessions

We Deodorize Your Home and Possessions

We’re Here for You

How to Escape a Fire in Your West Hartford Home

3 Things to Know About Smoke Detectors

Fire Safety Throughout Your West Hartford House

Avoid a Chimney Fire in Your West Hartford Fireplace

Reduce Your Risk of a Dryer Fire in Your West Hartford Home

What to Do After a House Fire in Your West Hartford Home

Prevent a Chimney Fire!

Stay Warm—and Safe—With a Space Heater

Two Essential Fire Prevention Products

Light Bulbs Can Pose Overlooked Fire Hazards

Will You Know How to Escape a House Fire?

Fire Hazards in Pre-1980 Homes

Where Do House Fires Usually Start?

Categories

Recent Posts