James Cummings is the general manager of Servpro of Ahwatukee & South Tempe in Arizona, a branch of Servpro, the national fire and water cleanup and restoration company. Here, he explains how his company responds after a fire and what types of cleanup and restoration services it provides for homeowners whose homes have suffered fire and/or smoke damage.
An Overview of How ServPro Responds After an Emergency
Within one hour: Within one hour from when you call us about your loss, a Servpro franchise professional will contact you to arrange for service. The longer you wait to call, the greater risk that secondary damage may occur.
Within four hours: Although our goal is to arrive at the loss site within one hour from the time we are contacted, we are committed to arriving within four hours, barring any unforeseen circumstances such as a catastrophic storm or other weather event. Within four hours of loss notification, a professional will be on site to start emergency mitigation (cleanup and restoration) services. The key to reducing damage and saving money is responding quickly to your damage. The professional will also begin pretesting for restorability, working from the source of the damage outward.
Within eight hours: Within eight hours of arriving on site, the professionals will brief the appropriate person, normally your adjuster or property manager, on the scope of the damage.
Final walk-through: After the cleanup and restoration work has been completed, professionals will conduct a final walk-through with you to help ensure you are satisfied.
After a Fire: Cleaning, Restoration, and Deodorization
Servpro franchise professionals will work neatly and efficiently to help you regain control of your property when a damaging event has occurred. They use state-of-the-art restoration techniques to ensure your property is properly taken care of. The types of cleaning and restoration we perform after fire and smoke damage are:
- Structural Cleaning. After fire or smoke damage, ceilings, walls, woodwork, carpeting, and floors will often need a thorough cleaning. Your experienced local Servpro professional will do pretesting to determine the extent of damage, and then use the specific equipment and cleaning products required to clean and protect the different surfaces found in your structure. Depending on the amount of soot, the professional may even be able to reduce the cost of recovery by cleaning lighter soot deposits found on some surfaces, eliminating the expense incurred with repainting or refinishing. In other cases, Servpro will “clean to prepare for painting.” This process deodorizes and ensures the new paint will adhere properly to the surface.
- Contents Cleaning. All restorable contents in affected areas will be professionally cleaned and deodorized. This includes area rugs, furniture, draperies, and upholstery. Servpro franchise professionals begin by carefully inspecting and testing all fabrics in the structure to determine which cleaning methods are most appropriate. They can provide wet or dry cleaning services. Additionally, all the other restorable contents will be cleaned and deodorized to their pre-loss condition. This includes electronics, art, wood furniture, kitchen items, clothing, bedding, and more.
- Deodorization. Servpro franchise professionals provide specialized services that rid your home or business of odors from fire or smoke damage. They do not merely cover up lingering odors with a fragrance, but seek out the sources of the odor and remove them.
