Fire Damage Restoration in Murfreesboro, TN

A fire-damaged house is open to rain, animals and break-ins. The first job is securing it: broken windows and doors boarded, holes in the roof tarped. Most insurance policies expect you to protect the property from further damage, and board-up does that.

Fire hoses put hundreds of gallons into a house in minutes. That water soaks drywall, insulation and subfloors far from the fire itself, and left alone it turns into mold. Extraction and drying start right away, the same way as any water damage restoration job, with moisture readings until the structure is dry.

Soot is acidic and oily, and it travels through the whole house on air currents and through the HVAC system. It stains and etches surfaces the longer it sits. Different fires leave different residue: fast, hot fires leave dry, powdery soot; slow, smoldering fires and kitchen fires leave a sticky film. Each needs a different cleaning method, so we test surfaces before cleaning.

Dry soot is removed with HEPA vacuums and dry chemical sponges before any wet cleaning, because water smears it deeper. Ductwork is cleaned, or soot just blows back out when the system restarts.

Smoke odor gets into drywall, framing, insulation and fabrics. Air fresheners only cover it. Removal means taking out what can’t be cleaned, cleaning and sealing what stays, and then treating the air and structure with methods like thermal fogging or hydroxyl generators until the smell is gone, not masked.

Many belongings can be saved: clothing, hard furniture, dishes and some electronics. Items are inventoried, packed out if needed, cleaned and stored while the house is repaired. The inventory doubles as documentation for your claim.

Most house fires start in the kitchen, and a burned pot of food can leave damage out of proportion to the flames. Protein residue is nearly invisible, sticks to walls and cabinets as a yellowish film, and has a strong, lingering smell. It needs degreasing cleaners and careful odor treatment; ordinary wall cleaning just spreads it.

If the system was running during the fire, smoke and soot went through the ducts to every room. The air handler, coil and ducts are inspected and cleaned, and filters replaced, before the system runs normally again. Smoke also travels into wall cavities, attics and closets, which is why odor sometimes returns on humid days if only the visible surfaces were cleaned.

Once the structure is clean and dry, we rebuild: framing, drywall, insulation, flooring, cabinets and paint. You get a written scope before work starts, so you and your adjuster know what’s being replaced.