Water Damage & Flooded Basement Restoration Services

School Fire Damage Recovery

By the RestorationSOS Educational Staff

School fire damage does more than just alter the structure of the building; it has a profound effect on the lives of numerous families including faculty and students. Classes are cancelled, studies are disrupted, curriculums must be reorganized and altered, and the longer it takes the damage to be repaired, the longer lasting the problems will be.

As with any case of fire damage, it is important to begin the restoration process as soon as possible. Fire restoration involves the stabilization of the scene, restoration and recovery for both the structure and the contents therein. The building will need to be cleaned out, circulating fresh air throughout the damaged area in order to remove any smoke odor or soot. Both smoke and soot may be transferred throughout the building through the air conditioning and ventilation system which means that there may end up being damage in areas of the school not initially damaged by the actual fire. Restoration professionals know where to look for these cases of “hidden damage” as well as how to properly remediate them.

Only qualified fire damage restoration professionals should be working in this area at this time, as they will be able to determine the structural stability of the damaged area as well as devise a proper course of action for cleanup, removal and repair of all damaged items.

Other Types of Damage to Take Note Of

The fire department may have to use large quantities of water when knocking down a major fire. The gutters, downspouts, and drains may become blocked due to fire damage debris. Also, hazardous materials may be washed away through these drainage systems. The school may need to provide locations and amounts of hazardous materials to fire officials to make sure these present no outside threat.

Any number of systems may be affected as a result of a school fire such as electricity, gas, water, fire alarms, burglar alarm, emergency lighting, sprinkler and other fire suppression systems, telephones, HVAC, etc. These systems will each have to be inspected by a certified technician before any further use may be authorized.

Software recovery firms may have to be called in to service in order to retrieve data stored on damaged computers and external hard drives. It is always advisable to have offsite backup resources for all stored documents.

Recommended Reading
School Fire Damage Preparedness and Education
Water Damage in Schools