Commercial Fires Can Leave Lingering Problems for Building Owners

1/12/2019 (Permalink)

After a commercial fire in Norman, Ok, the building can be expected to need a good smoke cleaning by professionals to remove the stains left behind by the soot and dark fumes of billowing smoke-filled clouds. But weeks or months later, an unexpected smoky or acrid smell may arise. That is when most people ask themselves what happened.

Dark Stains

Discoloration can generally be removed by a team of fire specialists. Using specialized cleaning methods and chemicals, the team can often quickly remove the damaging stains from the walls, floors, and ceilings. Once the stains from the smoke damage have been removed, the building can quickly be reopened for business.

Unpleasant Odors

What many people do not realize is that a general smoke cleaning only removes surface pollutants. During a fire, flames can send out gas fumes as they consume items. The gases may include the following:

• Hydrogen cyanide
• Carbon monoxide
• Phosgene
• Hydrogen Chloride
• Nitrogen Dioxide
  
  

As the fumes penetrate the surfaces of most porous items inside the building, they become hidden by the more offensive nature of the smoke and soot. Once the surface smoke and soot is removed, the gases typically become noticeable.

Specialized Cleaning

Fire and smoke restoration specialists can fight the noxious and offensive smells left underneath the smoke odor with air cleaners. These include ozone machines, air filtration devices, and thermal foggers. By initiating a full area air cleaning along with the surface cleaning, your building can typically be returned to normal quickly when the majority of offensive odors have been removed.

Smoke cleaning is important, but it is only part of the cleaning often necessary to fully remove the offensive and lingering gases trapped in the interior of your commercial building. It is often best to look to a restoration team right after the fire to minimize the hold the odors may have on your property.