Water Damage Can Compound Fire Damage

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

Putting out a fire requires a lot of water. That water can cause a lot of damage by itself.

How Water Compounds Fire Damage

The consequences of a fire at a commercial building in Crossville, TN, can include thousands of dollars in damage to structure materials and contents. A burned or singed structure and contents are only a part of the aftermath of many fires. If sprinklers or hoses were utilized to extinguish the fire, water cleanup is probably also going to be necessary. Find out more about how water compounds fire damage.

Standing Water
As a fire burns through building materials and contents, sprinklers and fire hoses can release hundreds or thousands of gallons of water into a structure. Water intensifies damage caused by a fire in many ways including the following:

• Excessive weight
• Increased risk of structural failure
• Increased risk of microbial growth
  
  

Sprinklers and hoses release clean water. As soon as this water mixes with soot and smoke, it becomes a highly contaminated Category Three water damage. Before fire and smoke damage cleanup can take place, all standing water must be removed from a structure.

Staining
The chances of staining increases rapidly as long as residual moisture remains in a structure. Soot and smoke damage become more set in whenever water is present. If water cleanup takes place as soon as possible, restoration measures may still be sufficient to fix partial damage. Burned or singed materials must be replaced.

Structural Damage
It only takes one inch of standing water throughout an area to possibly add thousands of pounds of weight to a structure. A building with severe fire damage may be likely to give in to structural damage if standing water is present. Remaining moisture can also be detrimental to weakened building materials. Fast cleanup and mitigation procedures may limit the extent of damage.
Many fire cleanup jobs involve some water damage. Restoration professionals have experience with the requirements of water cleanup after a fire. If water is standing at a fire-damaged structure in Crossville, TN, the owners of a building or business should document this damage for a commercial insurance claim and proceed with mitigation.