5 Reasons You Need Professional Cleanup After a Warehouse Fire

Warehouse fires are nothing to take lightly, especially when they wipe out an entire facility. Warehouse fires cause devastation to everyone involved. If you've suffered a warehouse fire that has destroyed your entire industrial complex, you need professional help with the cleanup.

After all, there's no way that you and your employees can safely — and thoroughly — clean up several acres of devastation. Here are five tasks a commercial restoration company can do for you during clean up from your fire.

1. Stop Illegal Access

As soon as the fire is extinguished, and the first-responders clear the area, your industrial complex becomes a target for trespassers, vandals, and thieves; not to mention the curiosity-seekers who will just want to get a look at the devastation. Unfortunately, illegal access can pose additional risks to you and your commercial property.

First, thieves may steal your property before you have an opportunity to conduct an inventory. Second, trespassers and vandals may cause additional damage to the structure. Finally, you may be liable for any injuries that occur as a result of your unsecured property. To protect against those issues, all warehouse doors and windows must be boarded up and secured after a fire.

2. Prevent Water Damage

When you think of water damage, you probably think of natural disasters such as floods. However, floods aren't the only way that your warehouse can sustain water damage; fires also lead to water damage. Large quantities of water are used to extinguish warehouse fires. Once the flames are extinguished, the water remains.

Unfortunately, the longer the water remains, the more severe the damage will be. This is particularly true where mold growth is concerned. To prevent mold growth, standing water must be removed from your warehouse as soon as the area is safe to enter.

3. Sort Through the Rubble

If you've lost your warehouse to a fire, you need to sort through the rubble as soon as you can. Your insurance company needs an itemized list of your lost and salvageable inventory before they can begin the settlement phase.

Unfortunately, you may take several weeks, or even months, to sort through the rubble if you try to tackle the project by yourself. Not to mention the fact that you might not know how to sort through the rubble in a safe or effective manner. For that, you need a team of professionals.

4. Remove Hazardous Debris

After a warehouse fire, you may be left with hazardous debris. Warehouse products contain chemicals that will leach into other areas of the building. In addition to those hazardous materials, the foam that was used to extinguish the flames also contains toxic chemicals.

Without proper safety gear, or special care when handling those materials, you and your employees will be exposed to serious health risks. Not only that, but hazardous materials require specialized disposal methods, as well as special precautionary measures to prevent runoff from hazardous chemicals.

5. Restore the Facility

Once your warehouse has been cleaned, cleared, and rendered safe for use, you still need to restore the facility to pre-fire condition. This will require the replacement of most interior components, which will include flooring, lighting fixtures, and drywall if any was present. If you've taken the steps to hire a commercial restoration contractor, they'll handle the complete restoration project.

If your warehouse has been destroyed in a fire, and you have acres of damage to cleanup, repair, and restore, don't try to do things by yourself. If you're in the Harrisburg, PA., area, and you need recovery assistance after a fire, contact C & Z Construction. We're here to help.