Fire – it is beautiful and destructive. It can warm our homes or bring about utter devastation and is certainly a force to be reckoned with.There have been many fires in human history that have brought about millions of dollars’ worth of property damage. The aftermath can be exceedingly difficult to cope with and handle. How do you even go about fixing something like that?
Well, thankfully there are options available to help you if your home or other properties have experienced fire damage. There are several different forms of this damage, and it comes in a variety of severities. There are tiers to repairs, so it is important to educate ourselves on these things.
The History of Fires
I understand if this does not feel particularly relevant, but I think it isa good idea to educate ourselves. This is one of the first steps of prevention. Cities have historically been a huge source of risk as far as fires go. There are several reasons for this, and you can see some statistics for the worst fires in the US history.
These events have caused serious changes in human history. Infrastructure and even population patterns have altered in response to these tragedies. Some were man-made and some were accidental, of course.
One of the most well-known tragedies is the Fire of Alexandria. This was destroyed by the Romans, along with a lot of the knowledge about the ancient world. Talk about a terrible event.
Of course, if you are living in Detroit today, that probably is notvery important to you. Let usturn our attention to some that have happened in a more modern context, due to the infrastructure of cities. It will help give you an idea of how much we have improved in the last century.
The one that comes to mind first is the Great Fire of New York. This happened in the nineteenth century, so a little bit closer to us than 232 B.C.E. Unfortunately, it also occurred while there was a cholera outbreak in the city.
After a warehouse caught ablaze, the flames spread through eighteen blocks. There were really no firefighters or forms of prevention at that time, so it went relatively unchecked. The supply of water in the city was not prepared for something like that.
This did influence the creation of an aqueduct – as I mentioned above, these sorts of events often inspired us to innovate and prevent something like it from happening again. That is one of the few bright sides to these things happening.
Sadly, Detroit is no stranger to these tragedies. Back in 2010, there was a huge catastrophe in the city. There was some understaffing in the fire department, and the blaze ended up causing damage to over eighty homes and buildings.
Ten of them were considered to be large fires that spanned across several buildings. In the aftermath, many repairs needed to be made. There were businesses like this one, https://jcbeal.com/fire-damage-restoration-detroit/, that aided in the restoration.
The Dangers
Obviously, flames will cause significant damage to homes and other buildings. They can also absolutely devastate forests, as we saw in California in 2020. It is important to understand the other dangers as well, though.
The first thing is threats to our own health. The flames can get extremely hot. If our skin comes in contact with them, it can result in mild to severe burns. Some of the most extreme cases require burn victims to get skin grafts.
That is not the only risk to us, though. Inhaling smoke is dangerous. For people with asthma, it can cause a significant problem and even spark an asthma attack. Inhaling smoke in general for anyone is never good though.
In the case of a fire, the smoke that billows offleads to low visibility levels. This is dangerous for anyone trying to navigate their way out of the dangerous areas to somewhere safer. It can also irritate our eyes if any gets in them, especially with some of the debris that will be around as well.
Smoke damage in general is something that we underestimate. It can be one of the worst parts of an uncontrolled blaze, though we do not realize it. You can read more about the impact that smoke has here on this page, but the most important thing is to try not to breathe it in.
Making Repairs
As mentioned above, the aftermath can be hard to cope with. If your home burns down, it can feel like you are lost and have nothing left. It is a horrible feeling. As you move forward and try to rebuild, get a support system to lift you during the process.
The first thing to do is try to assess the damage that has been done. One of the most important parts of this is checking the overall structure and architecture of your home. If there is structural damage, this needs to be addressed as soon as possible. It isa serious danger to the people who are restoring the home.
Next, you should investigate the electrical systems throughout your home. There is a good chance they were damaged in the fire, so you should try to address this after taking care of any structural instabilities. This will make the process of repairs easier, as electricity gives you access to more power tools.
After that, you can start to take care of the specific issues in your home. This might include smoke damage or residue called soot. The walls might be blackened by it, which is unattractive and unhealthy to breathe in. In some extreme cases, you might need to paint over the stains.
Finally, remember to take it room by room. It probably will not be done in a day. It will take time to rebuild, just as it will take time to cope with the loss. Do not try to rush the process too much.
Getting our homes or businesses destroyed in this manner is terrible, but at least we can rebuild bigger and better in the aftermath.
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