Different Hidden Impacts Following a Fire
Every family could turn their lives upside down due to a house fire. Homes are destroyed, treasures are lost, and lives are lost in the most tragic circumstances. A fire in your home can wipe out more than just material possessions; it can also damage precious memories and force you to fight insurance companies for long periods.
Smoke, fire, and the water used to put out the fire are three causes that have led to the most evident damage. Anything prone to absorb moisture or odors, such as carpeting, furniture, and clothes, is damaged.
Hidden Damages of Fire
The effects of a fire are far more expensive than they appear at first. The damage caused by fire can seem subtle and hard to spot. After a fire, there’s some additional, less obvious damage that can be costly and dangerous for your family’s safety. We’ll cover them in this article.
1. Mold
The possibility of the growth of mold is increased when water can seep into your carpets, rugs, floors, ceilings, and walls. It is not enough to replace flooring, drywall, or walls. The areas exposed to water need to be dried entirely or rebuilt.
Mold can trigger serious health problems and can also cause harm to your home. The mold spores are tiny microorganisms that can be breathed in due to floating in the air. Mold spores can cause allergic reactions, asthma symptoms, and other respiratory ailments.
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2. Gas Leaks
Firefighters use various tools for breaking down walls, cabinets, and even glass in an emergency. Accidental nicks or hits to gas lines typically turn into full-blown leaks once using tools. If you go back inside your home following a fire and detect the gas smell, you must leave immediately and call 911.
A gas leak can fuel an existing fire and cause an additional explosion that could cause death or serious injury to anyone in the vicinity. If there is a gas leak, turn off the valves immediately and call for help.
3. Electrical Damage
The fires can also cause electrical damage. They can cause the melting of wires, short out junction boxes, and create live dangling wires when it spreads across walls. Contact your power provider to turn off your power in a fire.
But, even though falling power lines could pose an immediate risk, a subsequent fire can start from a damaged wire that ignites in the walls. In the fire aftermath, firefighters will investigate the structure; however, a wire may be hidden within damaged house components.
4. Soot
The particles that makeup soot come from burning fuels like wood or coal. As a natural consequence of living in an industrialized society, we are constantly exposed to the dangers of breathing in soot. However, soot-related damage during a fire might not be noticed during your home’s post-fire evaluation and inspection.
Always wear protective equipment when working with soot, such as covering your eyes, mouth, nose, and hands. It is probably better to seek out experts.
5. Sewage and Water Pipes
It’s a commonly held belief that water and sewage pipes are fireproof. A majority of today’s plumbing systems don’t use iron pipes. They are constructed of PVC or another rigid, flexible material to avoid the danger of cracks and leaks. These materials, however, tend to melt when heated to high temperatures.
Toxic and unpleasant gasses can enter your home through damaged sewage pipes and cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and trouble breathing. The lines that are damaged could be releasing potentially harmful carbon monoxide.
If your pipe bursts, it can cause a flood and damage your property. A flood cleanup firm can address your problem. Their expert team can remediate and fix the issue in the fastest possible way.