Fire Damage Isn't Just From Flames

By Author: Bryson Kaleb
Total Articles: 194
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Intro:

Fires are one of the most terrifying and destructive forces. Waking up to a fire in your home, or finding one has started inside your business is a nightmare scenario that no one wants to find themselves in. A fire can severely damage or entirely gut a property, and it is incredibly dangerous to anyone inside, however flames are not the only risks a fire brings into your building. Smoke can have long term damaging effects for your property and be fatal to those caught in a fire emergency.

How Smoke Causes Problems in Your Building

Smoke and ash particles can easily make their way into your air duct and HVAC systems. Once there, ash and other carcinogens can build up in your airflow systems. This debris buildup can cause a health risk for people inside an affected home or building. Your building's duct systems are like the lungs of your body, pumping air through the building. Ashy buildups are like smoking cigarettes. The more it continues, the less fresh air and the more carcinogenic material moves around the building, which means that all the people in the building are breathing that material in, ...
... more and more over time.

Larger buildups can also cause a risk of additional fires. Debris buildups can be ignited when heated, and fires are much harder to locate, isolate and put out quickly when they are in your vent systems.

How to Protect Your Building from Damage

There's unfortunately no perfect way to prevent smoke from entering your building entirely. It's pretty obvious that any fires in your building will cause smoke to get into your airflow systems, but smoke can come in from outside your building too, even if your windows are closed and sealed. Every building has some measure of outdoor air intake by design, so in areas where there are frequent wildfires, or a nearby neighborhood fire, smoke can make its way into your vent system.

The best way to protect your building from damage, and the inhabitants of the building from the associated health risks, is to keep a regular HVAC cleaning schedule. Regular maintenance will help to keep your ducts and filters clean and help everyone in the building breathe cleaner air. This can also have the added benefit of energy efficiency. A clear and clean HVAC system will not have to work as hard to circulate air through the vents, lowering your energy bills, and extending the life of the system itself. It's a lot cheaper to keep your airflow systems clean than it is to replace the entire thing before it's time. Not properly servicing your equipment may also lead to voiding of any warranties or insurance you may have purchased, so it's best for everyone to keep it up to date!

Talk to a professional today for a consultation. If you live in an area prone to wildfires, have had a kitchen or garage fire, or there has been a building fire in your neighbourhood you will need your vents or duct work cleaned.

AirTek specializes in smoke odor removal, fire and smoke remediation (https://air-tek.net/fire-and-smoke-remediation), smoke smell remediation, air duct cleaning, and kitchen hood cleaning services in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Azusa, Anaheim, San Diego, Simi Valley, Fairfield, Fresno, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Aptos, San Jose, and Riverside. To know more, visit https://www.air-tek.net/who-we-are/.