When a fire strikes your premises, there are many things that will go through your mind all at the same time. There is your personnel to consider, which is first and most important. Once you realize that everyone is safe and accounted for, your mind will drift to your lost inventory, property damage, and lost productivity and revenue. This is a lot to take in, but the first thing you need to do is engage in the cleanup process. Consider the following procedures to follow after a fire in order to get back control of your property as quickly as possible.
Contact a Restoration Company
When a fire strikes your building, the fire department will take over right away. They will do what it takes to get the fire out safely and turn the building over to you. Until that point, the cleanup process cannot begin. However, this does not mean that you can’t get the process headed in the right direction. You will want to consider fire restoration companies in your area and then contact one to be ready to come out to the scene as soon as the all clear is given.
Assess the Damage
Once the restoration company that you choose is able to enter the building, you will want to work in conjunction with them to assess the damage that has been caused. No matter how major or minor that damage might appear to be, the first course of action will be to make sure that the building is structurally safe and sound. If it is, then you will be able to determine what can be salvaged and what it will take to get your business back up and running again as quickly as possible.
Let the Cleanup Begin
One the assessment process is completed, and you agree with the work that is to be done, the cleanup stage should begin as quickly as possible. This is especially important after a fire as the longer that the smoke and water is allowed to settle in the building, the more complicated your issues will become. You will want to get what personal and company belongings you can out of the building, as the restoration process can get quite messy before it gets better. At the end of the day, your goal here is to clean everything up and then worry about getting your business back at full strength.
There are certainly many other aspects of life that you will need to take care of in the aftermath of a fire, but these three will get you going in the right direction. Time is of the essence. Make sure to get the process started as quickly as possible in order to minimize the damage and to stop it from spreading.
