Burning Down the House
Most of us don't ever think about our house catching on fire. I usually expect that to happen to people with nicotine addictions and late night TV watchers. Well now I know a fine upstanding citizen that has fallen victim to a house fire. My friend Cindy had a house fire last week. It started in her kitchen from some hot oil on the stove. I guess she freaked out and didn't know what to do so she actually made it worse than it should have been. Kitchen cabinets, walls, appliances, ceiling etc - all burned or covered in soot. And something I did not realize would happen and frankly never thought of before is the water that the fire department sprayed on the house goes into everywhere and everything too!
She told me that her insurance would cover most of the damage but that it was going to be super expensive to deal with. They call in a company that does fire restoration to clean up and fix all of the mess and damages. We had lunch today and I was very sad for her because it sounds like a nightmare to deal with. So I thought I would share some of the important details you need to know to first not have a fire in your kitchen and second what to do if it does happen.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A GREASE FIRE
If your oil catches on fire, don't pour water on it and don't try to move it unless you are sure you can do it without spilling it on anything. This is how Cindy spread the fire. A really good first step is to keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. If she had had one of the small extinguisher in her kitchen she could have put out the fire and saved herself a ton of money and a lot of heartache.
If you don't have an extinguisher you can use baking soda thrown on the fire to put it out. If you can't do that a wet rag thrown on top of the fire to cut off the oxygen might work to. Just don't thrown a bunch of water on a grease fire as it can spread the oil and spread the fire.
If you do have a fire, according to this water damage restoration company
"Water damage must be dealt with immediately by professionals with experience in the proper methods and techniques that will preserve your home and its contents." The primary reason is that the water does almost as much damage as the fire. It can rot your walls and more importantly it can make mold that is super bad for your health. I am sure you all have heard of black mold right? Apparently there are a couple kinds of nasty mold that tend to grow after a fire and that is one of them. Improper mitigation of water is a common cause of mold growth. According to Elivan at Riverside Damage Restoration. "Most homeowners tend to believe that they may be able to remove the water intrusion on their own and although they remove the standing water, the moisture can help promote mold growth once again. Water seeps into walls and fabric and places the average homeowner will never even know to look for it. " This of course leads to the mold. inside the walls and in other unknown places. Cindy told me the company she had come to her home brought monstrous blowers and industrial dehumidifiers to get everything dried out.
So remember kids- Don't smoke in bed ad don't throw water on your grease fires. Hope that save someone out there from some heart ache.
