Turkey, Tinsel, and Fire Safety

11/9/2024 (Permalink)

Wishing you a warm and joyful Thanksgiving from all of us at SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis.

Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with loved ones, enjoying delicious meals, and creating lasting memories. But amidst all the preparation and celebration, it's important to remember that the holiday season also brings an increased risk of fire hazards. Whether you’re cooking a big feast at home or hosting a business event, fire safety should always be a top priority.

1. Keep an Eye on the Stove and Oven

Cooking fires are one of the leading causes of Thanksgiving-related accidents. As tempting as it may be to walk away from the kitchen while your turkey is roasting or the potatoes are simmering, never leave cooking food unattended. If you're frying a turkey, make sure to follow safety instructions carefully, as hot oil can cause devastating fires if spilled or splashed.

2. Stay Safe with Candles

Candles are a popular decoration for Thanksgiving, especially as the evening darkens. However, they pose a serious fire risk if left unattended or placed too close to flammable materials like curtains, tablecloths, or decorations. Always blow out candles when leaving a room or before going to bed, and consider using flameless LED candles as a safer alternative.

3. Decorations Matter

When decorating for Thanksgiving, be mindful of your choices. Many seasonal decorations, like hay bales and dried flowers, are highly flammable. Keep these materials away from heat sources, such as stoves, fireplaces, and space heaters, to avoid potential fires.

4. Make Sure Smoke Detectors Are Working

Before your Thanksgiving festivities begin, test the smoke alarms in your home or business to ensure they're functioning properly. If your alarms are low on batteries, replace them—it's a quick fix that could save lives in the event of a fire.

5. Have an Emergency Plan

Whether you're hosting a family gathering or a company event, always have an emergency escape plan in place. Make sure everyone knows how to exit the building safely and where to meet outside in case of a fire. If you own a commercial property, make sure employees and customers are aware of the evacuation routes.

What If the Worst Happens? SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis is Here to Help

Even with the best precautions, accidents can still happen. If a fire breaks out during your Thanksgiving celebration, SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis is ready to help you recover. We offer fire damage restoration services for both homes and businesses, providing fast, professional cleanup to get your property back to normal as quickly as possible.

From smoke and soot removal to structural repairs, our team is trained to handle all aspects of fire damage restoration. We’ll work with your insurance company to ensure a smooth claims process, and we’re available 24/7 for emergency situations.

Don’t let a Thanksgiving fire ruin your holiday—call SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis at (317) 243-0896 to learn how we can help you restore your property and peace of mind, no matter the situation.

Stay safe and enjoy a fire-free holiday season!

Ensuring a Safe and Cozy Winter in Indianapolis, IN

12/27/2023 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis is committed to helping you safeguard your home and loved ones.

As temperatures drop and we embrace the warmth of our homes, it's crucial to prioritize fire safety to prevent potential hazards. SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis is committed to helping you safeguard your home and loved ones. Here are some essential tips to reduce the risk of home fires this winter:

Heating Safety: Keep space heaters at least three feet away from flammable materials. Ensure proper maintenance of your heating system, including regular inspections and cleanings.

Fireplace Caution: Have your chimney professionally inspected and cleaned before the winter season. Use a screen to prevent sparks from escaping and never leave a fire unattended.

Candle Care: Place candles on stable surfaces away from curtains, furniture, and other flammable items. Never leave candles burning when you leave a room or go to sleep.

Electricity Safety: Avoid overloading electrical outlets and use surge protectors when necessary. Inspect electrical cords for damage and replace them if needed.

Cooking Awareness: Never leave cooking unattended, especially with stovetops and ovens. Keep flammable items away from heat sources in the kitchen.

Smoke Alarms: Test smoke alarms monthly and replace batteries at least once a year. Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Install carbon monoxide detectors in central locations on every level of your home. Check and replace batteries regularly.

Chimney Maintenance: Schedule regular chimney inspections and cleanings to prevent creosote buildup. Ensure proper ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide issues.

Fire Safety Plan: Create and practice a fire escape plan with your family, including a designated meeting point. Teach everyone in your household how to use a fire extinguisher.

Space Portable Heaters: Keep space heaters away from flammable materials and turn them off when leaving the room. Choose heaters with automatic shut-off features.

Emergency Equipment: Ensure your home is equipped with fire extinguishers, and everyone knows their location. Keep emergency numbers, including SERVPRO's, easily accessible.

By following these winter home fire safety tips, you can significantly reduce the risk of fires and create a safe and warm environment for you and your loved ones. SERVPRO of Central and Downtown Indianapolis is here to assist with fire damage restoration if needed. Stay safe and enjoy a cozy winter season!

Commercial Fire Damage in Central Indianapolis

8/31/2022 (Permalink)

Central Indianapolis commercial fires can be critical. A fire can quickly spread and impact your property’s equipment, structure, hours of operation and can even put your employees at risk. Additional damage from water and mold can occur after a fire. Good planning can help ensure that a fire does not happen. Read more about the top causes of commercial fires and how to prevent such fires.

Cooking Incidents

The top cause of commercial incidents are cooking fires. High cooking temperatures and flammable materials can be dangerous if not used properly. According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking equipment was the leading cause of fires in all healthcare facilities. All businesses can suffer from cooking fires. However, cooking fires are more likely to happen in restaurants.

Lightning/Electrical Issues

Many electrical or lightning problems can develop from old destructive wiring, overloaded circuits, faulty uses, and other electrical issues. Worn out electrical cords and faulty wiring can also cause commercial fires.

Smoking

Cigarettes not extinguished and disposed of properly cause smoking and can lead to a fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoking materials account for 9% of fires in commercial buildings.

Heating Equipment

During the Indianapolis winter season we use heating equipment more frequently than in other states. Furnaces, radiators, and boilers can overheat and result in a fire. It is important to have heating equipment installed by trusted professionals. Improperly installed equipment can prove to be hazardous and cause a fire. Having the heating equipment maintained regularly can prevent a fire.

Fire Alarms and Smoke Detectors

It is important to follow fire regulations for all commercial buildings. Fire alarms and smoke detectors are vital components of an early warning system. Review our fire safety tips to ensure everyone understands how to minimize the risk for commercial fires.

House Fire in Indianapolis

8/18/2022 (Permalink)

Cleaning every inch of your home is essential to make it "Like it never even happened."

When a fire happens in a home, not only do you have the fire causing damage, but there's also smoke and often water damage from the fire department. At SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis, we have a proven fire damage restoration process that we follow to ensure every fire, no matter its size is handled quickly and professionally to return things at home back to normal as fast as possible.

Time is of the Utmost Importance

Once the fire has been put out, it's essential to call us, SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis, as soon as possible. Even in the middle of the night, we're available 24/7 to help. We are ready to take your call no matter the time of day or night. For example, sometimes, the fire department needs to break windows and cut holes in the roof to vent the house so that they can fight the fire properly. If that happens to you, we can properly secure the structure even in the middle of the night. Call us at 317-243-0896, and we'll help you and your family get back the life you had before the flames took over.

A Close Examination of the Fire

Examining the damage a fire has caused to a home requires experience and discipline. With a fire, you have smoke and soot that can quickly move from the source of the fire to the rest of the home. It can travel through doorways, stairwells, and ductwork. It can also get into every little crack and crevice in your home from outlets, sockets, lights, and behind, under, and on top of every piece of furniture and appliance.

When our fire restoration experts first arrive at your home, they will start from the source of the fire and examine every inch of your home as they fan out away from the source. If the air conditioner or heater were running during the fire, this could quickly cause the smoke and soot to be carried throughout the home. Our experts will know what to look for from years of experience to lay out a plan of action to ensure every piece of evidence that a fire has occurred is completely gone.

Protect Against the Elements

In many home fire situations, there may be damage to the home's exterior that would cause the outside elements, like rain, to get inside. For example, if windows have been broken, doors kicked in, roofs damaged, or exterior walls damaged from the fire, we will first board up any windows or doors and cover any roof or wall damage with tarps to keep the elements from causing further damage to your home.

The Water Has Got to Go

If the fire department was called to the fire and had to use their trucks or hydrants to put out the fire, you would be dealing with a lot of water damage. To keep the water from stagnating and causing mold in your home, our experts will extract the water from your home, treat any damp areas to prevent mold from growing, and employ industrial drying fans and dehumidifiers to remove all the moisture from inside your home. This step is crucial as black mold can quickly grow in situations like this causing even further damage to your home and being a health hazard.

Getting the Smoke and Soot Out

The next step is cleaning your home and removing the smoke and soot damage. At SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis, we use special equipment and solutions to remove even the most stubborn of smoke and soot. We are highly trained to recognize smoke migration patterns and identify the proper cleaning process for each and every individual case. The smoke and soot can quickly spread along the ceiling and through the ductwork. You don't realize how much surface area there is in your home until you have to clean every inch of it due to smoke and soot damage.

Cleaning Up the Small Stuff

Take a look around the room you are in now. Every single item you see would have to be professionally cleaned and sanitized to remove any signs that a fire happened nearby. With upholstery and fabrics, the smoke odor can sometimes be removed with special equipment that creates a gas that can break down the smoke molecules and remove the odors. This usually requires us to take the furniture to our facility, where we can safely do this. For other items like wood furniture and other solid surfaces, we can usually scrub these down and sanitize them. For electronics, due to the many circuit boards and wires inside them, they are very sensitive to high heat and soot residue and can sometimes be challenging to restore fully.

Finishing Touches

If the fire caused any damage to floors, ceilings, or walls that we couldn't clean up or restore, then our experts will replace them. This can be anything from drywall to carpets to cabinets to new flooring or ceilings. Our mission is to restore your home as if nothing ever even happened. We hope no one ever has to experience a home fire, but if they do, then we will make it "Like it never even happened."

Call the fire cleanup experts at SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis at 317-243-0896 for 24-hour emergency service if you should suffer a house fire. At SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis, we have specialized equipment, professional training, and certifications that allow us to restore your home to its preloss condition.

SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis Emergency Fire and Water Damage

8/30/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis Fire Damage

Dealing with the aftermath of emergency fire damage restoration can be extremely stressful especially when soot has made its way through your house and completely covered all of your belongings.

SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis is trained and licensed to give you an optimal experience as we care for your residential or commercial property as your SERVPRO of Indianapolis, independently owned and operated location. It should be known that soot restoration is one of the most difficult aspects of a house fire as it can be very damaging.

 According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), three of every five home fire deaths could have been prevented.

Most fatal fires happen when families are asleep giving them less than adequate time to escape. A smoke alarm stands guard around the clock, and when it first senses smoke, it sounds a shrill alarm. Smoke alarms are crucial elements in the early detection of fires.

National Fire Safety is important all year round and while the main focus is preventing residential fires, our team here at  SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis  would like to remind everyone this is a great time to revisit workplace fire prevention & safety.

 Below are 12 tips to ensure a fire-safe workplace:

Step 1. Get Organized– Practice good workplace housekeeping. Clutter contributes to fires by providing fuel and by preventing access to exits and emergency equipment.

Step 2. Designated Smoking Areas – Smoke only in designated areas and extinguish smoking materials safely. Never smoke in storerooms or chemical storage areas.

Step 3. Fire Extinguishers – Maintaining the appropriate type and number of fire extinguishers and learn how to properly use a fire extinguisher.

Step 4. Electrical Hazards – Report all electrical hazards. Many fires start in faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical equipment.

Step 5. Access to Control Panels – Electrical control panels need to have free access maintained so that the electric could be shut off easily.

Step 6. Maintenance – Maintain machinery to prevent overheating and friction sparks.

Step 7. Sprinkler Systems & Smoke Detectors – Never block sprinklers, firefighting equipment or emergency exits. Observe clearances when stacking materials. Testing of sprinkler systems and smoke detectors at least annually.

Step 8. Chemical Safety – Use and store chemicals safely. Read the label and the Material Safety Data Sheet to determine flammability and other fire hazards. Provide adequate ventilation when using and storing these substances.

Step 9. Waste Control & Storage – Control the accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials and residues so that they do not contribute to a fire emergency.

Step 10. Prevent Ignition – Use all precautions to prevent ignition in potentially explosive atmospheres such as those containing flammable liquid vapors or fine particles. Use non-sparking tools, and control static electricity as required.

Step 11. Exits – Emergency exit diagrams should be posted and emergency exits should be well lit with neon-regulation signs.

Step 12. Contact Info – Employees should have a list of emergency contact phone numbers in case of emergency. Remember that people will often panic in an intense situation; therefore basics such as the company address, phone number and floor plan should be posted.

Planning to ensure fire protection and safety is key to avoiding unwanted fire issues.

Residential and Commercial Fire Clean Up

Soot can be one of the hardest parts of fire restoration clean up and is developed through three different methods:

• Wet soot residue—results from smoldering, low-heat fires. This residue is sticky, smeary, and has a very pungent odor.
• Dry soot residue—results from fast-burning fires with high temperatures. This residue is typically dry, powdery, and non-smeary.
• Protein residue—almost invisible but can discolor paints and varnishes in your home. This residue also has an extremely pungent odor.

Each type of soot is different and requires specific expertise to clean for such needs or concerns.

Our fire repair process is outlined online for your review.

SERVPRO of Central Indianapolis , your SERVPRO of Indianapolis, faster to any size disaster, for all your fire and restoration needs.