Top Tips for Dealing with Business Fires

3/5/2024 (Permalink)

Tips for Business Owners Dealing with the Aftermath of a Business Fire

A hot fire that gains momentum can leave a building in ruins with virtually nothing left to save. In many cases a fire is stopped before it leaps out of control; this often results in many items that can be saved and restored. A partial fire loss leaves the business owner with a lot of decisions about what steps to take to save money, to speed up recovery and to cleanup the mess. Contacting a local, professional fire remediation service is a good first step.

An Inspection Is Critical

A thorough inspection by experienced technicians is the quickest way to know where you stand and to gauge the level of fire loss. The inspection should cover the following areas of your business:

• The structural integrity of your roof
• The extent of smoke damage in the building
• The condition of the walls and flooring
• The state of electrical and computer systems
• The functionality of the heating and plumbing systems
  

For insurance purposes all of the damage should be documented. It's also important to file a timely claim and to understand your policy and your rights. Don't settle for work that is shoddy, that does not match the original and that does not address hidden damages such as soot, water and smoke damage.

A Good Cleanup Is Essential

A stellar fire restoration process will proceed quickly and restore items that can be cleaned of odors and grime. A reputable remediation team will have advanced equipment and a variety of cleaning techniques to get your building back in shape. The company will take the guess work out of what can be saved and what should be thrown away and bought new. In many cases, clothes and upholstery can be restored to excellent condition again. The fire loss might not be as extensive as originally thought. If you need help call us today, 215-877-6653.

3 Types of Fire Detection

3/5/2024 (Permalink)

One of the most important components of fighting a fire is ensuring that the fire is detected as early as possible.

Early detection of fire allows building occupants to safely exit the building sooner and allows for a faster response from fire suppression systems. When it comes to fire detection, there are several detection methods that are available to choose from. The main three forms of fire detection include heat detection, smoke detection, and flame detection.

1.   Heat Detection

Heat detectors are activated when a fire occurs and causes the temperature in the area to rise. Once the area reaches a certain temperature, the heat detectors are activated. Heat detectors usually have less false alarms, but they can take longer to identify a fire than other forms of detection. Heat detectors are best suited for areas that are not frequently occupied and in areas that are not well suited for smoke detection such as steamy, humid, or dusty environments.

2.   Smoke Detection

Smoke detectors are activated when smoke is created by a fire. There are several types of smoke detectors that use different methods to detect smoke.

• Ionization

Ionization detectors use radioactive material to create an electric current between two electrodes. When a fire creates smoke, the smoke disrupts the ionization and causes the alarm to go off. This type of smoke detection may result in false alarms as it can be triggered by things like humidity. These types of smoke detectors do a good job of detecting fast-burning fires.

• Photoelectric

These alarms use a light beam to detect smoke. When smoke particles from fire cross through the beam, the detectors are activated. This type of detector is reliable and has few false alarms. Photoelectric detectors work well on small smoldering fires.

• Combination

Combination detectors use the technology from both ionization and photoelectric detectors to identify both fast-burning and smoldering fires.

• Aspirating Smoke Detectors

Aspirating smoke detection is a method of detecting a fire very early on. This type of detector samples and tests the particle levels in the air and is activated when the level of smoke particles rises above normal levels. This type of smoke detection is resistant to false alarms and works well around sensitive equipment as the fire can be detected before it can cause damage.

3.   Flame Detection

Flame detectors are used to detect a fire when flames are present. This type of fire detection includes UV detectors and/or infrared detectors to identify a flame and trigger an alarm. 

If you experience fire damage to your Overbrook/ Wynefield home call us today, 615-877-6653.

SERVPRO of Overbrook / Wynnefield, the Disaster Recovery Team® that is READY for Whatever Happens.

2/17/2024 (Permalink)

We provide 24 HR emergency services and are dedicated to being faster to any size disaster in Overbrook/Wynnefield.

Because we are a local company, we can respond immediately to your emergency and have the expertise to handle your restoration or cleaning needs. We offer:

• 24-Hour Emergency Service
• Faster to Any-Sized Disaster
• Highly Trained Restoration Technicians
• A Trusted Leader in the Restoration Industry
• Locally Owned and Operated
• Advanced Restoration and Cleaning Equipment 

Have Any Questions? Call: 215-877-6653

Whether your Overbrook/Wynnefield building needs emergency flood damage or your offices decontaminated, you can depend on us. 

Our technicians have extensive cleaning and restoration training and can make your property look its best. Learn more about our commercial services:

• Water Damage Restoration
• Fire Damage Restoration
• Mold Remediation
• Biohazard Remediation
• Storm Damage Restoration
• Building/Construction Services

There's never a convenient time for fire or Water damage to strike. Every hour spent cleaning up is an hour of lost revenue and productivity. So when the need arises for professional cleanup or emergency restoration services, we have the training and expertise to respond promptly with highly trained technicians to get your property back to business as soon as possible.

What is Commercial Property Insurance?

2/17/2024 (Permalink)

Often included as part of a packaged business owner's policy, it can also be issued as a stand-alone policy. Commercial property insurance covers damage to a company’s building and its contents due to covered perils, such as fire, theft, or natural disasters. If your company has a building with land, computers, equipment, or inventory, you probably need property insurance.

The amount of coverage your business needs and the cost of this coverage, however, will vary depending on the nature of your business and the value of its assets. Coverage can either cover all risks except those specifically included or only those risks which are specifically named in the policy. The cost of this coverage will depend on how you value your company’s assets and whether you opt to include coverage for things like a business interruption or risks specific to your business’s location and industry.

While there’s a lot to consider when choosing the right commercial property insurance plan or business owner's policy, it doesn’t need to be complicated!  Source: IRMI Glossary 

There's never a convenient time for fire or water damage to strike your business. Every hour spent cleaning up is an hour of lost revenue and productivity. If you are faced with damage to your commercial property in Overbrooke /Wynnefield, our team will work with your insurance company for a for a stress- free claims process. If your business suffers a major loss, call (215) 877-6653

Learn more about our commercial services, including fire, water and storm damage restoration and mold remediation.

When an emergency happens, will you be ready?

2/17/2024 (Permalink)

When a fire or water damage emergency happens will you be ready? Our research shows that 50% of businesses may never reopen after a disaster.  None of us like to consider that we will become victims of a water or fire damage.  Unfortunately, it could and inevitably will happen to each of us either at our home or at our place of business.  It’s extremely important to know what to do in the event of an emergency.  As leaders in the Fire and Water Damage Restoration Industry, SERVPRO of Overbrook/ Wynnefield is here to help you prepare for an emergency before it happens by offering to assist you with creating your own ERP.

An ERP stands for an Emergency Ready Profile.  It is a no-cost readiness plan designed to help home and business owners recover from a disaster faster, which leads to lower recovery costs. This service includes:

• A no cost assessment of your facility.
• A concise Profile Document that contains critical information needed in the event of an emergency.
• A guide to help you get back into your building following a disaster.
• Establishes SERVPRO as your disaster mitigation and restoration provider.
• Identification of the line of command for authorizing work to begin.
• Provides facility details such as shut-off valve locations, priority areas and priority contact information.

SERVPRO® is a trusted leader in the restoration industry. By having an immediate plan of action, you minimize business interruption. Ready to get started? Contact our office today, 610-337-3330.

Vacant Commercial Buildings: More Than an Eyesore

10/6/2022 (Permalink)

The “catastrophic” fire at a large Middletown building further illustrates the need for code enforcement concerning vacant buildings that become community eyesores, officials said.

The large fire was reported at 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday at the former Middletown Paperboard complex at 300 S. Verity Parkway. More than 100 firefighters at a time battled the blaze, which led to the arrest of a man, Joshua Lamb, who said he was living in the building when a fire he started spread to his bedding.

As of Friday afternoon, Middletown firefighters remained on the scene putting out hotspots as crews from Vickers Demolition used heavy equipment to knock down walls and move debris.

Shelby Quinlivan, a city spokeswoman, said South Verity Parkway/Ohio 4 between Girard Avenue and Yankee Road was closed to through traffic because of the damaged buildings and debris as well as two smokestacks at the south end of the facility that will need to come down to protect public safety.

Middletown firefighters have remained on the scene watching for floating embers going on to nearby residential and commercial properties since New Year’s Day. The smoldering embers were buried in pockets inside the double roof, burning into the old wooden beams. As demolition crews worked, moving the debris and removing the scrap metal left in the building, walls were being knocked down revealing more hotspots.

Previous media accounts and “The Pointe,” MidPointe Library’s official blog, said the Middletown Paperboard facility, which consists of 61 parcels, had between 400,000 and 600,000 square feet of space on the 11-acre site.

The original paper mill dated back to 1827 when it started on Vanderveer Street to make boxboard from recycled paper, according to “Middletown - The Steel City” by Middletown Historians Roger L. Miller and the late George C. Crout. In 1873, “C.H. Wardlow and J.K. Thomas built a new paper mill on the site, producing manila and bag paper,” they wrote.

Crout and Miller wrote the site also served as headquarters for Corson Packaging, which “started as the Interstate Folding Box Company at 300 South Verity Parkway in the early 1900s … In 1981 it was acquired by American Packaging, and in 1993, by Corson Packaging. (The company) was known for its folding paperboard cartons. Corson closed the plant during the summer of 2000.”

The facility was later acquired by the Newark Group, which continued operations until 2004. In 2012, Newark Group, which reportedly removed all of the equipment at the Middletown facility and the Franklin Boxboard facility, sold the properties to B.P. Logan LLC in 2012. Last summer, the former Franklin Boxboard facility along with Mindlin Recycling was demolished by its property owner, Cohen USAs who acquired it from BP Logan LLC in 2017.

Middletown Paperboard started as “a series of substantially constructed brick mills, warehouses, etc., the mechanical equipment embracing all the latest improved machinery and appliances known to the trade, and power being obtained from a water privilege and an auxiliary steam engine…”, wrote Harry Simms in “Middletown In Black and White.”

Over the years, it has been the target of vandalism, and its cavernous space allowed the homeless to shelter themselves from the elements. Public safety employees have checked on the building periodically, but there have been a few fires in past years as the property owner did not secure the building as requested by the city.

Then-city manager Doug Adkins testified this year before the Ohio House of Representatives and said that over the previous five years, Middletown had spent $100,000 on the abandoned property. He said a February 2018 fire resulted in $150,000 in property damage and cost the city about $17,000 to fight the fire that was ruled as arson. He said the estimated amount to clear the site was about $1.9 million.

In addition, the city spent thousands of dollars boarding up windows, securing doors, and putting up fencing to deter squatters and the homeless from entering the building.

The Middletown Paperboard property has been the subject of a tax forfeiture case against owner B.P. Logan LLC for not paying $259,565 in back taxes. It was ordered to go to the sheriff’s sale but was not purchased. Last month, the property was ordered to be forfeited to the state of Ohio by Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Greg Howard, according to court documents.

Acting City Manager Susan Cohen said the city plans to work with the Butler County Land Bank to acquire the property for redevelopment as part of the Oakland Historic District project, a plan to rehabilitate the Oakland neighborhood into an urban renaissance incentive district.

Last month, a Butler County Common Pleas Court judge ordered that the property be forfeited to the state of Ohio. She said the city has never had an ownership interest in the property.

Jennifer Ekey, Middletown economic development director, previously said the Paperboard site will be listed in the city’s new master plan as a special interest area due to its proximity to the Oakland Neighborhood and future development project.

Middletown City Council has been working to beef up ordinances to hold property owners accountable for the condition of their residential, commercial, and industrial structures over the past few years as well as developing and implementing an updated planning, zoning and development code; a new master plan; a chronic nuisance ordinance; and a civil penalties ordinance to encourage property owners to maintain their properties to a minimum standard.

Last year, the council also updated a vacant building registry ordinance requiring property owners to furnish ownership, insurance, and other information to city officials. However, that ordinance only applies to the urban core downtown district and is for 10 years. The Paperboard site is just outside that zoning district. Shelby Quinlivan, the city spokeswoman, said only 12 downtown area properties are on the property registry.

Cohen said it would be up to the council to determine if that ordinance should be expanded to other parts of the city.

Call SERVPRO of Overbrook/Wynnefield if your commercial property suffers from fire damage. We’re available 24/7 and we’re READY for whatever happens.

Fire Damage Awareness

10/5/2022 (Permalink)

Fire Can Cause More Damage  to Your Overbook or Wynnefield Property Than Meets the Eye.

Of course, fire itself causes much of the damage. Did you know that smoke can cause just as much damage too? Smoke and soot can permeate through walls, ceilings, upholstery, and air conditioning vents. Many of these spots are very hard to clean when not properly educated on the issues associated to fire damage.

Not only is there visible damage to the structure, but also damage that can be unnoticed. Structural damage can occur to support beams, weight bearing walls, and studs etc. and these are places that you would not check unless you know how to properly restore a structure after this type of loss.

SERVPRO® uses our advanced cleanup methods and detection tools to check from closet to closet, room to room, and floor to ceiling, to detect all fire and post-fire damages. We know where to check to make sure your HVAC system will not spread smoke and toxins after a fire. We will make sure that your insulation is intact and that the structure of your home is safe. If we detect any need for replacement and restoration, we provide a range of services, including building services that can take care of any fire and water damage and debris.

Because secondary fire damage, such as water use from firefighting efforts can also be an issue, our specialists pay much attention to a full, detailed analysis of your home’s damage before making a plan of action and beginning cleanup and restoration.
 
Contamination is not always seen by the untrained eye. It can be hidden in places such as your HVAC (air conditioning and heating) systems. SERVPRO® inspects the property from attic to basement, to ensure that all vents and air circulating systems are completely clean. If you were to neglect this part of fire damage cleanup, there is always the possibility of blowing toxic dust, ash, and soot, even on the microscopic level, into your cleaned environment, effectively re-contaminating it and exposing people to its dangers.

Our 24/7 Emergency Service line is at your disposal. Contact SERVPRO of Overbrook / Wynnefield anytime at 610-337-3330 for a quick response to your fire emergency, or to ask questions about fire damage.

We proudly serve the following local communities: 

• Philadelphia
• Overbrook
• Wynnefield
• Carroll Park
• West Parkside
• Powelton
• Mantua
• Mill Creek

Smoke and Soot Damage in your Overbrook Property

10/5/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke and Soot Damage in your Overbrook Property

Smoke and soot is very invasive and can penetrate various cavities within your home, causing hidden damage and odor. Our smoke damage expertise and experience allows us to inspect and accurately assess the extent of the damage to develop a comprehensive plan of action.  

Smoke and Soot Facts:

• Hot smoke migrates to cooler areas and upper levels of a structure.
• Smoke flows around plumbing systems, seeping through the holes used by pipes to go from floor to floor.
• The type of smoke may greatly affect the restoration process.

Different Types of Smoke:

There are two different types of smoke–wet and dry. As a result, there are different types of soot residue after a fire. Before restoration begins, SERVPRO of Overbrook/Wynnefield will test the soot to determine which type of smoke damage occurred. The cleaning procedures will then be based on the information identified during pretesting. Here is some additional information:

Wet Smoke – Plastic and Rubber:

• Low heat, smoldering, pungent odor, sticky, smeary. Smoke webs are more difficult to clean.

Dry Smoke – Paper and Wood:

• Fast burning, high temperatures, heat rises therefore smoke rises.

Protein Fire Residue – Produced by evaporation of material rather than from a fire:

• Virtually invisible, discolors paints and varnishes, extreme pungent odor. 

Our Fire Damage Restoration Services:

Since each smoke and fire damage situation is a little different, each one requires a unique solution tailored for the specific conditions.  We have the equipment, expertise, and experience to restore your fire and smoke damage.  We will also treat your family with empathy and respect and your property with care.

Cooking With Caution!

10/5/2022 (Permalink)

“Cooking with Caution”

Some helpful tips for cooking with caution:

• Be on Alert. Do not cook if you are sleepy or have consumed any alcohol. This can potentially create dangerous situations. Do not use the stovetop or stove if you are under the influence.
• Be sure to stay in the kitchen while frying, boiling, grilling or broiling food. Always turn off the stove if you have to leave the kitchen, no matter how quick you may be.
  
  
• If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in your home while it is cooking, or use a timer so you do not forget about it.
  
  
• Be sure your kitchen is free of clutter and no loose items are near the stove. This reduces the chance of anything catching on fire.

If you have a small grease/ cooking fire and decide to fight the fire…

• On the stovetop, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Leave the pan to covered until it is completely cool.
  
  
• If the fire is inside the oven, shut the oven off and keep the door closed.

If you have any doubt about fighting a small fire…

• Just leave the house! When leaving be sure to close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
  
  
• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number from outside the house.

Content by: NJFPA

Commercial Cleaning Checklist

10/5/2022 (Permalink)

Every business should be taking measures to keep their building clean even if they do not employ a professional cleaning service.

It can become hard to keep track of exactly what you should be cleaning regularly. Here is a checklist to make it a little easier to insure your workplace stays neat and tidy.

• Monthly Cleaning List:
• Dust all surfaces in the office
• Clean the fabric chairs
• Vacuum all fabric chairs, vents
• Deep clean all surface areas

• Weekly Cleaning Lists
• Sponge all glass windows, both on the outside and inside
• Clean the refrigerator
• Disinfect all trash bins
• Buff and polish all hardwood surfaces, including conference tables, floors, etc.

• Daily Cleaning Lists
• Empty waste bins and add nes liners
• Vacuum daily debris from all floors
• Clean painted surfaces as well
• Wipe baseboards, light switches and door handles
• Clean all reflective surfaces, mirrors and brass
• Put some room freshener down after cleaning

To learn more about our commercial cleaning services follow this link: Commercial Cleaning