ServiceMaster, The Master of Disaster in Mobile, Daphne, Theodore, & Foley, AL has been serving water damage and fire damage customers in Mobile and Baldwin Counties in Alabama for thirty years. This article covers only what to expect AFTER the fire. We have many other articles on fire prevention, contents cleaning and structure cleaning and virtually every other mitigation subject imaginable on our web site http://www.servicemastermobilealabama.com.

No fire damage situations are exactly alike. Many variables come into play such as the amount of heat generated, the severity, the exact composition of the burning material, and how long the event lasted. At a minimum, ServiceMaster is called upon to clean up smoke damage from a simple burned pot on the stove. At a maximum, we are called upon to clean up a fire from a large commercial structure where a significant amount of the structure was fully engulfed. We clean both situations and everything in between.

In a typical home fire, there may be a need to clean both structure (the physical home), and contents (your belongings). The contents of some small fires can be cleaned on site at the same time the structure is being cleaned. In more severe situations, the contents will need to be packed-out and the homeownere will need to be relocated while repairs are done. Where there is insurance involved, often the insurance adjuster will work with the mitigation company and the homeowner to determine an agreed-upon scope of work. This may entail packing out and cleaning of contents, cleaning structure, and the rebuilding of affected areas. 

Very often, the mitigation company is the first company called because of the nature of the services offered. Often times, the insurance company will ask us to coordinate all of the structure cleanup, content cleanup and repairs. In more severe situations, we will handle the cleanup and an approved rebuild contractor will be called upon to perform repairs. Very often homeowners and/or insurance companies will call the mitigation company first, because many times there is an opportunity to clean and save smoke damaged contents as opposed to discarding them. Many of these contents need to be removed and stored (for cleaning), before the repairs can begin. Here is an other location for some useful information: http://www.servicemastermobilealabama.com/Fire-Damage.html

Here are some of the many ways in which we have helped customers with their repair needs in conjunction with fire, water or mold damage:

1. Full service. We provide the water or fire mitigation and we hire a known contractor who has many many years of service in the industry. Several of the contractors that we work with are also APPROVED insurance program repair contractors. The service is seamless and we submit one bill to the insurance company or the homeowner and we warrant all of the contractors services. From the customer's standpoint, it is one entity providing all services.

2. Partial full service. We provide the water or fire mitigation and we hire the mitigation related services such as duct cleaning, dry cleaners, moving & storage and demolition; but the customer hires the contractor, perhaps one that we suggest or one that has done work for the customer before. The customer is billed separately for our part (mitigation and the mitigation related services), and the contracting. This system works well when the customer wishes to upgrade their interior, rather than rebuild as it was before.

3. Totally separate service. We provide water damage mitigation, fire mitigation or mold remediation services, and a contractor who is suggested by the insurance company or who is known to the homeowner, provides rebuild services. Any other mitigation related services are contracted individually by the homeowner as well. Some insurance companies insist that the claim is handled this way.

4. Working FOR the contractor. Because of our many relationships in the home repair business, many contractors call us to help dry small areas before they rebuld floors and walls among other interior structures. Many call us out for mold remediation in conjunction with a home repair or remodel project. These are the type of contractors that we enjoy working with. They know that they can't fully assure a customer that the structure is either dry, smoke odor free, or mold free; and they call the experts in to asssit. This delivers a higher quality of service, and a level of comfort to their customers that they otherwise would not be able to provide. Many times, we are called out and asssit the contractor in finding moisture or solving odor or mold problems, and there is little actual work for us to do. We are nonetheless glad to serve these contractors and we know that in the long run, there will be plenty of actual work to do. We also provide a large number of post-construction cleaning projects for these same contractors in both homes and businesses.