Your Belongings and Fire Damage

Protecting the Contents in Your Kansas City Residence After a Fire

Families not only need clean, safe housing, but also the furnishings, appliances, and sentimental items that make occupants feel genuinely at home. Technicians work with you to determine what is most important to repair and restore. So long as it is safe and feasible to use such measures, SERVPRO focuses on repairing over replacement for Kansas City homeowners' contents.

How Soot, Proteins, and Moisture Affect Electronics

Fires can leave a diverse array of soils and residues on your appliances and electronics. Some of the most common concerns for the contents of your Kansas City property include:

? Soot residues from smoky fires, which settle on surfaces and can corrode metals and plastics
? Invisible protein residues from slow-burning cooking fires that impart a foul-smelling, hard-to-remove film that can discolor surfaces
? Moisture damage, whether from firefighting efforts or homeowners' extinguishing attempts, which can cause affected electronics to fail without careful cleanup and drying.

Restoring Heirlooms and Sentimental Belongings

SERVPRO is dedicated to helping homeowners preserve as much as possible after a disaster occurs. If the situation calls for moving your items off-site for professional cleanup, we take a detailed inventory and consult with you to decide what should be prioritized in the cleanup. This includes restoring important documents, photographs, heirlooms, antiques, and sentimental possessions, down to the smallest trinket. If it has meaning for you, we do everything possible to restore it to a preloss condition.

If You Have Questions or Need Help, Call Us Today – (913) 782-4693

Contents Restoration

SERVPRO of Olathe / Lenexa and SERVPRO of Blue Valley specializes in restoring contents damaged by water, fire, or mold. Our expertise and “restore” versus “replace” mentality can help you save money while preserving precious keepsakes that can’t be replaced. We pretest your belongings to determine what items we can restore to pre-fire condition. We use several methods of cleaning your contents, including:

• Dry Cleaning - Used for cleaning light residues or to pre-clean prior to wet cleaning.
• Wet Cleaning - An effective cleaning method for removing moderate to heavy residues.
• Spray and Wipe -Effective for items that can’t withstand wet cleaning.
• Foam Cleaning - Used for upholstery fabrics that might shrink or bleed if wet cleaned.
• Abrasive Cleaning - Involves agitation of the surface being cleaned.
• Immersion Cleaning - Contents are dipped into a bath of the cleaning product.
   

Move-Outs/Pack-Outs

If your home requires extensive restoration or cleaning due to fire damage, SERVPRO of Olathe / Lenexa and SERVPRO of Blue Valley can conduct an organized, efficient move-out of the affected area. Move-out will provide several benefits, including:

• A quicker remodeling process
• Protecting items from potential damage
• Protecting contents from further on-site damage

When restoration is completed, we will work with you to coordinate the move-in according to your needs. The services offered upon move-in may depend on your insurance coverage.

Electronic Cleanup

Fire-damaged electronics can present a serious hazard. Do not attempt to turn on or operate any electrical device that you suspect has been damaged by fire. Smoke residues can contain acids that corrode metal surfaces. If the residues are not removed, corrosion causes electronic failure in the device. We will coordinate the restoration of your electronics, including:

• Television sets
• DVD players
• Computers
• And more

The key to restoring electronics is taking prompt action to prevent further damage. Electronics will be cleaned and inspected by a qualified electronics technician.

Document / Photograph Drying

When your valuable documents, including photographs, are damaged by water or fire, extreme caution should be taken to help ensure the fire damage does not destroy the document. Although some documents may not be restored to pre-fire damage condition, SERVPRO of Olathe / Lenexa and SERVPRO of Blue Valley can save a great deal and help minimize additional damage. 

Depending on the type of documents and the level of fire, smoke, or soot damage, they have five options for the restoration of documents:

• Air Drying
• Dehumidification
• Freezer Drying
• Vacuum Freeze Drying
• Vacuum Thermal Drying

Contents Claim Inventory Service

When a fire emergency strikes, the damage can often feel overwhelming. We can help ease the worry and confusion during the recovery process by offering our Contents Claim Inventory Service (CCIS), which provides a detailed and accurate list of your belongings. We take a room-by-room inventory of your contents, including digital photos, and in some instances, bar coding.

Our Contents Claim Inventory Service:

• Preloss list and value of contents
• Detailed and accurate report
• Better information to settle claims quicker
• Assistance with burden of proof for claims