5 Tips for Preventing Cigarette Fires at Home

8/10/2022 (Permalink)

Cigarettes can be deadly in more ways than one. Between 2012 and 2016, the National Fire Protection Association reported that more than 18,000 residential fires started as the result of a cigarette fire.

When the weather becomes drier in Lompoc, it can create the perfect conditions for a blaze to easily start in a forgotten ashtray. With that said, there are several steps you can take to avoid having to call in a fire cleanup crew the next time you take a smoke break. Here are five to consider.

1. Smoke Outside

If you really want to prevent a cigarette fire at home, stay away from the house when you are smoking. Instead, choose a designated spot that is far enough away to minimize risks.

2. Make Sure Cigarettes Are Completely Out

To avoid an unnecessary ashtray fire, always be sure your butts are completely out before walking away. To be safe, sprinkle some water on the ashes.

3. Smoke When You Are Alert

If you take medication that makes you tired, avoid smoking when you take it. Likewise, make sure you are fully alert in general whenever you smoke so you do not accidentally drop your cigarette or fall asleep.

4. Stay Away From Medical Oxygen

When someone in your home has an oxygen tank, it is best to entirely avoid smoking anywhere nearby. Even when the oxygen is off, the tank can catch on fire or explode.

5. Never Smoke in Bed

No matter how tempting the comfort of your bed might be when smoking, do not do it! Even a small spark can be enough to ignite sheets, blankets and mattress.

Whenever you smoke at home, there are certain factors to consider in order to prevent a cigarette fire. Because smoking is usually a leisure activity that can occur in comfortable settings, you should be especially mindful of flammable areas like bedrooms and risk factors like your energy levels.

Why You Need Deodorization After a Fire

3/8/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke and Fire Deodorization

Strong smells often linger after having a fire.  The type of smells that develop are determined by the type of material that was on fire or smoldering.  A hot fire that burned natural building materials will smell different than that of a protein fire from frying or a slow smoldering fire that burned plastics and rubber.  These odors can cause years of problems if they are not handled by a professional.  At SERVPRO of Lompoc we employ a multi-step approach to deodorization.

Source Removal

The first step in deodorization is to find the source.  In the case of a fire the area may be obvious, however there are many causes of odor that may not be easily noticed.  Once the source is found by our trained technicians we must remove it. 

Cleaning

The next step in the process is to clean the effected areas.  Many of the soot particles are deposited both on and often inside certain building materials depending on how hot the fire was.  Our technicians are trained on different cleaning strategies dependent on the surface to be cleaned and the soils deposited.

Deodorizing

We employ a combination of pairing and masking deodorization techniques depending on the situation.  Hot fires open the pores of building materials where foul smelling soot can be deposited.  When the fire is extinguished and the materials cool down, the pores of these material shrink, thus trapping odor molecules inside.  In such cases we will use a pairing agent along with a Hot Thermal Fogger to reopen the pores.  The pairing agent will attach to and change the odor molecule so that it no longer smells.

Sealing

While sealing of wood is not always required, we will often do this on studs and structural members.  One of the reasons for sealing is because these building components are often covered up by drywall, or they are located in hard to reach areas.  Summer brings hot weather and as building materials heat up, these materials are capable of releasing odors.  Sealing ensures that any soot not completely eliminated from cleaning remains trapped.

Kitchen fire safety

8/31/2021 (Permalink)

A favorite activity of many residents in Lompoc, cooking lets us show off our skill and our personalities. It also brings friends and family together, teaches our children a vital but fundamental skill, and promotes our health.

Lompoc's  chefs can protect their kitchens from fire damage by exercising caution when frying foods. Oils can quickly ignite, creating instantaneous flames that can spread quickly. If this happens, turn off the stove's burners as quickly as possible. Using water in attempts to extinguish such fires rarely ends well. Instead, cover the pot to suffocate the flames, or toss several boxes of baking soda on a blazing skillet, which can extinguish the fire, if you act quickly enough.

However, it takes a tremendous amount of baking soda to accomplish this feat. The mistaken use of baking powder, or worse, flour, can create even more problems, as these ignite when exposed to too much heat. Smoking heavily, oil gives off a warning sign when becoming too hot, so reducing the temperature can effectively prevent a grease fire.

Even if a kitchen fire blazes for only a short time and efforts to extinguish it succeed, the smoke can ruin your kitchen. However, the technicians at SERVPRO combine extensive experience with intensive training, so your home always receives the protection it deserves. We can clean your kitchen and adjacent areas in your home, so it sparkles once again. Making homes feel clean and bright again, so homeowners feel “Like it never even happened,” makes our work fulfilling and highly worthwhile.

At times, structural damage to the home occurs because of a fire that raged out of control and spread, but we are always ready for such disasters. Cleaning these situations up to restoring your home through repairs or replacements makes it safe once again to enjoy cooking and providing others with delicious food from your kitchen. Removing the sooty deposits means no malodorous remnants remain to ruin the taste of your food, either.

SERVPRO of Lompoc can be contacted at our local number, (805) 733-8911, any day of the year, and at any hour. We care about those in our community and helping ensure that each family can engage in their daily activities without interruption remains one of our goals.

Smoke and Soot Odor

8/31/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Lompoc is an expert on restoring properties after fire damage. The first thing you think of is cleaning the debris, soot, and char damage – but the damage that can linger the longest is the smell. This is why a huge part of our restoration process after a fire is deodorization.

There are a few ways we can do this. For textiles and clothing, we have two large commercial washing machines that can deep clean large loads. If textiles still need odors removed after washing, we have what we call an “Ozone room.” An Ozone room is a containment area where contents can be stored over night where they will be deodorized using an unstable oxygen molecule. Ozone is able to destroy odor particles in materials through oxidation, and works wonders for organic odors and fire odors. It takes time to work, and must be set to operate when no persons are around.

Why Do I Need Help with Cleanup After a Fire?

3/17/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO’s Skilled Technicians Use Industry-Proven Methods at Your Lompoc Home to Execute Effective Fire Damage Restoration.

Any fire damage within your Lompoc property can bring about post-event residue and hazardous chemicals. Expert restoration services help clean these stubborn residues and ensure that your interior is left like before the fire incident. Our SERVPRO crew also takes future hazards such as mildew and mold growth into consideration, which might develop if any moisture lingers from first responders extinguishing the flames.

Why Can’t Fire Restoration Be a DIY Project?

There are several reasons that make skilled fire damage restoration in Lompoc better than do-it-yourself methods alone, including:

• Industrial-grade vacuums pull up all traces of soot, smoke, chemicals, and ash.
• Odor eliminators quell odorous particulates from burnt substances like wood, plastic, and other materials.
• We perform a detailed inspection to help us identify and then safely remove any salvageable items for cleaning.
• We know what items are beyond repair and dispose of them properly.
• Controlled demolition using skilled building and reconstruction services allows us to replace any studs, drywall, window panes, and subflooring that had to get removed. 
• Our fire and smoke damage restoration technicians take steps to secure any areas during the renovation by way of plastic sheeting or other protective measures.

Each of these aspects points to the utter importance of calling in the help of restoration pros whenever you have a fire, big or small, within your home. It is vital that you consider all of the hazards involved with fire cleanup and know that our crew always arrives wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Even a small kitchen fire extinguished quickly can leave behind odorous materials that bring a constant reminder of the incident. 

We are Faster to Any Size Disaster here at SERVPRO of Lompoc, and you can count on us for 24/7 emergency service should you require fire damage restoration. To have a crew deployed to your property, call us at (805) 733-8911.

Home Heating Safety: Space Heaters

3/17/2021 (Permalink)

The U.S. Fire Administration documents that heating is the second leading cause of fires in homes. Here are a few pointers when adding heat to your home through the use of space heaters:

• Make sure your heater has been tested by a recognized testing laboratory.
• Your space heater should have an automatic shut off in the event it tips over.
• Be sure to place space heaters on a flat, sturdy surface.
• Do not leave heaters turned on when leaving or going to sleep.
• Do not leave any items that could potentially burn near the heater. Make sure nothing is within 3 feet of the heater.
• Do not plug anything else into the same circuit as the one used to power the space heater. Overheating may occur.
• Do not plug the space heater into a power strip or extension cord. Plug heater directly into an outlet.

Be sure to utilize these safety tips whenever using an electric space heater. For more info, be sure to check out the U.S. Fire Administration online!

Tips for Cleaning Dryer Lint

3/9/2021 (Permalink)

Having a washer and dryer in your home is convenient, but improper maintenance can pose a unique fire threat. To prevent a lint fire in your home in Lompoc, you need to keep the combustible material away from heating elements. The best way to do this is to clean the lint out of the dryer on a frequent basis.

When to Clean the Dryer Lint

After Each Use

Every time you use your dryer, lint builds up on the removable screen. To prevent fire damage, you need to remove the lint at the end of every dry cycle. There are several ways to do this:

• Gather lint by hand
• Brush lint off screen with cleaning brush
• Vacuum lint off screen with hose attachment

If you are already using the vacuum hose to remove lint from the screen, go ahead and vacuum the inside area where the screen belongs before replacing it. This removes any lint that fell away when you were pulling the screen out. It's also a good idea to wash the screen with warm water occasionally, especially if you use fabric softener, as it can build up and clog the spaces that allow air to flow through.

Every Six Months

Even if you are diligent to clean the screen after every use, a lint fire could still happen if too much builds up in the exhaust hose or the machine itself. Fire restoration specialists recommend that you clean your dryer thoroughly every six months. After unplugging the machine, detach the exhaust hose from the wall and vacuum it out. Then remove the back panel of the machine and vacuum the accumulated lint out of its interior. Not only does this help prevent a dryer fire, it also helps your machine perform better.

Clothes create lint as they dry, and it's important to keep it away from the heating elements in the dryer. Regular maintenance can help prevent a lint fire and keep your dryer running well.

Smoke Alarms

3/1/2021 (Permalink)

Fire prevention is one of the most important things for you and your family. Ensuring that your home has smoke alarms are one of the first steps in fire prevention. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 3 out of 5 home fire deaths were caused because of no smoke alarm or no working smoking alarm. Smoke alarm cut the risk of people dying. Hardwired fire alarms operated 94% of the time versus battery powered alarms. The battery may tend to fail because of missing, disconnected or dead batteries. Ionization smoke alarm is more responsive to flaming fires and can detect a fire faster during the night hours when you are sleeping to give you extra time to safety assist or waken others to evacuate from a fire.

Fireplace Safety

7/15/2020 (Permalink)

A cozy fire crackling in the fireplace or wood stove is the perfect thing to get rid of the winter chill. Here are some tips to keep in mind so that you may enjoy your fire safely:

• A fire screen will help protect you and your floors from any sparks that may try to fly out

• Keep flammable items at least three feet from open flames

• Have a professional perform the installation of your fireplace or wood stove and be sure that it is to code

• Have your chimney and fireplace/stove cleaned regularly to your local codes

• Always use the appropriate type of wood and fire starters for your fireplace. The dryer the wood the better as this will provide a cleaner burn and result in less creosote build up

• Regularly clean the ashes out of your fireplace and be sure that the ashes are cool before placing in a metal container. Keep the ashes away from your home, garage and porch

Have you had a Fire?

7/14/2020 (Permalink)

Have you suffered a fire or smoke damage at your season home on Lompoc? At SERVPRO of Lompoc, we realize the importance of getting you back into your home as soon as possible so you can enjoy your summers on the lake! Here are some safety tips to follow to help speed up the process and before a professional Restoration Company is contacted to start the cleaning services.

After any fire damage situation, your primary focus should be safety first:

• Is it safe to stay in the house?
• Electrical and "slip and fall" hazards are some of the most prevalent concerns.
• Only do activities that are safe for you to perform.
• Wet materials can be VERY heavy. Be careful!

Have Smoke or Fire Damage to your home on Lompoc? Call 805-733-8911

Have you had a fire in your home in Lompoc?

7/14/2020 (Permalink)

Have you suffered a fire or smoke damage in your home in Lompoc?  Here are some safety tips to follow before a professional Restoration Company is contacted.

After any fire damage situation, your primary focus should be safety first:

• Is it safe to stay in the house?
• Electrical and "slip and fall" hazards are some of the most prevalent concerns.
• Only do activities that are safe for you to perform.
• Wet materials can be VERY heavy. Be careful!

Have Smoke or Fire Damage to your home in Lompoc? Call 805-733-8911

Our Experts Can Help With Smoke Damage From Your Lompoc Chimney

2/20/2020 (Permalink)

Many older buildings in our service area still have working chimneys and fireplaces. Tar and creosote may have built up on the inside of the chimney after years of use. Occasionally the tar and creosote catch on fire, causing a chimney fire, which can have devastating consequences if not dealt with quickly. The fire department has lots of experience putting these fires out, however in the process sometimes cause damage to the home.

SERVPRO has been in business in Lompoc, providing fire damage restoration for over two decades. We have dealt with almost every situation that can be imagined. Our team's experience and training provide our customers with rapid recovery and restoration while mitigating the overall damage.

Damage from Chimney Fires
At the very least, firefighters have tramped through your home with their gear tracking in dirt and water. However, there has been a fire in your chimney, which usually means smoke damage throughout the house. Hopefully, they were able to douse the fire before the fire spread from the chimney into your home or sparks ignited your roof and caused even more damage. There may also be fire retardant chemicals around your fireplace and on your roof.

Restoration vs. Replace
The objective at SERVPRO is always to restore your home vs. replace furniture, personal items, and flooring. This approach reduces the total losses of the fire claim with your insurance company. Quick action by our team with air movers can remove the majority of smoke residue from the home before it has a chance to settle and adhere to soft and hard surfaces.

The restoration team identifies the type of surface and the type of smoke residue in your home. Factors such as temperature, agitation levels, chemicals involved, and time form part of the decision regarding how to clean each item and remove smoke residue.

Fast action can significantly reduce the damage from smoke residue in your home. We aim to return your home to its original condition, “Like it never even happened.”

Call SERVPRO of Lompoc at (805)733-8911 for 24/7 service. 

The Do’s and Don’ts with Fire and Smoke Damage.

2/18/2020 (Permalink)

Fire damage can be scary , until help arrives here are some tips to help minimize damage.

Do’s:

• Limit movement in the home to prevent soot particles from being embedded into upholstery and carpet.
• Keep hands clean. Soot on hands can further soil upholstery, walls and woodwork.
• Place dry, colorfast towels or old linens on rugs, upholstery and carpet traffic areas.
• If electricity is off, empty freezer and refrigerator completely and prop doors open to help prevent odor.
• Wipe soot from chrome on kitchen and bathroom faucets, trim and appliances, then protect these surfaces with a light coating of lubricant.
• If heat is off during winter, pour RV antifreeze in sinks, toilet bowls, holding tanks and tubs to avoid freezing pipes and fixtures.
• Wash both sides of leaves on the house plants.
• Change HVAC filter, but leave system off until a trained professional can check the system.
• Tape double layers of cheesecloth over air registers to stop particles of soot from getting in or out of the HVAC system.

Don’ts

• Attempt to wash any walls or painted surfaces without first contacting SERVPRO of Santa Maria.
• Attempt to shampoo carpet or upholstered furniture without first consulting SERVPRO.
• Attempt to clean any electrical appliances (TV sets, Radios, etc.) that may have been close to fire, heat or water without first consulting an authorized repair service.
• Consume any food or beverages that may have been stored close to fire, heat or water. (They may be contaminated.)
• Turn on ceiling fixtures if ceiling is wet. Wiring may be wet or damaged and cause electrical shock, and air movement may create secondary damage.
• Send garments to the dry cleaner. Improper cleaning may set in smoke odor.

Lompoc Smoke and Soot Cleanup

11/14/2019 (Permalink)

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 Lompoc 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.

Have Questions about Fire, Smoke, or Soot Damage?
Call Us Today – (805)733-8911

Santa Barbara Wildfire Damage Event

11/14/2019 (Permalink)

The active wildfires here in Southern California are increasing their impact as growing Santa Ana winds add fuel to these devastating blazes that are encroaching in our area. According to the New York Times, new fires broke out in Malibu on December 7, with at least 96,000 acres already burned in the Ventura area and 116,000 acres in Los Angeles County. Evacuations have closed hundreds of schools and forced 200,000 of our neighbors to seek safety. The “Thomas Fire” in the Ventura area continues to burn with the aid of strong winds. This fire has caused the closure of the 101 freeway and a boil-water advisory was issued for Ventura County. Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds that are enabling the fires to rapidly increase their reach can have speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour. They are not expected to diminish until Friday into Saturday at the earliest. The National Weather Service has warned of “very rapid fire growth” in this area. SERVPRO Meteorologist Lela Davis said that the Santa Ana winds were already very dry when they reached the Southern California valley, allowing them to quickly pull moisture out of vegetation, increasing the risk for wildfires. For the first time ever, a purple wind warning was issued for today under the color-coded system used to advise about high winds. This purple warning pushed wind expectations from the “high” category to “extreme”. Ready to help Here at SERVPRO of Lompoc we are monitoring this wildfire situation closely. Our thoughts are with those neighbors who may be put in harms’ way during this event. In many cases, a wildfire can result in a total loss for a home or business, but in others it may be a partial loss, or can result in mild smoke damage. If your home or business is affected by a wildfire, SERVPRO of Lompoc is Here to Help®. 

About SERVPRO of Lompoc

SERVPRO of Lompoc specializes in the cleanup and restoration of residential and commercial property after a fire, smoke or water damage event. Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration. From initial and ongoing training at SERVPRO’s corporate training facility to regular IICRC-industry certification, rest assured our staff is equipped with the knowledge to restore your property.

Fire or Soot Damage? Call Us Today – We’re Ready To Help

(805-9733-8911)