Why Can I Not Recover Food Items from The Pantry After a Fire in Fort Lee?

9/2/2020 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO of Fort Lee (201) 496-6024 to assist with your emergency fire damage, recovery, and restoration needs.

Fire Damage In My Fort Lee Home

A fire in the kitchen of your Fort Lee home can cause a great deal of damage. The most obvious is the burned and charred areas. For example, if the fire started around the oven, cupboards and countertops may be damaged along with ceilings. Small fires may burn slowly and produce a great deal of smoke, while hot fires cause less smoke and produce more heat. Both can cause damage to your food items stored in the kitchen and pantry.

SERVPRO can assist and guide homeowners concerning any food items that can be saved after fire damage to your Fort Lee home. The heat from a fire can cause plastics to melt or burn, producing toxic chemicals mixed with the smoke from the actual fire. Even our cupboards contain copious amounts of glue, which burn and produce chemicals deposited on surfaces, including food items, which can be harmful if ingested.

Can I Save Canned Goods and Beverages?
Canned goods and beverages can also be damaged during a fire. Labels may have been burned, making it impossible to tell what the contents are. The surface may also be coated with soot and toxic chemicals from the fire.

Although it is tempting to save everything possible, SERVPRO has found that homeowners should avoid using these products. Even the chemical composition of the products may have changed due to heat from the fire. Our team can review all food items with the homeowner as part of our service, inventory any that must be discarded, and remove them along with the charred materials damaged by the fire.

SERVPRO can remove all of the odor-causing materials from the burned area and clean walls, shampoo carpets, and upholstery to remove smoke residue and odor. Clothing exposed to the smoke residue is also carefully cleaned to avoid further damage and retention of odor from the fire.

Call SERVPRO of Fort Lee (201) 496-6024 to assist with your emergency fire damage, recovery, and restoration needs.