Condominiums in northeast Dallas caught fire in late February. While the cause of the fire is unknown, smoke and flames spread rapidly through two units, destroying all three stories. Thankfully no one was injured, however, over 50 residents had to be displaced due to loss of power. Within a few days of the fire, Disaster America was on site preparing the complex for a complete renovation. Because of the fire and smoke damage, certain steps have to be completed before the actual renovation can begin.

The first and most important step in the restoration process is the initial assessment of the damage. We thoroughly inspected all of the property, including the inner-workings of the complex, to determine what, if anything could be salvaged. Once we completed the assessment, our team was ready to get started.

We started this project by bringing in generators. Generators have several different functions. First, we connected them to portable air ducts that enabled us to get airflow inside the burned units. Once all air ducts were in place, the generators were used to dry out the units. Before any work can be done, everything has to be dried completely to prevent mold growth deep inside the structure. This process can take up to a few days. While the units were drying out, our team was boarding up the outside, making sure all windows and holes created by the fire have been completely shut off from the outside elements.

Once everything was dry, we were able to start the renovation process. We started by tearing out everything affected by the fire and smoke damage. This included all furniture, rugs, carpets, cabinets, and basically everything else inside the units, even the walls. Fire damage breeds a lot of bacteria, and if all damaged materials are not removed this could cause health-related issues down the road. As of this week, we have finished removing all hazardous materials from inside the units.

Stay tuned to our blog for the latest up-to-date information on the condo restoration!