A house fire in Bellefontaine, Ohio was caused from their gas fireplace.
A fire was started by… a fire? Yes, there’s irony in that, but not humor!

As you take a look at these pictures, any smile you had on your face before will fade.
Yet keep reading to see the restoration pictures of this whole house fire!

Charred Devastation

It’s always difficult for us walking into a home after a fire.
The smell of the flames and smoke overwhelm us, and then the sight of the devastation seems to attack us.

It’s a tragic situation every single time!
So many things are ruined and destroyed in a matter of minutes and hours from the fire damage, smoke damage, and water damage.

This is where we specialize and do our best work:
when we get to care for people walking through a tragedy like this.

Our team has the experience to handle every aspect of the restoration of your property after a fire!

From the clean-up process to the demo phase, from material ordering to the construction phase, and even the insurance navigation—Swartz Restoration can handle it all!

In this particular case, the fire started when a gas fireplace was left unattended down in the den.
It spread to multiple rooms of the house before the fire department was able to extinguish the fire.

The smoke damage reached even more rooms, leaving sticky black soot all over the walls and items in each room.
The rooms closest to the flames were scorched and covered in thick layers of soot.

Restoring Hope

Our crews went to work cleaning out all of the damaged materials–the ones not able to be salvaged.
They continued working on removing the walls, stripping everything down to the studs.

Why did they do this?
Because we have a No Smoke Odor Guarantee on all of our fire damage restoration projects.

We remove everything that may have absorbed the smoke smell, and then we seal all of the studs and floorboards that remain.

Then we start the put-back.
We started by updating the wiring and plumbing, along with a new furnace and ventilation system since the old one was filled with that same black soot and smoke damage.

New windows and doors needed installed in a few rooms, so those were replaced next.

Then we insulated the outside walls and put up fresh drywall throughout the home.

The fun part of painting and new flooring was next, bringing color and coziness back to the home.

Finally, after the process is nearly complete, the home owners were able to start bringing in their new furniture and beds, because this house was about to become their home again.

Favorite Highlights

This project was unique because of the book case that separated the kitchen area from the lower level living room.
It was custom built to replace the previous one damaged in the fire.

It had storage space that was accessed from the upper level in the kitchen and hallway, with open shelving used from the living room.

Look how inviting that living room area is!

Another favorite highlight of this project was the fireplace transformation. Yes, the one that was the source of the house fire!

It shared a wall with the den downstairs and the living room on the main floor.
The brick was cleaned, sealed, and painted, and the surround wall was covered in stone veneer to make the white fireplace pop!

The same veneer was put on the opposite side of the wall in the living room, giving it a nice texture contract in the room.

The Big Reveal

Check out this updated space. Now that is a transformation worth waiting for!

The home owners were ecstatic to have their home updated after such a devastating event.

Safety Reminder

Yes, the transformation of this home was amazing, but we want to ask you a question of prevention.
(This question, in no way, is incriminating to this home owner.)

The question: Could servicing your appliances in your home prevent a fire from starting?

Be sure to monitor your appliances and service them on a regular schedule to help prevent a major malfunction that could lead to a fire.

Who Will You Call?

If you, or someone you know, experiences fire damage of any degree, give us a call at Swartz Restoration at 419-331-1024.

We are the professionals who will walk you through the entire fire damage restoration process with care and excellence. You can count on us!