In May 2024, we were contacted to help with a fire damage claim in Belle Center, Ohio. There was a small fire that started in the attic between the kitchen and the garage. An electrical short sparked the fire, but it was discovered very quickly before it got out of hand. The home owners called it in right away, and the Belle Center Fire Department responded quickly to have it put out in a timely manner.

Because of their quick response, the fire damage was limited to the kitchen and garage area, with most of it still contained to the attic area above each. However, as with all fire damage situations, there was extensive smoke damage throughout the home, which was the main cause for the scope of repairs. Also, there was water damage in the kitchen from extinguishing the fire. Yet our team was up to the task of restoring this fire damaged home.

Most of the restoration work was in those first connected rooms of kitchen, living room and dining room. Those rooms were stripped down to the studs, gutted of all smoke damaged materials, before the rebuild phase would begin. You can see our crew in the Demo Phase, removing cabinets and ceilings and insulation. It’s a very dirty and demanding process, but our team cares about every single customer. This customer and his family were not able to live inside the home while the restoration was going on, so we were motivated to get them back in as quickly as we could.

This home owner was very upfront with us about two of the windows in his home. The front bay window had not been used very much before the fire, because it was not fully functioning. The fire department had forced it open while they were extinguishing the fire to help with air flow, yet it caused the window to not close properly any longer. As we relayed that to his insurance company, we were able to get him a brand new front bay window. We appreciated his honesty with how he approached the situation! We were able to do the same for one of the kid’s bedroom windows too.

After the Demo Phase was complete, just one month after the day of the fire, we used a clear spray-seal all over this home to give it our No Smoke Odor Guarantee. This spray seal (sometimes we use a white spray) creates a barrier that prevents any residual smoke odors from coming into the home. With the risk of smoke odors checked off the list, we began to rebuild this home, starting with new wiring throughout the home. Then new insulation, new drywall, fresh paint, brand new flooring, and then fixtures and appliances.

We had our final walk through with the Logan County Inspector four months after the fire, which is a typical timeframe for a fire damage situation of this size. As we did the final walk through with the home owner afterward, we noticed an issue with the air conditioner unit. He was so eager to move back in that he still signed off on everything. Two weeks later, because of delays in finding the discontinued parts for the unit, we were able to call this job completed!

From the first day we started working, to the last day we finished was 3-1/2 months. From the day of the fire to the day they moved back in was 4 months and 6 days. Honestly, that’s a pretty quick turnaround for the size of this job! Things were able to flow smoothly and efficiently for this one, and we were thankful when we could hand the keys over to the home owner and his family.