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6.0) FIRE and SMOKE:
(page
5 of 6)
6.21.o) Masonry and Concrete: Brick,
block and
concrete are subject to chipping and pitting damages,
a/k/a
spalling, as well as acid infiltration. Spalling occurs
when concrete has lost its tinsel strength, and is caused when
the surface of the concrete expands and contracts one-way due to
heat and the balance of the underlying mass moves the other
way. Spalling is also caused when a heated surface is rapidly
cooled from firefighter actions.
Masonry and concrete can crack and discolor due to heat stress,
while cracking could allow acidic soot to penetrate and affect
its
steel
reinforcing.
Structural masonry and concrete when damaged or affected by
acidic conditions should be inspected for integrity by a
structural engineer or competent person.
The cleaning methods of soot and smoke damaged masonry and
concrete would depend on its post-conditions:
Light: Block, brick and concrete with light smoke, and soot
deposits could require dry sponging, vacuuming and washing with
a mild detergent.
Moderate
Block, brick, and concrete with moderate soot and smoke deposits
could require dry sponging, vacuuming, and power washing.
Heavy:
Block, brick and concrete with heavy soot and smoke deposits
could require, pressure washing with a high pH degreaser, dry
ice (CO2) or soda ash blasting. Sand blasting of brick, block,
and concrete is not recommended due to its abrasives and
destructive capabilities.
Before pressure washing, soot, and smoke deposits should be dry
sponged, then vacuumed. Cracked masonry joints should be
cleaned and re-pointed to prevent soot and smoke deposits from
being driven within the masonry or concrete capillaries. This
is most crucial when the soot and smoke deposits contain acid.
6.21.p) Fire-Rated Materials: Dependent
on a structures use, occupancy, and geographical location,
building codes would require that certain structural assemblies
and building components have fire-ratings.
Building components
are rated by their flame spread and the amount of smoke
produced, while structural assemblies are rated by their hourly
penetration. Fire- rated building materials could be, but not
limited to gypsum wallboard, insulation, ceiling tile, suspended
ceiling grid, backer/blocking lumber (plywood, 2x4's), etc.
When
performing mitigation or restoration services in structures
containing fire-rated materials and/or assemblies, they should
be inspected for post-fire
conditions of; thermal expansion, heat disorder,
charring, oxidation, corrosion, conduction, alloying and
moisture content.
When fire-rated materials have been
affected and their flame spread or fire-rating has been reduced,
they shall be replaced.
When in doubt about the fire-rating of a building component or
assembly, the manufacturer or a competent person should be
consulted.
6.21.q) Fire-Stopping Materials: Commercial,
institutional and industrial facilities can contain
fire-stopping materials. These fire-stopping materials are
non-flammable materials used to prevent flame spread and smoke
infiltration between rooms and floors in buildings.
Fire-stopping materials are strategically located at;
electrical, telecommunication and mechanical penetrations in
walls, ceilings and floors. While some wall assemblies could
have fire-stop caulking at architectural joints; walls, top and
base plate, expansion joints, masonry to concrete slab, deck to
gypsum wall, etc.
Fire-stopping and fire-proofing materials should be thoroughly
cleaned and inspected. When in doubt about the integrity of a
fire-stopping material, the manufacturer or competent
person should be consulted.
6.21.r) Wood Framing: Wood
framing systems are subject to charring, scorching, smoke, and
soot damage. Smoke, soot and water should not affect the
integrity of wood framing and can be remediated, while scorching
and charring of wood framing could warrant its replacement.
Light to moderate smoke and soot deposits could be removed using
a cellulose sponge and detergents. While moderate to heavy smoke
and soot deposits could require corncob, dry ice or soda ash
blasting.
Discoloration of wood framing materials after smoke and soot
removal is limited to cosmetics and should not affect the
integrity of the framing system, and can be sealed over.
Exposed floor joists, rafters, trusses, etc. should be sealed
using a clear or tinted sealer.
Scorched and charred framing lumber shall be replaced when the
integrity of its intended design is jeopardized. Charred
framing lumber could be blasted then reinforced with scabbing.
Wood framing when blasted and reinforced with scabbing shall
meet or exceed the integrity of singular framing members.
Property owner(s) should be consulted before charred framing
lumber is blasted and left in place with scabbing. Before
attempting to blast and/or scab load bearing walls, headers, or
rafters, a structural engineer or competent person should be
consulted.
6.21.s) Engineered Timber Construction: Engineered
trusses, joists, beams, etc., when affected from a fire or smoke
loss should be inspected for charring, heat disorder, moisture,
etc. Structural fasteners such as; connectors, plates,
brackets, etc. should be inspected for thermal expansion, heat
disorder, corrosion and acids.
When engineered timber construction members have been affected
and do not meet the minimum requirements as set-forth in the
American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) NDS-91 standard
and supplemental standards, they shall be replaced.
When in doubt about an engineered timber construction member,
the manufacturer or structural engineer should be consulted.
6.22) Contents: Contents
are manufactured with varying materials and are available with
varying finishes:
Wood: Hard, soft or veneer and can be painted, stained or natural.
Plastics: Are categorized by the
polymerization process and are resistant to
most chemicals. Some plastics are resistant to acids.
Metal: Both ferrous and
non-ferrous, which could be steel, brass, bronze, aluminum or a
combination of alloys. All or in part, their finish could
be painted plated or solid in nature.
Porcelain and china: Could be
glazed or non-glazed, have factory applied or hand painted decorations.
Glass and crystals: Are generally
clear and can have factory applied, or hand painted
decorations.
Cloth: Sofas, chairs and drape
materials could be, organic:
wool,
silk,
cotton,
jute,
leather,
and
linen, and/or synthetic;
nylon,
polyester,
rayon,
acetate,
acrylic
or
olefin.
Furniture fabrics: Can be one
material or a weave of organic and synthetic materials.
Content surfaces should be tested for
reaction and colorfast before applying chemicals.
6.22.a) Contents Soot Removal: Soot
and smoke residue should be removed from the tops of all wood,
marble,
laminate, vinyl, leather, and cloth surfaces.
Technicians are to use the methods that are best suited for the
removal of soot and smoke from the surface, without damaging its
original finish.
The soot and smoke removal process should include the inspection
of pre-conditions and post-damages, and pre-existing conditions
should be documented.
6.22.b) Metal Contents: Exposed
metal contents should be cleaned with a non-abrasive detergent,
and when exposed to acids they should be neutralized using an
ionic cleaner.
6.22.c) Fabric Covered Contents: Fabric
will absorb smoke particles and odors from horizontal fallout
and impacting pressure when a room is infiltrated with smoke.
Fabrics should be vacuumed using a HEPA vacuum, then
cellulose sponged. Careful inspection of the soot
characteristics is important since tarry soot can smear fabric
when wiped with a cellulose sponge.
When a highly corrosive atmosphere is present, all fabric should
be inspected for possible acidic reaction or color fast.
When a fabric is vulnerable to an acid, it should be moved to a
neutralized low humidity area of the property, and the acid
residue should be neutralized.
Before applying thermo-fogging chemicals, fabrics should be
protected, and property owners should be made aware of the
chemical content, and
MSDS
sheets should be furnished upon
request.
6.22.d) Glass and Crystal: Exposed
glass and crystal ware should be cleaned and disinfected.
Extracted from the Loss
Recovery Guide with Standards (LRGS)
© Copyright 1998-2008
William Yobe
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6.22.e) Tools and Machinery: Mechanical
and electrical tooling and machinery should receive mitigation
attention.
Power tools (electrical) could be cleaned in an ultrasonic
machine or with low-pressure water and detergent.
Electrical tooling and machinery when cleaned, should be dried
then oiled with an appropriate electrical distillate before
being put back into service or storage.
Mechanical (hand) tools when impacted with hydrogen chloride
should be cleaned with an ionic cleaner and oiled after
cleaning.
Tool chests should be cleaned inside and out, and an oily felt
or rag should be placed at the bottom of the drawer before
replacing hand tools within the tool chest.
6.22.f) Documents and Magnetic Media: Documents
such as; books, blue prints,
mylar, microfilm, disks, tapes,
etc., are vulnerable to heat, smoke, soot, moisture and molds,
and a professional document processing/ reprocessing company
should be consulted when severe water and smoke damage is
present.
Heat damaged documents could become brittle and
desiccate, while
smoke and soot containing tarry greasy residues can permanently
stain paper and bindings. Books on high shelves could suffer
intense heat damage due to heat rise.
Soot and smoke should be removed using regulated air, vacuuming
and/or dry sponges, and book bindings should not be opened until
cleaned to prevent the infiltration of soot onto its pages.
When handling books, do not pull down on the top of the spine
with one’s index finger. Books should be grasped by their sides
when removing them from shelves and boxes.
Magnetic media such as; disks, negatives, tapes, microfilm, etc.
when smoke damaged should be left within their storage boxes,
and should be vacuumed and/or cellulose sponged before
packaging.
Water and moisture damaged documents and magnetic media are
recoverable for re-use in most cases when the proper mitigation
procedures are applied. However, mold can permanently
stain papers and bindings.
Temperature and moisture readings should be taken in rooms
containing documents as soon as possible and temperatures should
be kept at 65º F to prevent mold growth.
6.22.g) Plants (Household): Live
household plants should be cleaned. This should include washing
their leaves on both sides using a mild soap and a minimum of 2"
of the top layer of the potting soil should be removed and
replaced before plants are watered.
6.23) Consumable Goods:
Consumable goods such as; foods, prescription,
and non-prescription drugs should not be consumed after fire and
smoke losses when pre-opened. When the shape or color of
canned goods has changed, they should be disposed.
6.23.a) Food and Drugs: Food
and drugs when exposed to smoke and soot should not be
consumed. This should include all opened and pre-opened
containers.
Before any food or drug items are disposed, they should be
inventoried. The pricing of these products should be the
responsibility of the property owner.
6.23.b) Personal Hygiene Products:
Personal hygiene products and toiletries when
exposed to smoke and soot should not be used, and should be
discarded. This should include open cosmetics and products that
would be exposed to one's skin.
Before any personal hygiene products or toiletries are disposed
of, they should be inventoried, while the pricing of these
products should be the responsibility of the property owner.
6.24) Standing and Runoff Water: Standing
water is a breeding ground for mold and all
standing and runoff water should be removed.
Access holes for relieving water in ceilings and floors is
permissible, as long as a means of capturing or routing of the
water to a drain or exterior of the building is pre-determined.
6.24.a) Access Holes: Access
holes are acceptable when relieving water and accessing hidden
damages. Access holes should be sized to achieve the
disciplinary action at hand. Once that size is achieved, all
demolition should stop.
All rough and sharp edges should be removed or covered with a
protective means.
6.25) Structural Demolition: Building
and structural demolition should be performed in a professional
and
systematic fashion. Structural demolition and
temporary shoring should be performed by or under the direct
supervision of a competent person familiar with structural
design.
A kick-off safety meeting should be conducted at the on-set of
demolition projects with the appropriate personnel present.
Persons performing demolition disciplines should be supplied,
equipped and use
personal protective equipment
as outlines in
Section 4.5.
Before removing electrical circuitry, circuits should be
de-energized and lockout and tagging procedures should conform to
OSHA regulations. It is highly recommend that a line-diagram of existing electrical, communication and mechanical systems
be completed before their removal.
Construction debris should not be allowed to accumulate and
create a hazard. Debris should be carted to roll-off, dump
truck or staging area using an appropriate and safe
contraption. Debris should not be tossed or thrown from upper
levels, but carted to OSHA approved chutes, or carted to lower
levels.
Tooling and equipment used in demolition should be in excellent
and safe working order. When using tooling and equipment for
demolition, the tool or equipment should be used for the
disciplines they are designed for.
Scaffolding when erected and used in demolition, construction,
cleaning, decorating, etc. should conform to all OSHA
regulations.
6.25.a) Debris Disposal: Debris
should be disposed per local, regional and national codes.
Government officials should be consulted about construction
debris recycling or appropriated construction debris landfills
before disposing of construction waste.
Roll-off and
dump trucks should not be overfilled, but filled to
limits that allow tarping to prevent possible blowing of debris
from roll-off or trucks during transportation.
6.25.b) Salvage: Salvage
value from construction debris or contents is the property of
the insurance company or property owner. Monetary values
retained from salvage can be used by the insurance company to
lessen their loss exposure, or turned over to the policyholder
and deducted from their loss value.
Salvage material such as; steel, copper, brass, etc. are
generally distributed to the highest bidder. When soliciting
proposals on salvage materials, the cost of transportation,
taxes, etc. and whether it is inclusive of the price should be
provided to all bidders up-front.
6.26)
Selective Demolition: The
removal of selective building components could be necessary to
access hidden conditions and for structural drying, this could
includes; casing, baseboard, doors, cabinets, carpet, etc.
Selective demolition should be considered and evaluated first,
while destructive demolition should be a last resort. Selective
demolition is a means of disassembly so a building component can
be reinstalled later, and should be done in a systematically and
professional manner.
Building components should be cataloged as they are removed as
described in
Section 6.26.a. The removal of selective building
components should be done using the appropriate tooling and
every effort should be taken not to destroy the component being
removed or adjacent materials.
Removed building components should be stored in an area where
they should not be damaged by water, soot, or human error.
Fire and
Smoke:
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