Severe Smoke Damage

Situation Analysis

An industrial deep-fat fryer started a fire in the cafe kitchen, causing severe smoke damage which spread throughout.

Objectives

The obvious concern was loss of business. Richfords' task was to quickly and cost effectively get the business running again.

Considerations

Health & Safety

As this is a food preparation area it was vitally important that ALL equipment could be cleaned to an appropriate high standard.

Corrosion

Metals can suffer secondary damage through corrosion from the fire residues. The large and expensive electrical equipment was at risk from secondary damage.

Gas Equipment

Some of the cooking equipment was gas fired. These required testing by qualified engineers.

Implementation

• Chloride levels were tested by a Richfords' technician. The results showed a high corrosion risk.
• Metal items and uPVC windows were treated as a prime concern to avoid acid damage.
• Electrical items were removed for cleaning and safety tests, to allow access to the structure.
• Richfords cleaned the structure and contents.
• As the cleaning process came to an end, the electrical items were returned.

Results

Business resumed within a week of the incident.