Our client is one of the largest social housing providers in the East Midlands.
The local authority requires specialist support to provide smoke and fire damage cleaning following fires across its housing stock. The housing authority can rely on SafeGroup to deliver that service.
The Challenge
The housing authority takes significant precautions to guard against serious fires in its properties, including the fitting of smoke alarms. However, fires still occur. Most begin accidently, though arson is also a risk. Most fires begin in homes. However, fire damage can be caused to fencing, garages or other communal facilities.
When a fire happens, the housing authority wants a quick response to clean up the damage and mess created to bring the property back into use as quickly and minimise the inconvenience and disruption to the property tenant and neighbours.
Fire and smoke cleaning challenges:
Property fires generate toxic waste and residue through the burning of substances such as plastic, paint and potentially harmful chemicals stored in the home. This includes smoke and ash particles that fill all spaces in the homes.
Fire, heat and smoke damage may be hidden from view, in voids or layers of building substrates.
Fire and smoke damage is often combined with water damage caused by the fire service dealing with the fire.
Lingering odours caused by deeply-engrained soot and smoke are a significant issue and must be dealt with alongside clearing damaged materials and cleaning surfaces.
All work must be carried out sympathetically when close to other homes. The fire may have caused serious injury or worse to the people living in the property.
In some cases, the damaged property is a flat with tenants above, below and across the hall. This requires fire clean-up work to be done respectfully, with least noise and inconvenience to tenants.
Fire and smoke damage clean-up is often an urgent task, with a deadline to meet to allow further work to be done to bring the property back into use
The housing authority has commissioned SafeGroup to carry out fire and smoke damage clean-ups across its housing stock. This includes smoke and fire cleaning in detaches houses, terraces properties and flats.
Over one three month period, SafeGroup’s emergency fire clean-up teams responded to fire and smoke damage clean-up requests in nine properties.
Key advantages SafeGroup provides included:
A self-delivered service.
Technicians trained by the British Damage Management Association.
Personnel with many years of experience in fire cleaning and fire waste removal.
A guaranteed fast response – including on-site attendance within four hours for urgent assistance.
Use of the best technologies and approved procedures for cleaning fire and smoke damaged properties safely and thoroughly.
A compliant service, with risk assessments and method statements for each project and standards monitored by our internal compliance team.
Transparent reporting, through a digital project management system, with images taken throughout the clean-up process to demonstrate progress with each task.
Outcomes
SafeGroup personnel have achieved the high standards expected of them in every fire clean-up carried out for the housing authority.
All deadlines for clean-up completion and fire waste removal have been met.
Properties have been left clean and odour-free, ready to be repaired
and redecorated.
All work has been carried out safely, in accordance with the RAMS.
