Kitchen Fire at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC

January/February 2003

On a Monday night in November 2002, a dinner was prepared in the kitchen at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in downtown Charlotte, NC. But the last piece of meat wasn’t served, and someone forgot to turn off the grill. The kitchen caught fire and smoke poured throughout the church and sanctuary.

The Charlotte Fire Department safely extinguished the fire and advised Richard Hoard, Head of Parrish Executive Council, to call a restoration company to temporarily board up the damaged property. Rich consulted the Charlotte Yellow Book™ listings under Fire and Smoke Damage. Prominently advertised was AFTERDISASTER® and board-ups were listed as one of our services. Rich made the call, and we did the rest!

The AFTERDISASTER® technician on call responded quickly with the necessary materials, but the fire department would
not release the building until the next morning. Prior to the scheduled appointment on Tuesday morning Dean Burns,
Emergency Services Coordinator, was on the site to scope the job.

Cleaning and restoring the smoke and fire damaged facility would be in two parts: the immediate cleaning of soot and
elimination of smoke odor throughout the church and the repair and restoration of the burned-out kitchen. The immediate
concern was cleaning and restoring the 300 capacity, 35-foot ceiling sanctuary – as there was a wedding scheduled for that
Saturday, and rehearsal on Friday evening.

AFTERDISASTER® responded to the urgency of the situation. The scope of work was completed within a few hours and
cleaning began immediately. Scaffolding was ordered and installed by 5:00 PM that afternoon. Though the ceiling and
Stations of the Cross did not sustain significant soot damage from the fire, it was imperative to clean all traces of dust which
can absorb and retain smoke odors.

The restoration process included meeting with the insurance adjuster and agreeing on price and scope of the work. The
insurance carrier required a second estimate for the job, allowing a competing restoration company to examine the damage.
This gave them the opportunity to check behind our cleaning, and we passed the white glove test!

Said Rich Hoard, “I was particularly impressed with the management and supervision of the job. The atmosphere they
created promoted cooperation among the (cleaning) crew and with the sub-contractor. They maintained a sense of urgency
without making it a crisis situation. It was a pleasure working with all of them.”

The sanctuary was completely cleaned with no residual smoke odor and the last piece of scaffolding was carried out by 11:30
AM Friday. It was reported that the wedding was beautiful.

Smoke is a complex substance composed of the byproducts of incomplete combustion. There are three categories of smoke and three steps in the process to eliminate smoke odors.

3 Types of Smoke

1.  Natural Substances (wood, paper, fabrics such as wool, cotton and jute, feathers, cork, etc.). The residue is gray/black in color and of a dry, powdery consistency.
2. Synthetic Substances (plastics, synthetic textiles, etc.) The residue is black in color and smudges easily. “Soot tags” or “smoke webs” are often visible in upper corners.
3. Protein Substances (meat, poultry or flesh) The residue is colorless or yellow/brownish in color and has a greasy texture.

Protein smoke odor is the most difficult to remove; thorough cleaning of the involved appliances and surrounding areas is very important to odor removal.

3 Steps to Odor Elimination

1. Preliminary Detoxification precedes normal cleaning and repair. This process allows the insured to perceive a positive beginning to the restoration, improves the work environment for the cleaning crew and is an effective first step to complete odor removal.
2. Application of Granular Odor Counteractant continues to absorb smoke odors while cleaning takes place.
3. Thermal Fogging, Ozone or Vaportek® Application duplicates the path of the smoke and encapsulates or neutralizes remaining smoke odor.

Residual odors are most apparent when temperature and humidity are high. After a fire and/or smoke damage, prompt smoke odor removal is imperative. Many substances are porous, some much more than others. Smoke particles are tiny and will adhere to and hide inside the pores of wood, sheetrock, insulation, fabric, plastics and even metals. It is important to take the time to carefully locate and eliminate every possible hiding place for smoke odor during the restoration to prevent costly rework later.

The Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Process

Just why does it take so long to remediate and restore a fire and/or smoke damaged structure?

Once the fire department has extinguished the fire, completed its investigation as to the cause and released the building to the property owner, AFTERDISASTER® can begin the cleaning and restoration process. Fires produce not only charred materials that must be removed, smoke and soot that must be cleaned and odors that must be neutralized, but fires create water damages as well!

Inspection

1. First, all safety and health issues are resolved. The safety and well-being of our employees and the building occupants is our priority.
2. A thorough inspection of the fire and smoke areas results in a work plan for effective cleaning. The different types of smoke and their concentrations are identified and the appropriate cleaning methods are determined.
3. Cavities and hidden areas where smoke odors can reside are identified.
4. The work area is contained where necessary to prevent cross contamination.

Communication

1. What does the customer want/ expect to be done?
2. What are his/her priorities?
3. What are his/her concerns?
4. Are we authorized to begin work?
5. Is the insured aware of our general job flow?
6. We contact the adjuster ASAP. Has he visited the site? Has he written his scope/estimate?
7. We communicate with the insured as to the continuing process for the day.

The Cleaning and Restoration Process

1. Immediate Attention – Obviously, structural components must be cleaned on site; however, the contents may be cleaned, cataloged, then packed up and stored in our warehouses until the restoration is complete.
2. Containment – to prevent cross contamination
3. Seal vents – to prevent dislodging smoke residues.
4. Remove soot from metal surfaces, especially chrome and brass fixtures.
5. Remove soot – from light colored plastic or fiberglass surfaces such as countertops, shower/tub/sink fixtures.
6. Carpet/upholstery/textiles that are salvageable should be vacuumed ASAP before soot accumulates and is ground deeper into the fiber and support substrates.
7. Glass items should be cleaned before etching begins (soot is acidic and will begin to eat away the surface of glass and metals).
8. Demolition and Removal of Waste – to remove all fire damaged items and materials that are not restorable.
9. Deodorization – to satisfactorily remove odor from the environment so no odor can be detected beyond the normal odor of the materials involved.
10. Removing Soot – from materials and surfaces to restore them to pre-loss condition or prepare for painting or resurfacing.
11. Structural Repair – to remove and replace structure components damaged by the fire. Materials to be replaced with like kind and quality to match the existing materials, flooring, etc.
12. Sealing and Painting – paints and various finishes are applied to walls, ceilings, built-ins and furnishings for surface protection and appearance.
13. Cleaning the HVAC System – effective procedures include hand vacuuming and/or HEPA power vacuum source removal of the duct interiors. Ozone or other odor counteractants may be introduced for smoke odor removal.
14. Move restored contents from storage back to the site for disposition