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| LifeFriday, September 14, 2007 3:23 PM CDT |
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After the Fire: The smoke clears
Where does one begin after firefighters leave a once-burning home?
Behind them was our building, 1502 Hancock Drive, Normal. The front windows of the burned-out Unit C were scorched and shattered, much of the vinyl siding in front and back was burned away and there was a hole in the roof. Utilities had been cut, and the smell of wet smoke hung heavily in the air. No one was injured in March 25's early morning blaze, but the young family that had been renting Unit C was left homeless and lost most of its possessions. The residents of the other three condos had no idea when we could go home. Gibson, who knew I had covered fires when I was a reporter, turned to me and asked, "So, what happens next?" "That's a good question. I don't know," I replied. "This is usually when I go back to the office and write the story." Looking back after more than five months, I realize now just how little I really knew about how a fire can disrupt a life financially, physically and even mentally. I had a crash course in insurance claims, home renovation and how to deal with a new kind of stress while overseeing repairs to both my condo and, as condo association president, the entire building. "We all suffered loss, even if it was just your comfort zone," Gibson told me later. She should know; she works at Dove Inc. in Clinton as an advocate for victims of domestic violence. "If you have no home, no place to relax, no safe space ... when all of that is gone, you feel on edge until you get that back." My condo had some fire, smoke and water damage, but I thought at the time that it would be a couple of days of cleanup and carpentry at the most. I figured it would be another week or two to repair the burned unit. The work wasn't complete for more than five months. State Farm Insurance Cos. signed off on the completed work on Aug. 31, and the town of Normal still must inspect it. Haunted by 'what-ifs' I didn't count on going weeks without a regular night's sleep, spending a month in a succession of hotels, hiring contractors, seeing most of our household possessions carted off for cleaning, living at a construction site for months after that and signing off on more than $114,000 worth of insurance claims. In the first couple of days after the fire, I was preoccupied by the "what-if factor." Unit C and my condo were virtually identical in layout and even the fittings, so I easily imagined my own home in ruins as I picked through what had been the home of Shawna Anderson, her boyfriend and her two young daughters. I'm told a half-inch layer of drywall is all that kept the fire out of my condo, and that drywall contains fire for about seven minutes. In fact, the fire axes used to pull down the drywall in Unit C's dining room cut gashes through my kitchen wall. What if I hadn't been home? Would the smoke in my father's bedroom have killed him while he slept? What if the fire, which had broken the outer pane on my office window, had gotten into the room crammed with books and papers? The residents of Unit C packed up and moved away. Judy Oltman's Unit B, which comprises the corner of our building, had an extremely stubborn smoke odor that lingered for months despite cleaning, repainting and ozone treatment. Gibson couldn't return home for 3½ weeks because the smoke residue irritated her asthma. The vacation to nowhere State Farm Insurance Cos. claims adjuster Jacki Martin met with me the day after the fire. She told me her job was to make sure everything was restored to what it had been before the fire. Part of that was paying for Dad and me to stay in a hotel for as long as it took to restore our condo. "We make sure people are comfortable, but you won't take a vacation on State Farm," Martin said. That's for sure. Don't get me wrong: State Farm never quibbled with me over living expenses -- they topped $5,000 -- but the month had all the disruption of a vacation but none of the fun. We were living on the other side of town and eating out, so everything seemed slightly unfamiliar. We often spent evenings by the hotel pool with my sister's family, but the day's worries and anxiety about the future never went away. After a few days at Country Inn and Suites, 2403 E. Empire St., Dad and I moved to Eastland Suites, which has more of an apartment feel, but it still wasn't home. I at least had my job and the cleanup and restoration efforts to keep me busy. Dad, who is 73, filled his time with trips to Miller Park and a friend's house. My sister wisely packed family photos to decorate the hotel room for him. The move to nowhere The first week after the fire began what I called the move to nowhere. Most of what we owned needed to be cleaned, and all but two rooms had to be painted and recarpeted. I hired Peerless Cleaning and Restoration, Decatur, to do the cleaning in my condo -- a project that cost State Farm almost $11,000. Three days after the fire, Stacy Fletcher of Peerless came over. With her clipboard and blue latex gloves, she inspected, counted and measured everything, assessing what needed to be cleaned, what didn't, what needed to go to the Decatur plant for cleaning, and what could be stored in a pod in my parking lot for cleaning onsite. I realized soon after the fire that there was no such thing as privacy anymore when it came to the material side of our lives. A succession of firefighters, insurance adjusters, cleaners and contractors went through the condo, looking in every closet and emptying every drawer. At least I know they are discreet. I asked them to tell me stories about weird things they had seen on other jobs, but they all politely said nothing came to mind. Starting April 2, I had cleaning crews of up to six people in my condo every day for close to a week. It took two women an entire day to clean my office, taking down and wiping each book and knickknack. They packed everything else into dozens of cardboard cartons and what seemed like miles of blank newsprint paper. They washed woodwork with Murphy's Oil soap, gently buffed painted walls with brick-sized artist's erasers and used degreaser and stiff brushes to scour soot off of vinyl flooring. Surprise renovation By the end of the week, gas and electric service was restored, my condo was empty, my carpeting was gone, and demolition began in earnest in Unit C. Our building now was a construction site. After workers gutted Unit C down to bare studs, the critical step was spraying every surface with an alcohol-based shellac to encapsulate the smoke odor. Anything porous will absorb smoke odor, and it seems next to impossible to kill. Even now, temperature and humidity changes will bring a whiff of smoke out as a reminder in my condo. Peerless battled the odor with HEPA air cleaners that were the size of washing machines and sounded like jet engines. Ozone generators gave the air a chlorine smell that reminded me of an indoor swimming pool. We had no use of the parking lot until late June, thanks to contractor-size trash bins and contractor trucks. While the workers swept the lot thoroughly, we found roofing nails all summer long. Work concentrated in the first month on my condo because the goal was to get Dad and me out of the hotel as soon as possible. During that time, I made countless trips to home-improvement stores to pick paint colors and carpeting and buy everything from Allen wrenches to screen-door parts. I think people who go through this start thinking the same way: As long as contractors are around and our place is empty, it's the perfect time to open the checkbook, roll up the sleeves and do all sorts of projects. I settled on a new furnace, a new deck and a new bathroom floor, but I can see where someone could get carried away. That excitement about fixing up the place soon gave way to construction fatigue. I reached a point where I really didn't care what the place looked like; I just wanted to go home. One month to the day after the fire, I got my wish. A Peerless crew brought back our newly smoke-free possessions. The next few days had that living-out-of-boxes feeling that comes with a new home, and there are some things we still can't find. Construction continued next door for weeks after that. There was hammering when I was trying to sleep, but I didn't mind so much. We were home. The contractor becomes your new best friendBy Roger Miller | rmiller@pantagraph.com NORMAL -- The biggest decision I had to make after the fire at my condo building was picking the contractors to oversee the cleanup and repairs, and it was a decision I had to make quickly. I learned it boils down to two things: trust and communication. A fire early on March 25 swept through one townhouse and damaged the three others at 1502 Hancock Drive, Normal. The recovery effort didn't officially finish until Aug. 31, when a State Farm Insurance Cos. adjustor signed off on the work, which still awaits a town of Normal inspection. I was able to turn to my brother-in-law, Tim Brady, who became our general contractor as a favor to me. He's been in the construction business for about 30 years and has built several houses on his own. Most people who go through this aren't so lucky, but the process is much the same. Everyone faced with rebuilding a home has to look for someone they can trust. "Once you get a good general contractor, let them go with it, but don't be afraid to ask questions," Brady said. Remember that "a general contractor is only as good as his subcontractors." Finding a contractor So how do you find that contractor? Ask. The day after the fire, State Farm Insurance Cos. claims adjuster Terry Melick met with me about the claim for the condo building because I am president of the College Park Condo Association. He explained that it was urgent that we have a contractor so repairs could begin. State Farm recognizes that such a decision can be overwhelming for someone who just suffered a fire loss and doesn't know anything about hiring a contractor. That's why it has the Premier Service program. Contractors apply for the Premier Service designation, and they are vetted based on several factors, such as their track record in the community and whether they have the financial resources to take on such projects. Premier Service contractors use State Farm's own Exactimate estimating software and they use State Farm's preferred suppliers: Lowe's, Home Depot and Menard's. This helps speed the process and control costs. State Farm also offers a five-year workmanship warranty for work done by Premier Service providers. Of course, no one is obligated to use Premier Service. Brady suggests talking to a plumber or electrician you have used for home repair or the real estate agent who sold you your house. Who would they recommend? Working with your contractor The general contractor has to balance the interests of the client with the limits imposed by the insurance company while working around the subcontractors' schedules. "You never will get everything resolved in the first meeting" with the contractor, Brady said. "You have to be patient and communicate -- no surprises." Remember that the contractor never saw your place before the fire, so it's your responsibility to communicate with the contractor and insurance adjuster about what you lost. If there was a phone jack on the dining room wall and you don't see it roughed in, leave a Post-It note there, Brady said. That's a lot better than pointing it out after the drywall has gone up. Nick Vukson, of Mineral, the owner of the condo that burned, recommends taking pictures and documenting your property before there is a fire. Brady agreed, noting Vukson's pictures helped him settle questions ranging from whether there were ceramic tiles on the wall over the stove to whether there were ceiling fans on the first floor. Picking a contractor Here are some tips for picking a contractor: • Talk to family and friends for references. • Don't go with the first person you meet. • Get two or three estimates. • Check with the Better Business Bureau and the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. Make sure the contractor is licensed and bonded and has a track record of work in your area. • Drive by the houses listed in the references and check out the work. SOURCE: State Farm claims adjuster Jacki Martin Factoids• Don't know if your burned-up carpet was builder-basic or the best Berber? Was that charcoal on your walls pine or oak woodwork? State Farm will know. The insurer sends samples to Intel Inc., an independent materials testing laboratory in Jacksonville, Fla. Intel can assess the quality of carpeting, vinyl, wood, laminate and siding. • Bloomington is basically a beige city. A carpeting sales associate told me manufacturers adjust the palette of color choices for carpeting, tile and other decorating materials based on the demographics of a certain area. Miami is known for hot, intense colors, while Santa Fe has its earthier tones. The people of Central Illinois prefer solid, neutral colors. "We call it Bloomington beige," she said. Cleanup tipsPeerless Cleaning and Restoration Services, Decatur, offers the following tips compiled by the National Institute of Disaster Restoration. Fire and smoke damage Do: • Clean and protect chrome trim on faucets and other brightwork by washing with detergent and applying a coating of Vaseline or oil. • Blow off or brush-vacuum loose smoke particles from upholstery, draperies and carpeting. Open windows for ventilation if weather permits. • Empty refrigerators and freezers if electricity is shut off, and prop doors open to allow air circulation. • Pour antifreeze in toilet bowls, tanks, sink and tub drains to prevent freeze damage if heat is off in winter. • Call a plumber to drain and blow out water lines if heat is off in winter. • Remove pets to a clean environment if heavy fire residue is present. • Send a sample group of garments for cleaning and deodorization in order to observe the results. Do not: • Wipe or attempt to wash fire residues from walls, ceilings or other absorbent surfaces. • Use carpeting or upholstered furniture affected by heavy residues or debris. • Use food items or canned goods exposed to heat. (Discard all food items not in factory-sealed, airtight containers.) • Turn on computers, TVs, stereos or electrical appliances until they have been cleaned and checked. Water Damage Do: • Ventilate wet areas. Turn on air conditioning for accelerated drying in summer; in winter alternate cycles of opened windows and heating. • Remove standing water from flat surfaces by sponging and blotting. • Take up saturated rugs and carpets when hardwood floors are at risk. • Stay out of rooms where ceilings are sagging from retained water. • Transport computers to a dry environment, remove cases and blow dry with low-pressure air. • Open drawers and cabinet doors for interior drying, but do not force open stuck drawers or doors. • Freeze valuable books and documents to retard mildew growth until drying can be performed. • Place aluminum foil squares, china saucers or wood blocks under furniture legs to avoid carpet staining. Do not: • Operate TVs, vacuums or other appliances while standing on wet carpet or floors, especially not on wet concrete floors. Serious injury may result. • Use heat to dry closed building interiors; mildew and expanded moisture damage may result. • Leave wet fabrics in place; space them apart and dry as soon as possible. Other Tips from the pros Following are some tips offered by Peerless cleaners and other contractors: • Peerless cleaners' primary cleaning materials for light work are Murphy's Oil soap, Pledge, The Works (for kitchens and bathrooms) and a diluted solution of their commercial brand of degreaser. • Never write on walls with ink. Use only pencil. Even after they have been painted over, ink, soot and some other materials work their way back to the surface. • China and porcelain are porous, so they probably shouldn't be used again for eating if exposed to heavy smoke and soot. • Off-the-shelf, department-store blinds can be cleaned, but it's so labor-intensive that it's cheaper for the insurance company to pay to replace them. • The best way to test the degree of smokiness is to take an object out into the fresh air. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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