I had an apartment building fire with extensive smoke damage
affecting many apartments with smoke damage only. I have been told by
many contractors that when it is near 90f outside and humid the smoke
smell will re occur if it is not removed now. It can get to 100f, 85%
humidity here, and there is no central air so I have prime weather for
re activating the dormant smoke smell. I have been told the high heat
periods are when the tenants will complain and move.

My question is does smoke that travels through the walls come back
into the next apartments through the openings, and outlets , walls?
Do any of you have direct fire , smoke damage experiance, and have
any ideas on to how far a rebuild has to go? Are there any Fire Pro
guys out there? . The job keeps looking worse!


*The short answer is yes. Smoke will travel through all penetrations and
openings. Many many years ago I did a short stint with an electrical
contractor who specialized in insurance work. It was almost all fire jobs
and I think that smell still lingers in my nose. The good news is that
after a complete cleanup and everything is replaced or sealed, you would
never know that a fire took place. I don't know how you would get the smell
out of insulation except for replacement. Wood and drywall can be painted,
but even the wall switches and electrical outlets will smell of smoke. I'm
thinking that you would need to open up one side of a wall, remove and
dispose of the insulation, paint the inside of the wall studs and drywall,
install new insulation and close up the one side with new drywall.

In the meantime, I know it's cold outside, but open the windows a little and
start airing the place out. It will be better to work in if some of the
smell is gone.





I dont want the insurance co to cut me short!! Does anyone have
actual fire- apartment- smoke - experiance here, With the building
open now, it will be July 2012 before I know if this years work was
enough to combat the smoke damage.