Gas Water Heaters Can Cause Fires If You're Not Careful

12/22/2021 (Permalink)

While electric water heaters generally are rarely the cause of residential fires unless they overheat, gas water heaters have more potential to be the center of a fire damage due to their open flame. There are some actions homeowners can take to ensure their water heater operates safely.

    • Do not store clothes or papers near the water heater
    • Flammable liquids and cleaning products should be away from the water heater
    • The flame cover should be in place at all times

Where Do I Start to Cleanup Fire Damage from a Water Heater?

When a water heater in a home causes a fire, the most likely area is in the basement. On the upper floors, some homes have utility closets, and those come with their own challenges for cleanup. The key to limiting loss with either location is to begin the mitigation efforts as rapidly as possible.

Basement Water Heater Cleanup Post-Fire

Upon arrival to a home after a fire, our technicians get to work removing any water and putting up containment to diminish the chance of soot spread anywhere else in the home. The damaged water heater and any charred items too far gone for restoration services get removed with the approval of the homeowner or adjuster.

The smoke damage on the walls may require the removal of the sheetrock on the walls down to the plywood or even brick or cinder block. Because of the potential for these porous areas to hold smoke odors, our technicians use cleaning agents specially formulated for this type of surface cleaning without the use of acids that can harm the surfaces.

Utility Closet Cleanup After a Fire Caused by a Water Heater

The damage can be far more significant when the water heater has a location in the home outside of the basement. The smoke may have spread to different areas of the house, more than one place may have water loss due from the fire department putting out the fire, and both carpet and sheetrock require mitigation.

Water can equal fire in the potential for damage after a fire, it runs downward flowing through the carpet and padding or under the tile and gets into floor joists and drips through below. It can pick up soot and dirt along the way and stain the walls and ceilings when it comes out. Once water wicks into sheetrock, it begins to buckle and warp and needs cutting away to halt the deterioration.

Carpet gets inspected on a case by case basis for restoration. The water may cause shrinkage, dye bleed, or in the case of acrylic and polyester fibers with a low melting point; they may have too much damage from the heat of the fire for restoration through cleaning applications. Whenever possible, the technicians try to extract any remaining water and deep clean the carpets to eliminate odors and stains to save the homeowners the cost of replacement.

The restoration potential for hardwood flooring depends on the materials that make up the floorboards and how much exposure they had to heat and water.

Ceramic tiles tend to come out of this type of loss situation with the best potential for full restoration if the grout line sealant is intact. It generally needs cleaning with one of the professional-quality agents to remove any smoke residues, and little else is required.

Odor Control is a Big Part of the Fire Loss Cleanup Process

Doors and windows can get left open, and it will not diminish smoke odors within a home after something as significant as a water heater fire. Soot produces odors, and the motes can be smaller than the human eye can see, which makes removing them a challenge without advanced devices to capture the airborne particles. SERVPRO technicians have a broad array of odor control methods that include:

    • Specific equipment like hydroxyl generators and thermal foggers
    • Applications such as gel pellets or sprays for light, residual odors
    • Deodorizing cleaning agents for surfaces
    • Sealants to apply over painted surfaces to halt odors