How To Protect Your Property After Fire Damage

5/11/2022 (Permalink)

Protect Your Property and Avoid Fire Damage in your Property.

Even after taking many precautions, your commercial property in Kaysville, UT, can experience fire damage. When this happens, most of your attention will naturally be on recovery from damage and ensuring the safety of the people on and around your property. Unfortunately, looting can also be a cause of loss in the aftermath of the fire.

Prevent Looting and Other Losses After Fire Damage

Many businesses simply aren't very secure even before an emergency, and after a fire, those buildings become enticing to looters and other unwanted intruders. There are several reasons that your property is more vulnerable at this point:

• Doors and windows aren't tightly secured.
• Structural damage leads to more openings.
• Many unknown people are walking in and out of the property.

When your business is in upheaval, it's much easier for intruders, including animals, to enter your property.

Board and Tarp Openings

One of the first steps you can take to prevent looting after fire damage is hiring property cleanup and recovery professionals to board up and add tarps to your building. This step prevents water and wind from causing secondary damage.

It also discourages people from climbing through those openings and stealing materials from your property as well as protecting you against any liability you may hold when a third party is injured while on your property.

Remove Valuable Belongings

When the fire department gives you the go-ahead to reenter your property, remove valuable belongings that would attract the attention of intruders. Some fire cleanup and recovery technicians will remove and repair some of those belongings, so work closely with these professionals.

In addition to computers and other machines, you may want to secure inventory, fixtures, and materials such as copper wiring.

Discourage Animal Intruders

Identify areas that are still vulnerable, particularly to animals and pests. Rats, mice, and birds may move into your building through new gaps and cracks in the walls and roof. These pests build nests, chew up building materials, and gnaw through wiring. This damage leads to further damage and opens up opportunities for corrosion and mold growth.

Insects may also find a damaged building more enticing and can cause damage when building hives and as honey seeps through cracks in the walls. All of these pests can disrupt daily routines with unwanted noise.

Implement Obvious Security Measures

Next, make sure you have visible security measures and deterrents. Temporary fencing is a great way to make it harder for would-be intruders to tamper with your property. Visible cameras and security systems warn away anyone tempted to enter your building. The boarding that you had installed previously is an integral part of this prevention.

Arrange for visual inspections and patrols. The presence of someone moving around on your property discourages passersby from stopping to investigate. An official presence on your property keeps curious onlookers, looters, and kids away from your building throughout the fire cleanup process.

When fire damage makes your Kaysville, UT, building vulnerable to intruders, you risk loss through further property damage, theft, and liability. Protect your property and belongings by taking steps to reduce access, discourage trespassing, and increase a security presence.