Protein Fires - Helpful Information

We have seemed to have had an influx of protein fires lately and I wanted to give you some good information on what they are and how to handle them.

A protein fire is caused when a resident is cooking eggs or meat with oil and forgets it is cooking.  When the protein gets hot and overheats, it puts a sticky, white smoke in the air and leaves a clear residue that is hard to see and smells really strong.  People tend to react by turning on exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms.  This puts that sticky residue through the components of the fans and motors and needs to be taken apart to clean.  The smell can really irritate your sinuses and throat within an hour.

These are some steps that you can do in the first couple days to clean up a protein fire.

1. First, put a hepa air scrubber in the unit to get that environment as clean as possible.  Air is filled with particulates that you can’t see. Recirculate and clean the air!
2. Then, have a cleaning crew clean everything in the unit.  This includes, walls, ceilings, floors, doors, door casings, baseboards and inside cabinets. Use chem sponges on the ceilings as they are harder to clean.
3. Lastly, ozone or hydroxyl the air and pressurize the unit.  This will put product into the wall cavities without opening them up, electrical outlets and any other crevasse that can’t be gotten to.

We are always here to help with any fire, water, mold or trauma loss.