Damages of soot and smoked materials in the property

2/28/2022 (Permalink)

Damage may be spread by the suspended smoke and soot particles in the air - they are attracted to cold surfaces and will often travel away from the fire source and settle on colder surfaces, such as walls that border the exterior of a building or the top corners of a room. This is always why you see the black ‘soot webs’ after fires, which is not spider webs covered in soot but is in fact only soot particles that have ionized together into a web-like form in a colder area of the structure. 

Once soot particles combine with atmospheric water vapor, it becomes acidic, which can be very corrosive to any material surfaces. Neutralization of acid residues is a fundamental procedure to early forms of corrosion prevention. 

Because smoke and soot are very invasive and can penetrate various cavities in a structure, HVAC systems and their ductwork can be a concern after a fire. Often, ductwork already contains dust and debris collection, which soot can attach to and contaminate. This causes odor as well as corrosive damage to the material surfaces.