Any biological substance that poses a threat to you or your family’s health can be considered a bio-hazard. A biohazard can range from the smallest microorganism to a human body or animal body. Removal of a biohazard is often unpleasant work, but National First Response technicians and Disaster Response Team members are versed in the proper procedures for biohazard removal and follow them to the letter. Improper disposal of biohazards can not only place you and your family in jeopardy, but can put everyone as risk.

Biohazards include:

• Sewage backup – The smell from sewage backup is a nuisance, but it’s the microorganisms in the sewage that represent a real danger.
• Blood-borne pathogens – Bodily fluids, tissue, and other pathogenic substances that contaminate a home as a result of accident, trauma, crime or death can endanger you.
• Methamphetamine labs – The chemicals used in the production of this horrific drug are volatile and leave a dangerous residue throughout a home.

Biohazard Clean Up

National First Response technicians are trained to remove bio-hazardous waste and dispose of them in accordance with the standard set forth by local health codes, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Clean Trust (formerly known as the IICRC, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration.

Wearing safety suits and breathing apparatus, and employing the latest cleaning equipment and products, our technicians will completely remove all bio-hazardous waste, will clean, disinfect and deodorize the structure so that the environment is once again safe, clean and habitable.

Although asbestos—a mineral fiber—hasn’t been used in the United States for building materials since the 1970s, it can still pose a danger to you and your family if your home was built before that time. Some common building products that might contain asbestos include:

• Steam pipes
• Boilers
• Furnace ducts
• Resilient floor tiles
• Vinyl sheet flooring
• Cement sheet
• Millboard
• Door gaskets
• Soundproofing or decorative material
• Patching and joint compound
• Textured paints
• Asbestos cement roofing
• Shingles
• Siding
• Insulation

Disaster Response Team

If you suspect that a portion of your home contains asbestos, then, first off, leave it alone. Asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed and it releases fibers.

However, if the suspected item shows signs of wear, tears, abrasions or water damage, then isolate the item (meaning close the space off) and contact National First Response. A member of our Disaster Response Team can more thoroughly seal off the item until it can be confirmed with lab test to, in fact, be asbestos. Our Clean Trust-certified technicians will suggest either permanently sealing the asbestos item or carefully removing the item altogether and clearing the impacted area of any contaminates using an air scrubber and other cleaning equipment. Whichever course of action, you’ll be left with the peace of mind knowing that asbestos will no longer threaten the health of you or your family.

Stay Clear of Asbestos

When asbestos is disturbed—by crumbling, flaking, sanding, cutting or sawing—it creates a fibrous dust that, if inhaled in high levels, can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Inhaled fibers can remain in the lungs for years before creating health problems.

Take all precautions to avoid damaging asbestos material. Never sweep, dust, or vacuum debris that may contain asbestos. Also, don’t saw, sand, scrape, or drill holes in asbestos. Local EPA officials can provide more information about asbestos identification, sealing or removal.

Although a fire may have been contained to a small area, like a kitchen or laundry room, the smoke created from that fire often travels throughout a home. Smoke contains microparticles of corrosive acids—and potentially all manner of toxins in a house fire—that attach to virtually every surface in your home. As time passes, those acids eat away at whatever they are attached to, causing plastics to dry and yellow, countertops to stain, metals to tarnish, furniture finishes to erode, glass and crystal to pit, and clothing, carpeting and upholstery to permanently stain.

Using powerful air scrubbers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, an ozone generator and commercial-strength cleaning techniques and equipment, National First Response technicians eliminate smoke and soot from the air, and the corrosive residue from the walls and from any personal property, preserving:

• Clothing
• Artwork
• Animal taxidermy
• Wood
• Drapery and linens
• Carpet
• Electronics
• Crystal and glass
• Countertops

Hail can do a surprising amount of damage in little time, and if that damage isn’t quickly addressed it can cause expensive problems in the future—a damaged roof is sure to leak and also be that much more susceptible to more storm damage. Hail damage can be tricky to document, so it’s important to get your home inspected quickly by a professional. Insurance companies require very specific information on the extent of the damage, often requiring a minimum number of hail strikes on a roof before they will authorize repairs.

The East and Gulf coasts have hurricanes, the Midwest has tornados and the Southwest is prone to powerful monsoons, or giant monsoons known as haboobs. These short-lived weather events are characterized by high winds, heavy rain and blowing dust. Winds in these events—which arrive in the Southwest from July to September—can exceed 50 miles per hour and can tear shingles off roofs, exposing a home’s interior to rain and flooding. It’s important to address flooding quickly before mold and mildew establish themselves.

Most homeowners in the United States have a standard homeowner’s policy, which provides coverage for water damage but only before the water comes in contact with the ground. Water damage that would typically be covered in a standard homeowner’s policy includes:

• Hail pellets smash your windows, allowing rain to enter your home.
• Heavy rain soaks through your roof, allowing water to get into your attic and ceiling.
• A broken water pipe spews water throughout your kitchen.

What would not be covered, unless you have additional flood insurance would be:

• A nearby river overflows and washes into your home.
• Surface water seeps into the basement because the soil can no longer absorb the heavy rain.
• A flash flood causes the hill next to your house to collapse, causing a mudslide that inundates your property.

To determine if your home is located in a flood plain, contact your local county planning office, which has maps that show areas designated as flood zones.

Securing your home after it’s been impacted by fire or water is a critical step towards its restoration. A fully secured home—whether that means boarding up windows, installing a temporary fence or an alert system—is far less vulnerable to additional damage that could be caused by the elements or criminal opportunists.

Often a fire or flood can leave your home uninhabitable, at least temporarily, and that forced separation can sometimes elevate your sense of uncertainty. National First Response begins to restore your peace by first securing your property. When we do that, you know that nothing else of yours is going to be lost.

Emergency Response Team

When a flood or fire happens at your home, a member of our 24/7 Emergency Response Team will arrive within 60 minutes of your call to begin securing the site. Our experienced technicians will evaluate the situation, and put in place any and all equipment and services to secure your home. We will make sure that only you and the National First Response restoration team have access to your home and your personal property.

• Emergency board-up service
• Temporary perimeter fencing
• Building shrink wrap
• Emergency security personnel
• Emergency alarm service
• Window and door coverage

Better to be Secure

After the fire department or your plumber has dealt with the fire or flood, then you are faced with the question of what to do next. The best answer is to call a trusted restoration expert like National First Response. We draw from our experience of working on hundreds of restoration projects.

In some fire or water disasters, properly restoring a property requires that the contents be removed from the structure. Removing the contents not only ensures that no further damage will occur to them but also allows for more thorough and efficient restoration of the structure and the personal possessions.

Sometimes the greatest damage that comes from a fire or flood isn’t to your home but rather what’s in the home, your personal possessions and furnishings. What can sometimes be damaged are one-of-a-kind items and family heirlooms that, for you, have a value that can’t be measured in dollars. Even when it seems like those items are beyond saving, our expert technicians with National First Response often can restore them to pre-loss condition.

Cleaning and Repairing

We apply the latest in cleaning and restoration techniques to restore your personal items so that we can save as much as we can. If an item can’t be restored, National First Response will include it on a detailed list of the unrecoverable items so you can be fully reimbursed by your insurance carrier.

We can restore just about any personal possession, such as:

• Furnishings
• Clothing
• Electronics
• Artwork
• Vital records
• Appliances
• Trophies
• Taxidermy

Disaster Response Team

Even more so than with your home, it’s important to begin the restoration process as quickly as possible to limit further damage and reverse the impact that the fire and smoke, or water and mold, has had on your personal possessions. Call National First Response any hour of any day with your emergency, and we will have someone from our 24/7 Disaster Response Team—an experienced and Clean Trust-certified technician—respond to you within 60 minutes.

The first phase of the restoration process is about removing damaged structural elements and damaged items, and then cleaning the structure and personal possessions of any remaining acidic soot, water, mold or other contaminates. The final phase of the process is all about reconstruction—rebuilding and repairing those portions of your property damaged from the flood, fire or another event.

Expert and Skilled Craftsmen

Reconstruction is vastly different from building from the ground up and requires different skills and experience than you will find with just any general contractor. The leadership of National First Response has more than 50 years of reconstruction experience and will work closely with you to ensure that the reconstruction is exactly how you want it.

Our expert services include:

• Finish carpentry
• Trim carpentry
• Cabinetmaking
• Framing
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• Plumbing
• Exterior finishing
• Roofing
• Flooring
• Tiling
• Interior finishing
• Interior build-out

Rebuilding Your Home and Your Life

Even if you’ve used another company to dry your home or to rid it of toxic smoke particles, National First Response can finish the job. We will fully restore your home to how it was before the damaging incident occurred (or even better). With materials, design and skill, we ensure that the new construction blends perfectly with the existing structure; it will be as if the catastrophe never happened.