Fire Damage Restoration · Cartersville, GA
A fire-gutted townhome in Cartersville
Fire and smoke ran through all three levels of this Cartersville townhome and up into the attic. We took it down to the framing, cleaned and deodorized every surface, and sealed it for rebuild, working straight through a run of winter storms.
The flames did the obvious damage, but smoke and soot travel a lot further than fire does, working into the insulation, the ductwork, and every surface in rooms the fire never touched. That is what made this a full gut and restore to IICRC S700 fire and smoke standards rather than a patch on the rooms that burned.
“My home was a total loss due to a house fire, and the scope of work was intense and overwhelming. Despite the size of the job, they tackled it with incredible speed and precision, completing both the demolition and restoration in record time. What stood out most was their communication, every step of the way was handled with clarity, care, and consistency. It was a perfect example of what true top-tier customer service looks like.”
How the job went
Walking a gutted townhome
This was a middle unit in a townhome, and the fire and smoke had gone through all three levels and into the attic. The garage, kitchen and foyer took the worst of the heat and soot, the living and dining rooms were coated in an even film of smoke, and every room upstairs had residue on it. We arrived to no power, no working HVAC, almost no light, and real hazards underfoot: hanging drywall, broken glass, uneven footing. Because it shares walls with neighbors, we also checked the shared wall lines for smoke pushing into the units next door.
Bringing our own power and light
With the electricity off and the HVAC dead, we ran the whole job on generators, with power distribution boxes and temporary lighting strung through the structure so the crew could work safely. Once the site was powered and lit, we cleared out the approved contents and appliances and pulled the doors, casings, baseboards, trim, light fixtures and countertops, disconnecting plumbing where we needed to.
A full gut to the framing
Soot does not stay on the surface. When we pulled the insulation behind the ceilings it was blackened straight through, which confirmed everything had to come out. We took the upstairs down to framing room by room, then the downstairs and garage, and removed close to all of the insulation in the house including the entire attic. The HVAC ducting came out too, more of it than we expected, because soot and odor travel through the ducts and settle deep inside them.
Working through the winter
This one ran through January and into February, and the weather fought us the whole way. Winter storms shut the site down on several days, and with no working heat in the building we brought in temporary heaters just to keep cleaning possible in the cold. HEPA filtration ran the entire time to keep the air under control, and we worked the schedule around the storms and a few other emergencies that pulled crews away.
Cleaning every surface, top to bottom
With the structure stripped to framing, we cleaned from the top down. First a thorough HEPA vacuum of all the framing, joists and exposed surfaces to lift the loose soot and particulate, then hand cleaning every surface with rags, drill brushes and degreasers made for fire and smoke residue. We worked the upstairs first, then the kitchen, living areas, foyer and garage downstairs, until the framing throughout was genuinely clean again.
Deodorizing and sealing it in
Smoke odor settles deep into the material, and wiping everything down won't pull it back out. We ran vapor-phase deodorization to neutralize the smell that cleaning alone leaves behind, then sealed the cleaned framing with an encapsulant to lock down any last trace of soot and odor. The upstairs took one coat. The garage, kitchen and foyer, where the smoke and soot had been heaviest, got two. By the end the structure was clean, sealed and ready to be rebuilt.
