SERVPRO Assists Local Raleigh Property Owners Needing Fire Damage Restoration

1/13/2021 (Permalink)

Fire damage of any size is no DIY project. Call the pros at SERVPRO. Their technicians are IICRC certified and trained for all size fires.

Raleigh Residences Benefit From Professional Fire Damage Restoration

Raleigh, also known as the "City of Oaks" due to many oak trees in the area, has a long history compared to many cities of a similar size in the U.S. The town, named for Sir Walter Raleigh, was established in 1788, although he had never set foot in the area and had died in the early 1600s. Sir Raleigh sponsored two attempted settlements in North Carolina, including the mysterious Roanoke Colony. The first settlement failed due to a lack of planning for supplies and poor relationships with the local Native American tribes. The second attempt at establishing an English colony went even worse when the entire population of 121 colonists disappeared without a clue as to what happened. Their fate remains unknown in the present, and the mystery has inspired several books, movies, and television shows such as "American Horror Story: Roanoke."

History Still Stands in Raleigh

Downtown Raleigh has the oldest standing house in the state that also happens to be the birthplace of the 17th President of the United States, Andrew Johnson. The house, known as the Mordecai House, is small and kept historically accurate for tours. 

Yates Mill is still in operational order and stands as the last functioning water-powered gristmill in Wake County. The mill had stood since the 18th century and underwent a full restoration when it and the surrounding land got developed as a 174-acre park. 

Just south of the Mordecai House is the area of the town known as Historic Oakwood. This neighborhood, located in downtown Raleigh, has a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Along with Oakwood Cemetery, this area has a host of unique houses with Victorian-era architectural styles to view, including: 

• Second Empire
• Queen Anne
• Italianate

Chavis Park dedicated 100 years after the death of its namesake. The park, designed by G. Robert Derick, who was a National Park Service landscape architect. Along with paths, bridges, and a rustic look, the park also has a vintage Allan Herschell carousel, a pool, a bathhouse, and places for visitors to have picnics. The carousel features a working Wurlitzer 146A band organ, oil paintings of waterfalls, and other natural scenes on the cylinder, and has thirty-six jumping, hand-carved, hand-painted horses. The park got named in honor of John Chavis, who lived from 1763-1838. He was a free Black educator and later became a Presbyterian minister. He became the first African American to graduate with a degree from college. He saw the need for blacks to access educational facilities and founded a private school that accepted students of any ethnic background. In 1802, Chavis applied for his freeman's papers, and the court ruled in his favor that he should receive them. 

As a genuinely free man with his freeman's papers, Chavis established his Raleigh congregation. Both blacks and whites were welcome to attend services even though some of the attendees were current slaveowners. He put advertisements in the local Ralegh newspaper to encourage enrollment in his school. He saw no reason black and white children could not learn together in classrooms; however, some parents complained about this arrangement. He switched to separating the kids and teaching one group in the morning and one group at night. Students learned a classical education, including studying Latin and Greek. The school became known as one of the best in the state of North Carolina, and prominent Southern families sent their children to it, including: 

• Priestly H. Mangum, brother of Senator Willie P. Mangum
• Archibald E. Henderson, son of Chief Justice Henderson; 
• Governor Charles Manly
• Dr. James L. Wortham
• Abraham Rencher, Minister of Portugal and Territorial Governor of New Mexico

Although Andrew Jackson hailed from Raleigh, Chavis held an immense dislike for Jackson's administration's policies. To uphold his position as a freeman, he often had one public opinion. He quietly confided what his true feelings were about matters privately to friends, so his personal views did not take away from the good his school and church contributed to the community. After the Turner Slave Rebellion in 1837, the pro-slave states quickly enacted laws that forbade both indentured and free blacks to preach, thus ending the career Chavis had devoted much to his life. In June 1838, Chavis died, and it is still unclear about the circumstances surrounding his death, although investigators suspected foul play. 

Can Soot-Covered Items Get Saved Through Fire Damage Restoration in Raleigh Homes?

After a fire occurs in a Raleigh home, the first look before fire damage restoration services begin can seem overwhelming. When SERVPRO techs arrive, they view the same scene, but they see each part of the home's potential and the contents for cleaning and reuse. 

The technicians have a streamlined process for cleaning up the home in an organized fashion. It starts with removing the charred building materials with zero possibility of returning to a state where they can get reused in the home. Then outside the house, the techs scope to make sure exterior damages have no occurred and perform any needed temporary repairs to stop rain from entering the home. Stations where items get taken for cleaning outside the work area, is a typical setup. 

Several actions need to occur before the real cleaning begins, such as: 

• Testing of residues to determine the type of smoke left behind
• Determination of materials that make up the surfaces to ensure the best removal method gets chosen
• Set up of containment to halt the spread of soot to other areas of the property

This attention to detail ensures that each restoration service performed has the best outcome. The techs always work with the mindset of saving property owners the cost of replacement for items whenever possible through SERVPRO's advanced cleaning applications. It is not unusual for multiple types of testing to get done before taking action.  

SERVPRO of East Raleigh / Zebulon at (919) 250-0455 supports the local community with fast action on any size needed fire damage restoration in Raleigh properties and make the damage to the home "Like it never even happened."