Fire Damaged Contents Restoration: Salvage and Recovery Methods

Fire damaged contents restoration covers the systematic salvage, cleaning, deodorizing, and recovery of personal property and furnishings affected by fire, smoke, soot, and firefighting water. This page outlines the classification of restorable versus non-restorable items, the techniques applied at each phase of recovery, and the standards governing safe handling. Understanding these methods is central to informed decision-making during the fire damage assessment and inspection process and throughout the broader fire damage restoration process overview.

Definition and scope

Contents restoration refers to the treatment of movable property — furniture, clothing, electronics, documents, art, and household goods — that has been exposed to fire, combustion byproducts, or suppression water. It is distinct from structural restoration, which addresses walls, framing, and fixed building components covered under structural fire damage restoration.

The scope of a contents restoration project is defined by three exposure categories:

1. Direct flame contact — Items in or adjacent to the fire origin zone, typically showing charring, melting, or complete combustion.
2. Smoke and soot exposure — Items at distance from the fire origin that have absorbed particulate matter, acrolein, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) carried by smoke migration.
3. Water and suppressant exposure — Items saturated by fire hose discharge or automatic sprinkler systems, creating secondary damage requiring drying and microbial treatment.

The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC S700), which governs residential and commercial contents cleaning, classifies items by material composition and contamination level to determine appropriate treatment pathways. The IICRC S500 standard also applies where suppression water has created Category 2 or Category 3 water intrusion alongside fire damage.

How it works

Contents restoration follows a structured sequence that begins before any cleaning takes place.

Phase 1 — Inventory and documentation
Every item in the affected area is catalogued, photographed, and assigned a condition code. This inventory supports the fire damage insurance claims and restoration process and establishes a chain of custody for high-value items.

Phase 2 — Pack-out and transport
Salvageable contents are removed from the structure to a controlled restoration facility. Pack-out protects items from ongoing soot migration, humidity fluctuations, and secondary mold risk — a hazard detailed in mold risk after fire damage restoration.

Phase 3 — Cleaning and decontamination
Cleaning methods are matched to material type:

• Ultrasonic cleaning — High-frequency sound waves in a liquid bath remove soot and residue from hard, non-porous items including metal, ceramics, glass, and some electronics without abrasive contact.
• Dry-ice blasting — Pressurized CO₂ pellets strip soot from surfaces where water is contraindicated.
• Wet cleaning and foam cleaning — Applied to textiles, upholstery, and painted surfaces using pH-balanced detergents.
• Specialized document recovery — Freeze-drying (vacuum lyophilization) is the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recommended method for wet or smoke-damaged paper records.

Phase 4 — Deodorization
Smoke odor compounds bond at the molecular level to porous materials. Thermal fogging, hydroxyl generator treatment, and ozone chambers are deployed depending on material sensitivity — methods explored in depth at thermal fogging and ozone treatment for fire odor and odor removal after fire damage.

Phase 5 — Pack-back and return
Restored items are returned to the structure after the building environment passes clearance criteria for air quality, as described under air quality testing after fire damage.

Common scenarios

Residential kitchen fire
Grease fires generate dense acrolein-laden smoke that penetrates cabinets, upholstery, and clothing throughout the home. Soft goods typically require wet cleaning or ozone treatment; hard goods respond to ultrasonic methods. Electronics in adjacent rooms may be recoverable if addressed within 48–72 hours before corrosive soot causes oxidation damage.

Wildfire smoke intrusion
Structures in wildfire perimeters that survive without direct flame contact still accumulate fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at hazardous concentrations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies wildfire smoke as a complex mixture requiring surface wipe-down and HEPA vacuuming of all porous materials before reoccupation.

Commercial office or retail fire
Electronic equipment, servers, and document archives present both contents and liability concerns. The document and electronics recovery after fire process addresses data preservation protocols alongside physical restoration. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120) hazardous waste operations standards govern worker protection during soot removal in commercial settings where chemical accelerants may have been present.

Decision boundaries

Not all fire-affected items are candidates for restoration. The primary decision framework contrasts restoration eligibility against total loss designation:

Actual cash value (ACV) is the threshold most property insurance policies apply when determining whether restoration or replacement is authorized — a distinction covered under fire damage restoration vs. replacement. Items containing asbestos insulation or lead-based finishes require hazardous material abatement under EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP, 40 CFR Part 61) before any cleaning work proceeds, as outlined at asbestos and lead concerns in fire damage restoration.

Items in the direct flame zone with full-depth charring, melted substrates, or biological contamination exceeding IICRC Category 3 thresholds are typically designated non-restorable. The total loss fire damage vs. restoration eligibility framework provides additional classification criteria for borderline cases.

References

• IICRC S700 Standard for Professional Content Cleaning
• IICRC S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration
• U.S. EPA — Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
• U.S. EPA — NESHAP, 40 CFR Part 61 (Asbestos)
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) — Preservation and Disaster Preparedness