Available 24/7 · Portland and nearby areas
A kitchen fire, a furnace puffback, or wildfire smoke can leave soot and odor through your home. Our crew handles fire and smoke damage restoration in Portland, OR, from soot cleanup to repairs. Call any time, day or night.
Call (503) 746-3513
We work with all major insurance carriers
Fire damage help
Soot is acidic. Left on a surface, it keeps staining paint, yellowing grout, tarnishing metal, and over time etching glass. Surfaces that clean up well in the first few days can stain for good if the soot sits.
Portland’s older homes have a lot of places for smoke to hide. Older homes often have basements, open stairways, and attic spaces where smoke settles far from where the fire started.
Wildfire smoke is part of late summer here. Fires in the Cascades or the Coast Range can leave Portland under smoke for days. A fine film can settle in homes where no flame ever reached.
Homeowners, property managers, and business owners across Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Clark, Columbia, and Yamhill counties call us after fires all year round.
Call Now (503) 746-3513Securing the house, basement water removal, soot and wildfire ash cleanup, odor treatment, and repairs.
A smoke-only cleanup can take days. A burned kitchen or rebuilt walls in an older home takes several weeks.
We look at how far smoke spread through basements and attics, what can be saved, drying needs, and the rebuild.
A free inspection and estimate before any work starts.
The first 24 hours
Portland Fire & Rescue, or the department that responded, decides when it’s safe to go back in. After that, these steps protect your family, your belongings, and your claim.
Not sure what’s safe to touch? Call and walk through it with our crew.
Call (503) 746-3513Fire can weaken floors and ceilings in ways you can’t see. Stay out until the fire department says it’s safe.
Take photos and video of every room, closet, and the garage before anything is moved or thrown out.
Open a claim and write down the claim number and your adjuster’s name. Ask Portland Fire & Rescue for the incident report too.
Hotel stays, meals, and supplies may be covered by your policy’s loss-of-use coverage.
On heavy smoke days, close up the house so less ash gets inside.
Water and household cleaners smear soot into paint and fabric and can set the stain for good.
It can pull soot from one room and blow it through the whole house. Leave it off until the ducts are checked.
The USDA says to throw out food exposed to heat, smoke, or firefighting chemicals, including food in the fridge, since the door seal isn’t airtight.
Heat, water, and soot can damage them inside. Have them checked first.
Leave that to your power company (PGE or Pacific Power), NW Natural, or a licensed electrician.
Common fire damage
Older housing, a long heating season, and summer wildfire smoke shape the fires we see across the Portland metro.
A pan fire in a bungalow kitchen can coat cabinets, plaster ceilings, and built-ins with a sticky, yellowish film that holds its smell.
An oil or gas furnace in the basement that misfires can force fine soot along the ducts and into every floor register.
Knob-and-tube wiring is still found in older Portland homes, and with space heaters it can start a fire behind plaster.
Smoke from fires in the Cascades and Coast Range can blanket the metro for days, leaving fine ash in vents, carpets, and fabrics.
When a basement dryer vent in a Portland home clogs with lint, a fire can start below the living space.
Hose water soaks plaster, fir floors, and basement belongings. Portland’s damp weather makes quick drying essential to stop mold.
How we clean
Lingering smoke odor means residue is still on plaster, old-growth trim, insulation, carpet pad, or ductwork. Air fresheners can’t reach it.
Older finishes get tested first. Plaster, shellacked fir, and painted built-ins can be damaged by the wrong cleaner, so each gets a trial spot.
Dry soot removal comes first. HEPA vacuums and dry sponges lift loose residue without grinding it into the grain.
Last, the source of the odor. Floor joists, subfloor, and basement ductwork that absorbed smoke are deodorized, and saturated insulation comes out. Some treatments need an empty house, so we book them with you.
Usually fromHot, fast fires in dry wood or paper
How it behavesA dusty film that HEPA vacuums capture.
Usually fromSlow fires in plastic, vinyl, and old wiring
How it behavesA greasy coating that smears on plaster.
Usually fromSmoke from Cascade or Coast Range fires
How it behavesFine gray powder in vents and on sills.
Usually fromA basement furnace that misfired
How it behavesOily soot ringing every floor register.
What can be saved
In Portland’s older homes, outcomes depend on the material, how near the fire it was, and how fast cleanup starts in the damp. Here’s what usually happens, and the inspection confirms it.
Leaded glass, tile, and fixtures usually clean if soot is removed promptly.
Lath-and-plaster walls usually clean up, though they can hold smoke odor. An odor-sealing primer and new paint handle what’s left.
Smoke-stained drywall in additions and basements can often be cleaned and sealed. Burned or soaked sections come out.
Old-growth fir often cleans beautifully with the right method. Heat-blistered finishes may need refinishing.
Smoke-odor laundering saves most fabrics. Burned or melted items can’t be restored.
Couches and rugs with light smoke or ash can often be deodorized. If hoses soaked them, they’re usually replaced.
Soot in damp air corrodes circuits, so have them tested before use.
Keep them dry and flat, away from a damp basement. Specialists can often restore them.
Old-growth joists with surface char can often be cleaned and sealed. Wood the fire burned into is replaced.
They hold smoke and moisture too deeply to clean, so they’re removed.
Toss food from the kitchen or basement pantry if it was near the fire, and check medications with a pharmacist.
If rooms need heavy cleaning or a rebuild, we can pack out your belongings as a separate service. Ask about it during your free inspection.
Items we can’t restore are photographed and listed on a separate sheet for your adjuster.
Help beyond the fire
Every job starts with a free inspection and estimate. Fire damage rarely comes alone, so the same team handles what comes with it.
Firefighting water reaches Portland basements, soaking the plaster and fir floors. We extract the standing water, set up dehumidifiers and air movers, and take moisture readings every day until the floors and framing test dry.
More about Water Damage Restoration
In the damp months, wet basement walls can grow mold quickly after a fire. We find the moisture source, contain the area, remove the mold, and dry the space out.
More about Mold Remediation
Winter windstorms and ice storms bring down limbs and damage roofs. We dry the structure, remove damaged materials, and repair the ceilings and walls inside.
More about Storm Damage
Alberta Street cafes and Pearl District offices need smoke damage cleaned before customers come back. We extract, dry, and clean on a plan built around reopening, and we document each step for your carrier.
More about Commercial Restoration
When you’re ready to rebuild, the same crew puts it back together, from drywall to cabinets to the final coat of paint, so there’s no second contractor to hire.
More about ReconstructionCall and talk to our crew about what happened. The call is free, and so is the inspection.
Our process
Call (503) 746-3513 any time, day or night, including weekends and holidays. Tell us what happened and whether the fire department has cleared the house. We’ll send a crew right away.
We board up broken windows and doors and tarp openings in the roof, so rain and intruders stay out while the work is planned.
The 24 Hour Flood Pros team traces how far the soot and smoke went, room by room, including closets, the attic, and the ducts. We use moisture meters to find hose water inside walls and under floors. We photograph all the damage for your insurance. The inspection is free.
We pump out standing water and set up drying equipment. Rooms the smoke didn’t reach get closed off with plastic, so soot doesn’t follow us through the house.
Materials that can’t be saved, like charred drywall and soaked insulation, come out. If you need belongings packed out, we can do that as a separate service.
Soot comes off with dry methods first, then wet cleaning matched to each surface. With the residue gone, we treat the smell in the materials and ducts that soaked it up.
When you’re ready, the 24 Hour Flood Pros team fixes the damage. We replace drywall, install cabinets, and finish with fresh paint. Our goal is to make your home look the way it did before.
Before we sign off a room, we check surfaces in strong light and wipe-test them for leftover residue. Then we walk through with you, with the furnace running for a smell check, and send the final records to your insurance company to close out the claim.
After a heavy smoke week, ash can settle on sills, vents, and furniture even with the windows closed. Call us for a free inspection.
Insurance and claims
We work with all major insurance carriers, including State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, American Family, Travelers, and Nationwide. Documentation starts on the first visit, and your adjuster can call us directly with questions.
Your policy decides what’s covered, not us. Our job is keeping the paperwork clear enough that your claim doesn’t stall. We bill your insurance directly for damage your policy covers.
Many homeowners policies also include loss-of-use coverage, sometimes called additional living expenses, for a hotel or rental while the house is repaired. Ask your adjuster what yours includes before you book anything.
If a claim stalls, you can file a complaint with Oregon’s Division of Financial Regulation.
Where we work
We serve Portland, its suburbs, and nearby southwest Washington.
Don’t see your area listed? Call us and we’ll tell you right away.
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Common questions
A crew can be there within 45 minutes. We work 24/7, including nights, weekends, and holidays. If the fire department hasn’t cleared the house yet, we’ll talk you through what to do until it does.
Not until it’s been checked, and often not in the rooms closest to the fire. Soot in the air irritates your lungs, and burned floors, ceilings, and wiring can be unsafe. After the inspection, we’ll tell you which areas are safe to use and whether it makes sense to stay somewhere else during the work.
In most homes, yes, once the residue is cleaned off and the materials that soaked up smoke are treated or removed. A smell that keeps coming back usually means residue was missed, often in the ducts, the insulation, or inside cabinets. That’s why our final walkthrough includes a smell check with the heat or air running.
A light film on a small area, maybe. Anything more, we don’t recommend it. Wiping soot with water or household cleaners usually smears it into paint and grout and can set the stain. Soot is also acidic and irritating, so it shouldn’t be handled without gloves and a respirator.
Most standard homeowners policies cover sudden fires, including smoke damage and water damage from putting the fire out. Limits, deductibles, and exclusions vary, so check your policy or ask your agent.
It depends on how far the soot and smoke spread, what can be cleaned or has to be replaced, how much water needs drying, and how much has to be rebuilt. One smoky room costs far less than a kitchen fire that reached the attic. The inspection and estimate are free, so you know the cost before any work starts.
Light smoke damage in a room or two can take a few days. A fire that needs walls, cabinets, or floors rebuilt can take several weeks or longer, depending on the scope, permits, and insurance approvals. Your estimate includes a schedule.
For fires inside the City of Portland, request the incident report from Portland Fire & Rescue. Many nearby cities and counties run their own fire departments, so ask the department that responded.
Yes. We restore offices, restaurants, shops, and other commercial buildings, and we plan the work around getting you reopened. See our commercial restoration page for more.
Available 24/7
Day or night, weekend or holiday, call (503) 746-3513. A crew can be there within 45 minutes to start your free inspection.
Call (503) 746-3513Tell us what happened and we'll call you right back.