Fire & Smoke Damage - Effective clean up & restoration

The damage fires inflict on businesses and homes is often devastating and can leave businesses out of action for an extended period of time.

The initial visual damage caused by a fire can be distressing enough without the secondary effects such as:

• Soot odour 
• Health problems 
• Corrosion

Soot or odour can be absorbed into porous surfaces and if not removed may migrate back to the surface, months or even years later. It is therefore very important to ensure that any absorbed soot or residual chemicals are removed prior to attending to the aesthetic cleaning.

The most damaging components of any fire are the fuel, available oxygen and time. Fuel can be anything from chip pan oil to upholstery and construction fabrics; in fact food fires are one of the hardest cleans. Low oxygen fires where fire occurred in a closed environment often leave soot particles that are wet or greasy and difficult to remove due to incomplete combustion.

High oxygen fires usually result in little soot, which is relatively easy to remove. There is usually a fall out when the soot reaches cooler, lower or different pressure areas. 

When a fire occurs, porous surfaces expand and allow the soot and odours to enter. Once the surface begins to cool, the pores will then close, trapping in the soot and odours. If cleaning and decorating is not carried out correctly, when the air temperature rises, odours may again be released from the opening pores.

Smoke usually goes from hot to cold areas, high pressure to low pressure areas meaning soot can travel far from where the initial fire began. It is worth checking cupboards, corners and drawers.

Rentokil Specialist Hygiene celebrates success in the RoSPA Awards 2012 for its approach to the prevention of accidents and ill health recognised in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2012. The Gold Medal (6 consecutive Golds) award will be presented at a ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, at the National Exhibition Centre, on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Dating back to 1956, the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards scheme is the largest and longest-running programme of its kind in the UK. It recognises commitment to accident and ill health prevention and is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas. The scheme does not just look at accident records, but also entrants’ overarching health and safety management systems, including important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement. David Rawlins, awards manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), a safety charity with a 95-year history, said: “The RoSPA Awards programme provides well-deserved recognition for the winners and spurs on other organisations to raise their standards of accident and ill health prevention. We congratulate Rentokil Specialist Hygiene on its success and encourage it, and all our other winners, to remain committed to safety and health, an approach that is well recognised to be good for workers and the bottom line.”     Adam Wilkinson, Compliance and Quality Manager said: "It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have been awarded the Gold Award for the 6th consecutive year in the 2012 RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards. This is testament to all the hardwork done by everyone in the division to continually improve the standard of health and safety in Rentokil Specialist Hygiene. Health and Safety is our number one priority as a business and it's this attitude that allows us to achieve this award." The majority of RoSPA’s awards are non-competitive, marking achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Organisations maintaining high standards can win gold medals, president’s awards and orders of distinction. Competitive awards are presented in more than 20 sectors, and specialist awards recognise excellence in specific areas, such as the management of occupational road risk. The headline sponsor for the RoSPA Awards 2012 is NEBOSH (the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health). Sponsors of specialist trophies are: The Workforce Involvement in Safety and Health Trophy - Westinghouse Springfields Fuels Ltd; The International Dilmun Environmental Award - Gulf Petrochemicals Industry Company of Bahrain; The Managing Occupational Road Risk Trophy - Allianz Insurance plc; The SME Assistance Trophy - BHSF; and, The Astor Trophy (occupational health) - airsweb. Three days of award ceremonies and three gala evening dinners will be held in Birmingham from May 15-17, alongside Safety and Health Expo 2012, which is Europe’s leading annual health and safety exhibition. An award ceremony and gala dinner will also take place in Glasgow on September 20. See www.rospa.com/awards/ for more information about the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards.

House Clearance Case Study - Specialist Disinfection

 

 

The Customer
We received a phone call from a relative of a recently deceased elderly lady.  

They requested a quote for complete removal of all items within the property that the lady had occupied for over 50 years.

Response 

We were ready to begin work 24 hours later. We met the customer at the property the following day to assess the work, so an accurate quote for clearance could be provided. Once the quotation and timeframe were accepted, work would commence within 24 hours.

Details
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a living room and kitchen; filled with over 6 feet of rubbish. The rubbish spilled out on to the path and garden at both the front and rear of the premises. There were mountains of food packaging, newspapers, carrier bags and electricals. 

This type of job is hazardous for obvious reasons but sharps, diseases from animal faeces and general health and safety was a serious concern. The customer was made aware that a quotation could only be calculated by estimation due to blocked access. We estimated that to empty the property, it would take 144 hours; equating to 1 week, 4 technicians and 2 vans.

Outcome 

“We’ve never seen a property this bad.”

We were unable to ascertain exactly how much work was required upstairs, as there was extensive rubbish blocking our access. Therefore, the duration of the job was extended. 

After 352 hours, over 2 weeks, with 4 technicians and 19 van loads of rubbish, the job was complete. Our technicians with collectively more than 12 years experience, stated that they had never seen or dealt with a property this extreme.

Customer Comment
" Your guys deserve a medal for this."

Golden Service Award Winners 2011 - 'Best Specialist Cleaning Company'

The Golden Service Awards recognises excellence in the cleaning and support services industry. The awards provide a benchmark for quality and identify an organisation as a leader in its field.

The award is presented to the Company that has delivered excellence in health & safety, the highest quality customer service, evidence of first class staff training and sustainable operations. We gratefully accepted the award for ‘Best Specialist Cleaning Company’ for our work with Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals over the last 4 years.

Rob Sanderson, Chief Building Officer, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: 

“The Company has proven itself to have a successful relationship with the Trust, achieving ongoing targets for cleanliness. Rentokil have approached this contract in an entirely professional manner, and has always achieved the very highest standards.”

With over 50 years experience in providing hygiene services, Rentokil can tailor a solution that meets your needs without allowing hygiene issues to impact your productivity. We will review all cleaning practices, from health and safety through to compliance, and show you tasks that are not being performed to standards, highlighting and recommending areas for improvement.

Add Rentokil Specialist Hygiene to your emergency contact list today or call us on 0845 60 20 900 to discuss contract options or visit us online www.rentokil-hygiene.co.uk

Norovirus Outbreaks up 20%

In December 2011, the extremely contagious winter vomiting bug has affected 35 hospitals, shutting 27 wards with 3 hospitals reporting 124 beds unavailable as a result.

46 outbreaks were reported in the last two weeks of December 2011, compared to 35 in the previous fortnight. Enquiries from worried patients are up 60% and an average of 4.4% of calls to NHS Direct is regarding vomiting.

In January 2012, over 20 hospitals introduced infection control measures by shutting wards, applying visitor restrictions and some are even handing out face masks.

Epsom Hospital in Surrey reported 29 patients with the bug with 75 out of 243 beds affected. Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge reported 4 wards closed and a number of bays in a further four wards closed.

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that are one of the most common stomach bugs in the UK and causes intestinal flu. This virus is transferred person to person via contaminated food or water. It is highly contagious and can affect people of all ages. Over 600,000 people in the UK catch Norovirus each year. This virus also contributes to 90% of Gastroenteritis around the world.

Outbreaks of an infectious virus can happen anywhere however, hospitals, care homes and doctors surgeries are at a particularly high risk. It can happen at any time so ensuring continuous high hygiene standards to prevent the spread of infection is incredibly important and business critical.

We are here to help!

Our award winning Infection Control service is available 24/7 for rapid response to contagious outbreaks. Our comprehensive cleaning service will keep the hygiene standards at a high level and will keep your premises compliant with Infection Control Guidelines. In addition, we ensure minimal disruption to your productivity, while adhering to health and safety regulations.

We have the knowledge, expertise and equipment to tailor to every cleaning situation. Our team is available 24 hours a day to deal with your requirements quickly and cost-effectively.

For more information visit our website www.rentokil-hygiene.co.uk