Wood shop fire, smoke damage ?'s

[d8nk]

My air compressor seized 2 nights ago and the motor kept running. The motors built in protection didn't trip, the circuit it was on had GFCI protection and didn't trip, and last, the circuit breaker at the panel did not trip. So I entered the shop to a noise you never want to hear coming from your equipment and the room was filled from floor to ceiling with thick blackish blue smoke.

The belt melted, started on fire and melted the plastic belt guard. After clearing the smoke out of the shop, I am left with a horrible smelling shop. What was once a great smell of wood is now a sickening smell of burnt petroleum based products. I have a professional restoration specialist coming out tomorrow to quote a clean-up as everything is coated in a fine soot. The reason I am on here is I am wondering what folks opinions are on my lumber stock. Is is salvageable? Will the smell ever go away as it seems to have penetrated everything? Has anyone ever had smoke damage to a wood shop and seen the effects of smoke on lumber? Any other insights to my situation? Thanks in advance for any help!

-noah

edit: I forgot to mention I build Non-toxic children's furniture etc. and I am very concerned about the toxicity of this smoke and the effect on my lumber stock.

[Vic]

I wouldn't worry too much about the it penetrating too deep on your lumber stock. It will only be in the first layer or so. I'm glad all you experienced was smoke damage!

[Gfolley]

Vic is correct about the first few layers. Just a warning, I had a fire in my house and the only way to get rid of the smell is to seal everything. The restoration company had to gut the house down to the studs and sealed them with Kilz before rebuilding. I don't think you will need that extensive a restoration as you did not have the heat build-up. Definatly get your insurance involved as electronics don't like heavy smoke, that includes motors. After over 30 years in the fire service it sounds like all you will need is a good cleaning / washdown to take care of the smell. Hope all works out for you, the restoration company should give you some recomendations for what to use for cleaning. If I can give you any advice, just drop me a line.

Glenn

[d8nk]

Thanks for the advice guys! Hard on motors huh... SO all the power tools, do I need to worry about damage to them? I also have a small office set up out there with computer, screen, all-in-one printer scan fax, nice stereo. I will make sure and mention it today when the expert comes.

I have one other question on the wood. Quite a bit of my stock is nice hardwood ply for cabinets. When you say "just the first few layers" that concerns me because for all of that stock a light sanding is all they see. Also I have a lot of pieces that are already milled to final size. Once again, light sanding is all they will see as well. Do you think that will be an issue? And what about all the current projects in progress? I am concerned about giving someone a product that is supposed to be non-toxic and it has plastic infused into the top layer of it. What do you think??

[Gfolley]

On the power tools and electronics, it depends how much of the soot got inside. The soot contains carbon that can cause shorts as well as corosive properties. A good cleaning can salvage most of the equipment if the amount of soot is not to bad. As for your ply stock for cabinets I would think that your protective finish will seal the wood. The soot drops out of the air as it cools so if the stock is stacked only the top layer is effected.

Hope this helps.

Glenn

[jHop]

I worked (briefly) for a pair of companies that handle cleaning. One was a franchise-based general cleaning company, and another was a "flood damage restoration" company. While I was in the office for the first, I was in the field for the second. Both relied heavily on chemicals for cleaning. If you do use a restoration company, see if you can get a hold of a list of the chemical ingredients to their cleaning compounds.

The damage restoration company also did not do the rebuilding I was expecting; they subcontracted certain parts of that out to other companies.

while some companies use very safe chemicals, and some use "green" chemical components, not every company and not every chemical is the same. Some work you can do yourself, using vinegar and baking soda. (not necessarily mixed together, either.)

Steam cleaning will take care of quite a bit. And the best part of steam cleaning is that the wood fibers will recover.

and get references before you sign a contract with the cleaning company. See if your insurance company has any they recommend, but don't automatically assume they are the best available. They may simply be on the list because they use "approved" materials or offer a higher discount to the insurance company than others. They may also be the fastest to reclaim damaged areas, because they have the most up-to-date equipment.

[d8nk]

Great advice and input guys. The contractor who was out today says they want to suck all the insulation out of the shop attic (there was an opening going up there for storage) as it probably is contaminated. They then spray a sealer on all the roof sheathing and trusses and replace all the insulation. They are also going to clean everything in the shop floor to ceiling. Sounds like quite the operation. They also felt that all my equipment would be ok with a good cleaning as well as the wood. I think everything is going to work out in the end. I just will be without a shop for a little while:-( I was in the middle of some key projects too... One of them being a new custom door and jamb for my 1 and only bathroom in the house. So on will go the door-less bathroom...

[d8nk]

UPDATE :

After a few weeks of airing out and making some cuts etc all is back to normal. Smells are gone, no major damage! I lucked out on this one:-)