I had a shop fire this weekend and now I'm about to start cleaning up. Most of my hardwood was stacked away from the main fire, but it ended up getting covered in soot, smoke residue, and some water from the firefighters. I'm worried that the chemicals leached from the burning plastics have ruined most of it. Should I try to air it out, or is it better to just claim it all as a loss, alongside my equipment?
3 Answers
Water usually doesn't penetrate wood too deeply in a short amount of time. If you plane off the surface, you might actually find good wood underneath. I've noticed when camping that even damp wood can be dry inside after peeling off a few millimeters.
As someone who's navigated the insurance side of shop fires, my advice is to just list the lumber as destroyed along with your equipment. Figuring out what's salvageable can turn into a huge headache and could delay your insurance process. The chemicals from smoke and fire might render the wood unsafe for client use, making it effectively a total loss. Take the hassle out of it and go for a clean claim, especially if your shop is more personal.
If you're dealing with valuable hardwood, I'd definitely include it in your insurance claim along with everything else lost in the fire. The bigger concern might be the smoke damage and lingering smell, rather than just the moisture from the water used to extinguish the fire.