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Fire & Smoke Restoration
Soot, char, and odour removal from brick, masonry, framing, and HVAC after fire damage. Faster than scrubbing or chemical wash — the ice sublimates on impact, so there’s no blast-media residue to rinse off or contain.
Insurance-grade restoration, with a faster timeline
After a fire, the clock starts immediately. Soot is acidic and starts attacking metal, electronics, and finishes the moment the firefighters leave. Smoke odours seep into porous materials — brick, mortar, framing, drywall, ductwork — and become harder to remove every day.
Conventional methods are slow: hand-scrubbing surfaces, applying odour-encapsulating sealers, replacing materials that could be saved. Each method either takes too long, leaves residue, or both.
Dry ice blasting has become a go-to method for industrial and commercial fire restoration because it removes soot and odour-bearing material at the surface — no scrubbing, no chemicals, no water, no wholesale replacement.
What we restore
- Brick and masonry exteriors and interiors — soot removed, original tone preserved.
- Structural framing — wood and steel cleaned in place — structurally sound members can often stay in service instead of being torn out and replaced.
- HVAC and ductwork — soot and odour-bearing dust removed from ducts, dampers, and grilles.
- Electrical equipment — non-conductive CO2 cleaning of motors, panels, and switchgear — with lockout and energization decisions coordinated with your electrical team.
- Manufacturing equipment — production lines back to service with minimal teardown — most equipment cleaned in place.
- Concrete floors and walls — soot lifted without sealing it in.
For insurance adjusters & restoration GCs
- Insurance & WSIB documentation — see Credentials for clearance certificates and proof of coverage.
- Documented scope — pre-job photos, work logs, post-job photos for claim files.
- Emergency mobilization — fire calls jump the queue, typically on site across Southwestern Ontario within 24 hours.
- Coordination with environmental and air-quality consultants as required by the claim.
Why dry ice blasting beats traditional fire restoration
- Speed. Wickens publishes 60–80% reductions in mould-remediation time using dry ice; fire restoration sees similar gains because both are surface-removal problems.
- No water damage to add to the loss. Wet-clean restoration risks soaking surfaces that survived the fire intact.
- Odour removed at the source. Sealers trap odour; blasting removes the material producing it.
- Less material replacement. More of what you have stays in service. Lower scope of repair.
- No chemical residue. Important for food production, hospitals, and cleanrooms.
How a typical fire restoration project runs
Most fire restoration jobs come through restoration contractors handling insurance claims. ODIB integrates into your scope: we send certificate of insurance with your facility named as additional insured, JSA, and operator credentials before mobilization. On site we set up containment, photograph the surfaces before work, run the blast section by section, and document the result. The whole pack goes to your adjuster as a PDF.
Pricing
Fire restoration is typically quoted per square foot once the substrate, contamination depth, and access are known. Brick exterior runs $3–$8/sq ft. Interior framing and concrete is $2–$5/sq ft. Heavy carbon build-up, height work, or restricted-hours scheduling push the number up. We don’t quote sight-unseen — the site review is free and gives you a real number. See our cost guide for full ranges and the factors that move price.
FAQ
Will dry ice damage the substrate underneath the soot?
On sound substrate, no — the pellet sublimates to gas on impact, so the contaminant lifts off without abrading what’s underneath. We test a small area first and dial pressure back for fragile surfaces like fire-weakened mortar. That’s the whole point for insurance and heritage work: the building goes back to looking like itself.
How does this compare to soda blasting on fire damage?
Soda blasting works on brick but leaves a sodium residue you have to pressure-wash off, and the runoff needs containment. Dry ice sublimates on impact — no spent media to wash off, just the removed soot, which we capture and dispose of. For heritage masonry and any substrate you’ll coat or seal afterward, that residue-free finish usually decides the call.
Can you work alongside our other trades on a restoration?
Yes. We schedule into the restoration sequence — typically after structural stabilization and water mitigation, before priming and painting. We coordinate with the GC on access, containment, and air handling.
Do you provide documentation for insurance?
Yes. Before/after photos at every stage, scope sign-off, certificate of insurance with the facility named as additional insured, and operator credentials. We provide the documentation pack as a PDF for the adjuster.