Ways to Protect Your Facilities, Occupants, and Family from Wildfire Smoke

The 4^th-largest wildfire fire in state history, the Park Fire in Northern California, has scorched more than 425,000 acres and is only 40% contained. It is expected to burn for weeks, and smoke-related damage can impact nearby and distant homes and businesses even after the wildfire.

“Smoke from wildland fires and wildland-urban interface fires can contain high concentrations of respirable or inhalable particulates, carbon monoxide, organic acids, PAHs, and more,” said Derrick A. Denis, Senior Vice President of Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC), a leading environmental health, safety, and environmental consulting firm headquartered in California that has specialized in fire and smoke residue domestically and internationally for over 22 years. “Many of the combustion byproducts in wildland fire smoke are reactive and dissipate quickly. But some can endure. Components such as char, soot, and ash can enter your building, settle on surfaces, and persist therein. Whether you vacate and eventually repatriate, or you shelter-in-place, it is important to take efforts to minimize infiltration and to actively address any unchecked infiltration.”

Mother Nature gets a vote, but you are not helpless. Whether sheltering-in-place or evacuating, there are numerous simple steps you can take to protect your facilities, occupants, and family from the impacts of wildfire smoke.

Here are some simple tips to limit wildfire smoke exposure:

• Minimize Infiltration
  
  1. Close all windows and doors.
  2. Temporarily close the outdoor air intakes for air conditioning systems.
  3. Cease activities that depressurize the building (e.g. minimize use of kitchen exhaust hoods and limit use of clothes dryers).
  
  
• Actively Address Infiltration
  
  1. Upgrade your HVAC filters to the most efficient style rated for your units.
  2. Run AC units in recirculate or set to “on” to allow continuous air filtration.
  3. Deploy portable air filtration devices (AFDs), ideally those equipped with HEPA filters, and operate them in continuous recirculation mode.
  4. Clean surfaces to prevent settled particulates from becoming re-entrained into the air.
  
  

Wildfires can degrade indoor air quality even after the outdoor air has cleared. Particulates can remain in the air and settle on objects for weeks or months after the fire.

Determining the impact of wildfire smoke residues, structural fire damage, fire suppression water damages, fire retardant compound impacts, etc. to a structure often merits professional help. Regulated materials in buildings, such as lead and asbestos, can further convolute wildfire responses and warrant professional guidance, especially during any demolition or renovation activities.

CSC and Fire and Life Safety, Inc., in partnership with the Arizona Health Care Association’s Disaster Ready Emergency Preparedness & Infection Control (DR-EPIC) program, produced a video that includes ways to minimize the impact of wildfire smoke. You can view the video here.

For more information on smoke damage and other indoor air quality issues, contact Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC) at 800-807-1118, by email at csc@csceng.com, or visit their website – www.csceng.com.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail