Electrical Fire Caused by Rodents in Your Chicago Home

7/3/2017 (Permalink)

Almost one-quarter of fires with unknown causes are thought to be due to rodent damage

Can Rodents Cause a Fire in Your Home?

Everyone knows that rodents are a nuisance inside our homes. They get into food and ruin it with their feces, scurry in walls and above our heads, and they reproduce rapidly. They do much damage to the structure of your home, pipes, insulation, and even electrical wiring, which is where the biggest problems come into play. A missed frayed wire can create an electrical fire in your home.

Almost one-quarter of fires with unknown causes are thought to be due to rodent damage. The simplest way to prevent fires and fire damage that are rodent-related in your Chicago home is to keep rodents from getting into your house in the first place. Since mice can squeeze through holes that are as small as a one-quarter inch, a wildlife exclusion team needs to be called in to make sure rodents cannot enter your home.

If you have rodents already, a professional pest team should be called right away. If they have caused an electrical fire before you realized the problem, you need the expert help of SERVPRO, a fire remediation company with the experience and training to repair your home and clean it properly after a fire.

Normally, electrical wiring is surrounded by plastic insulation since electricity is very hot when it goes through wiring. It protects objects nearby from getting overheated. When a rat or other rodent chews on the wires, however, they leave nothing but exposed hot metal. Then it is just a matter of time before the wire short circuits, causing a spark, or heats up and makes something close by ignite. Household insulation or other debris are usually stirred up by the rodents and is what sets fire, but it can also be from a wire resting on a wooden support.

Getting a hold of our technicians at SERVPRO as soon as possible after a fire is important because more damage can be done from the soot and the water from firefighting efforts. We have all the knowledge and equipment to dry your home out, repair it, and clean the soot before it starts eating away at materials in your home.

Locally Owned Company with National Resources

SERVPRO of Marquette Park/West Lawn/Ford City understands the complexities of fire damage, so we work fast, but efficiently, to recover your home to its preloss condition. Call us as soon as you can at (773) 337-3993 so that we can do our job and help you regain your life on track.

For more information regarding the city of Chicago, click here: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en.html