Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there!

8/16/2018 (Permalink)

When inspecting a fire at a commercial building site, it is very crucial to look at every level of the building even if the fire did not occur on that floor. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there! Ceiling tiles and or any other type of ceiling may block your view of soot throughout the building. A great hint that there is extra space above the ceiling is the HVAC ventilation system. This building had a complete automobile repair shop above it prior to it being closed off for the building space below. In total there was a 14’ ceiling space above this commercial business that needed soot cleaning along with HVAC ducting, steel structure, electrical & plumbing systems and main carrying beams that would never have been seen if the inspector never looked above the ceiling tiles to see how much damage there was.