Free visual inspection and a written scope of work before any mitigation begins - photos, moisture readings, and drying logs go in your claim file
The scope we write is the scope we bill. Anything new gets shown to you, in writing, before we touch it.
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AfterTrusted Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration for Harrison Homeowners
A kitchen fire gets put out in minutes, but the smoke and soot it leaves behind keep working on your house for weeks. That’s the part most Harrison homeowners don’t see coming until the smell settles into the drywall and the ceiling starts turning yellow. Since 2007, Wade Ferris has been the person Harrison families call when they need someone to show up fast, tell them straight what can be saved, and put it in writing before the work starts. We answer the phone 24 hours a day. You’ll talk to Wade, not a call center. If you’re standing in a smoke-damaged living room right now, call (856) 501-6142 and Wade will be on his way.
What Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Service Includes
Fire damage is never just one problem. It’s the charred framing, the soot pressed into every surface, the smoke odor that traveled through the ductwork, and the water damage from the fire department’s hoses. Here’s exactly what we handle, and how we handle it.
Fire Damage Cleanup
After a fire, your home is covered in a mix of ash, soot, and the chemicals fire retardants leave behind. That residue is acidic. Left alone, it etches glass, stains drywall, and corrodes metal fixtures within 72 hours. Wade’s crew starts cleanup by removing charred debris and unsalvageable materials, then works surface by surface with the right cleaning agents for each material. We don’t just wipe things down. We stop the acid from eating what’s left.
Smoke & Soot Removal
Soot isn’t just the black stuff you can see. It’s an oily film that gets into the pores of painted walls, wood cabinets, and even the grain of your flooring. In Harrison’s older homes, where the plaster and woodwork are original, this is where a generic cleaning company can do more harm than good. We use dry-cleaning sponges for surface soot, then move to wet cleaning only where the material can handle it. Every room gets checked, including the ones the fire never touched. Soot travels through HVAC systems and settles in places you’d never think to look.
Odor Removal & Deodorization
Smoke odor doesn’t leave because you aired the house out for a weekend. The smell is trapped in soft materials, behind walls, and inside ductwork. We use thermal fogging and ozone treatment in sealed areas to actually break down the odor molecules rather than mask them. For Harrison homes with forced-air heat, we also clean the duct system so the furnace doesn’t keep recirculating the smell every winter. Wade takes before-and-after air samples so you can verify the job worked.
Contents Cleaning & Pack-Out
Clothes, books, furniture, dishes, family photos. Any of it that can be cleaned, we clean. Our contents team inventories everything, packs it out to our facility, and runs it through specialized cleaning lines depending on what it’s made of. Fabric gets ultrasonic cleaning. Books and documents go through ozone chambers. Hardware and tools get corrosion treatment. If it can’t be saved, we document it and put it on the list for your insurance adjuster. Nothing gets thrown away without your sign-off.
Emergency Board-Up & Tarping
A fire blows out windows, burns holes through the roof, and leaves your house open to weather, animals, and people who don’t belong there. We board up and tarp within hours of the fire department clearing the scene. This isn’t a courtesy service. It’s the difference between a recoverable house and a total loss from the rain that comes through the hole in your roof two nights later. Wade’s crew uses CDX plywood, not the thin stuff, and we secure every opening with proper fasteners.
Structural Fire Repair
Once the cleanup is done, the rebuild starts. This is framing repair, new drywall, insulation replacement, electrical work, and finish carpentry. But it’s not a remodel. It’s putting your house back the way it was before, and in Harrison that often means matching older trim profiles and materials so the repaired section doesn’t look like a patch. Wade’s Restoration handles the full process from emergency cleanup through the final coat of paint, and you get a written scope before any of it starts.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service for Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration
Through the years, we’ve worked on homes with every make and model of HVAC equipment, water heater, and appliance you’ll find in Harrison. When a fire starts in the mechanical room, the equipment itself is often a total loss, and the smoke damage is spread through the ductwork. We stock OEM parts for common furnace brands and know the specific failure points on older Rheem and Carrier units that are common in this part of New Jersey. That matters because it means we can tell you quickly whether a unit can be cleaned and saved or whether it belongs on the replacement list.
We run our dehumidification and air-scrubbing equipment on Dri-Eaz and Phoenix units, which are the gold standard in the restoration trade. If you’ve got a forced-air system that pushed smoke through the whole house, we attach HEPA-filtered negative air machines and run the Dri-Eaz HEPA 500 or Phoenix DriAir through every room to pull particulates out of the air. Whether your equipment is a newer ECM furnace or a 25-year-old workhorse, we can service it. The equipment doesn’t dictate the quality of the work. The person running it does.
Signs You Need Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Right Now
You don’t have to have a full structure fire to need professional smoke cleanup. Here are the warning signs Harrison homeowners should never ignore.
- Yellowing or staining on walls and ceilings. Soot residue from even a small kitchen fire settles on surfaces and bonds with paint within days. If your ceiling is turning brown or yellow near the stove, the smoke damage is already locked into the finish and needs professional cleaning before it becomes permanent.
- A smoke smell that returns within hours of airing out. That’s the sign the odor is not in the air. It’s in the insulation, the carpet pad, the drywall, or the ductwork. No amount of open windows, candles, or drugstore sprays will fix a smell that’s embedded in porous material. The source has to be treated or removed.
- Persistent headaches or respiratory irritation in the home. Smoke particles and soot are fine enough to stay suspended in the air for weeks. If you or your family are coughing, wheezing, or getting headaches whenever you’re home, that’s not stress. That’s particulate matter in your lungs.
- Dark staining around vents or on the furnace filter. Your HVAC system acts like a chimney after a fire. It pulled smoke through the return ducts and is now blowing it back into every room. If the filter or the vent covers are dark, the ductwork needs cleaning and the system needs to be shut off until it’s done.
- Rust or corrosion on metal hardware after a fire. Soot is acidic. If you notice doorknobs, hinges, or light fixtures corroding weeks after a small fire, the residue was never properly cleaned. That acid is still eating the metal and it will keep doing it until it’s neutralized.
Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Process - Step by Step
Here’s exactly what happens when you call Wade’s Restoration for fire and smoke damage in Harrison.
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First call and immediate response. You call (856) 501-6142 and Wade picks up. He asks what happened, what’s still standing, and whether the fire department has cleared the scene. If it’s safe, he’s on the road immediately. You’ll know who’s coming because it’s the same name you just said on the phone.
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On-site assessment and safety check. Wade walks the property with you and looks at everything: structural damage, water from the hose lines, smoke travel through walls and ceilings, electrical safety, and what can be saved. He takes moisture readings the same day and writes down exactly what he sees. No vague promises. A written scope follows within 24 hours.
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Emergency board-up, tarping, and water extraction. Before anything else, we secure the building. Windows get boarded. Roof holes get tarped. Standing water from the fire department gets extracted with our Dri-Eaz and XPOWER equipment. We do this immediately, because every hour the house sits open or wet is another hour of damage compounding.
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Smoke, soot, and odor treatment. Our crew removes charred material, cleans soot from every surface that can be saved, and treats the property with thermal fogging and air scrubbing. We clean the ductwork, run HEPA filtration, and take air samples before and after. You’ll see the readings.
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Contents restoration, structural rebuild, and final walk-through. We clean what can be cleaned, repair what can be repaired, and rebuild what can’t. At the end, Wade walks the entire property with you, hands you the daily moisture log and the completed scope, and puts the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If anything isn’t right within 90 days, Wade comes back and makes it right.
How Much Does Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Cost in Harrison?
What affects the price is the square footage of affected space, what the house is finished with (plaster costs more to clean than drywall, oak flooring behaves differently than vinyl plank), how long the soot sat before treatment, and whether the HVAC system is involved. The way to avoid overpaying is to get a written scope that lists every line item before the work starts. Wade’s Restoration does exactly that, and we offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve already received from another company. No charge for that.
Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Near Harrison - Our Service Area
Wade’s Restoration is based here in Hudson County and serves Harrison and the surrounding towns, including Jersey City, Hoboken, Kearny, Secaucus, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, East Rutherford, and Rutherford. If you’re in Harrison proper, Wade can usually be at your door within 30 to 45 minutes of the call. In the surrounding towns, figure 45 minutes to an hour. And if you’re inside Hudson County, there’s no trip charge. That’s a standing offer, not a promotion.
Serving Harrison, NJ - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Harrison area and offer our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration in Harrison, so we know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration in Harrison
What is fire and smoke damage restoration?
Fire and smoke damage restoration is the full process of cleaning up after a fire: removing charred debris, cleaning soot from walls and contents, removing smoke odor, extracting water from the fire department’s hoses, and repairing or rebuilding the structure. It’s not a cosmetic cleaning. It stops ongoing chemical damage from soot and acid residue while restoring the home to what it was before the fire. In Harrison, we also account for older construction materials that need specific treatment.
How long does fire and smoke damage restoration take?
A small kitchen fire with contained smoke damage usually takes 5 to 10 working days from emergency cleanup through final cleaning and deodorization. A whole-house smoke event with contents pack-out and duct cleaning can run 2 to 4 weeks. Structural rebuilds take as long as any construction project takes, usually 4 to 12 weeks depending on the scope. Wade gives you a timeline in writing with the scope, and he updates you as it moves.
How much does fire and smoke damage restoration cost in Harrison?
Small, contained smoke cleanup in Harrison typically runs $2,500 to $6,500, whole-house smoke damage with contents runs $12,000 to $35,000, and structural rebuilds start around $40,000. The only way to know your number is to get a written scope after an assessment. Wade’s Restoration offers free estimates and free second opinions on any written quote from another contractor. Call (856) 501-6142 and Wade will walk it with you himself.
Do you service all types of furnaces and HVAC systems?
Yes. After a fire, the HVAC system is often the biggest carrier of smoke and soot through the house. We service gas, oil, electric, and forced-air systems from all major manufacturers, and we run our air-scrubbing and dehumidification equipment from Dri-Eaz and Phoenix. If you’re in Harrison and smoke got into your ductwork, we’ll clean the ducts, replace the filters, and verify with air samples that the system is safe to run.
Can you come out for a fire cleanup in an emergency?
Yes. Wade answers his phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call (856) 501-6142, you’ll talk to a person, and in a fire situation he’s on the road as soon as the fire department clears the scene. Emergency board-up and tarping can often be done the same day, and for homes in Harrison that’s typically within the hour.
Is the work guaranteed?
Yes. Every fire and smoke restoration job we do in Harrison comes with the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If anything we did isn’t right within 90 days of completion, Wade comes back and makes it right at no charge. You don’t have to chase anyone. One call brings Wade back.
How do I prepare my home before the restoration crew arrives?
The most important thing is to not touch anything until it’s been documented. Soot is oily and wipes into surfaces permanently if you smear it. Don’t run the furnace or central air, because it’ll circulate smoke through the house. Shut it off at the thermostat. Wade’s team will photograph everything for your insurance adjuster, so leave the scene as it is and call us at (856) 501-6142 first.
Schedule Your Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Service in Harrison Today
If you’re dealing with fire or smoke damage in Harrison, call (856) 501-6142 right now. You’ll get Wade on the phone, a straight answer about what you’re looking at, and a free estimate with no obligation. If you already have a written quote from another company, bring it to us and we’ll give you a second opinion at no charge. We’re local, we’re owner-operated, and we’ve been doing this in Hudson County since 2007. From the home page to fire damage restoration in Harrison to the surrounding towns, the name on the truck is the same name that answers the phone.
Written by Wade Ferris, Owner at Wade’s Restoration, serving Harrison and Hudson County since 2007.