Insurance Warehouse Fire Restoration — 1,200m² Recovered
A timber-framed warehouse fire damage claim where the insurer's initial scope called for full structural replacement. Dry ice cleaning saved the framing — and saved the claim from spiralling.
A timber-framed warehouse fire damage claim where the insurer's initial scope called for full structural replacement. Dry ice cleaning saved the framing — and saved the claim from spiralling.
The brief
A small electrical fire in a Brisbane industrial warehouse caused localised flame damage in a single zone but left the entire 1,200m² timber-framed structure coated in oily soot. The insurer’s initial scope of works specified full structural replacement of all visibly affected timber — about 70% of the structure. The cost was eye-watering and the timeline pushed the customer’s planned reopening from 6 weeks to 5+ months.
The restoration builder pushed back. We were brought in alongside an IICRC-certified hygienist to assess whether the framing could be saved.
The assessment
Hygienist sampling found that the bulk of the soot deposit was surface-only — the timber underneath was structurally sound, with no charring beyond a 200m² zone immediately around the ignition point. That zone needed replacement. The other 1,000m² was a cleaning problem, not a structural one.
The challenge: prove to the insurer’s adjuster that we could clean it back to a presentable, sealable state — and produce documentation that satisfied the hygienist’s clearance requirements.
The work
We ran the job in 11 days, in parallel with the building’s drying contractor and the hygienist’s clearance schedule.
Setup. HEPA negative-pressure containment was established in two zones at a time, with the rest of the building isolated. Crew on a roster of 4-on / 2-off so we could maintain steady output through the 11-day campaign.
Cleaning sequence. Roof structure first (working top-down to avoid re-contamination), then walls, then exposed services. Pellets sized to 3mm with pressure varied between 80 and 140 PSI depending on substrate — softer for the original timber decking, firmer for the steel cross-bracing.
Documentation. Per-zone photo log produced daily and uploaded to the builder’s QA portal. Pre-clean and post-clean photos for every grid square, with corresponding sampling locations marked.
Clearance. Hygienist sampling at end of each zone returned within IICRC S540 acceptable range. Full clearance cert issued at job close-out.
The result
About 1,000m² of original timber was saved. The 200m² zone immediately around the ignition point was still replaced — that work was structural and never on the cleaning menu.
The savings on materials and labour vs full replacement came in around $180,000. More importantly: the customer reopened on the original 6-week timeline.
The work fed three claims subsequently — the same insurer started using us as a documented cleaning step in their fire-claim workflow.
“The adjuster had us pencilled in for a full structural rebuild — at twice the budget. Their dry ice work let us save 80% of the original timber. Came in under budget and we kept the claim viable.”
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