Chicagoland Fire Restoration Specialists
24/7 Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration in Chicago
Restore Construction provides 24/7 fire and smoke damage restoration for homes and businesses across Chicago and its suburbs. We secure your property as soon as the fire department clears it, remove the burned materials, soot, and firefighting water to limit further damage. Then we rebuild what the fire destroyed.
- 24/7 Emergency Response
- Smoke, Soot, and Odor Removal
- Insurance Claim Assistance
- Repairs and Full Rebuilds
Restore Construction’s Credentials
Certified Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Professionals
Our technicians hold IICRC certifications in fire and smoke damage restoration and in odor control, so the people cleaning your property are trained for exactly what a fire leaves behind.
IICRC Certified Firm
BBB A+ Rating
RIA Member
Best Fire Damage Restoration in Chicago
IREM Chicago Chapter
Fire Damage Restoration
Why Hire Restore Construction After a Fire
When you hire us after a fire, we clear out what burned, remove the soot and the smoke smell from everything we can save, and rebuild the damaged structure, so you’re not coordinating a demolition crew, a cleaning company, and a contractor on your own.
Fire is the work we know best. Local fire departments often call us in to protect what’s left of the building and help the family through that first night, so you’re working with the company they turn to.
How It Works
What to Expect From Our Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration
Every fire is different, but most of our customers go through the same few stages with us, and knowing them ahead of time takes some of the uncertainty out of what comes next.
Help arrives once the fire is out
Once the fire department gives the all-clear, we typically arrive within the hour. We board up the openings and walk you through the next few days, so you know exactly what comes next before we leave.
Your family has somewhere to go
If you can’t stay home, we help your family find a free place to sleep and replace food and clothing through our Victim Assistance Program, so you can catch your breath in those first 72 hours.
You find out early what we can save
We walk through each room with you and sort out which belongings we can restore, then pack them out to clean at our facility, so you know what’s coming back and what we’ll list for your insurance claim.
Your property feels like yours again
While we clean up the smoke damage and handle the rebuild, we keep you updated, and your adjuster too if there’s a claim. Then you walk back into finished rooms that no longer smell like smoke.
Common Causes
What Are the Most Common Causes of Fire Damage?
Most home fires start in a kitchen, a heater, or the wiring, and each one burns and spreads smoke differently. Knowing what started your fire helps us plan the demolition, cleanup, and rebuild.
Kitchen and Cooking Fires
Burned food and grease leave a nearly invisible film with a stubborn smell, so a kitchen can look clean and still need deep cleaning.
Space Heaters and Furnaces
Heating fires often catch bedding, curtains, or furniture and leave oily black soot that smears when someone tries to wipe it off.
Electrical and Wiring Fires
Burning wire and plastic leave acidic soot that keeps corroding metal, and these fires often start inside walls we need to open up.
Restaurant Kitchen Fires
Grease fires leave sticky soot on walls, ceilings, and equipment well past the cook line, and ordinary cleaners only smear it around.
Candles and Cigarettes
Candle fires leave black soot streaks on walls and ceilings, and a cigarette smoldering in a couch leaves sticky residue with a heavy odor.
Clothes Dryer Fires
Lint fires burn fast, and when the dryer sits in the basement, the smoke rises up the stairs and settles into the bedrooms and living areas above.
Family Operated Since 1983
Our Story
Patrick L. Santoro founded Restore Construction in 1983, and we’ve been helping Chicagoland property owners recover from fires ever since. Today his sons, Patrick M. and Michael, help lead the company alongside him.
Along the way, we’ve helped more than 10,000 home and business owners in single-family homes, apartment buildings, restaurants, and high-rises, so we’ve likely restored a building a lot like yours.
Becoming part of American Restoration expanded our resources, but we’re still the same Melrose Park company, answering calls around the clock and seeing each fire job through to the final walkthrough.
Had a Fire? We’ll Send a Crew
Call us once everyone is safe, and we’ll cover the openings and start on the soot and water, so the fire does as little lasting damage as possible.
Services
More Restoration Services After a Fire
Along with the burned rooms, a fire usually leaves broken windows, soaked floors, smoky belongings, and an insurance claim, and we handle all of it. We also restore properties after storm, mold, and biohazard damage, so you’ll already know who to call the next time something goes wrong.
Emergency Board-Up and Securing
Our crews board up the windows and doors firefighters had to break open, so the belongings still inside stay protected while you’re away.
Board-Up and Securing →Water Damage Restoration
We extract the water firefighters left behind and dry the floors and walls, so the fire doesn’t turn into a mold problem a week later.
Water Damage Restoration →Contents Cleaning and Storage
Our contents team cleans soot and smoke odor out of your clothes, furniture, and papers, so you keep more of what you thought the fire took.
Contents Cleaning →Reconstruction and Repairs
When we manage the rebuild after the smoke cleanup, you get finished rooms back without hiring and scheduling a new contractor yourself.
Reconstruction →Insurance Claim Management
Our estimators document the smoke damage in every affected room, not only the one that burned, so your adjuster sees how far it spread.
Insurance Claims →Storm Damage Restoration
We tarp and secure damaged roofs, siding, and windows after wind or hail, then handle the repairs, so the next storm doesn’t get inside.
Storm Damage Restoration →Biohazard and Trauma Cleanup
We handle biohazard and trauma cleanup with care and discretion, so you can return to the space without reminders of what happened there.
Biohazard Cleanup →Mold Removal and Remediation
We contain and remove the mold and dry out the materials it grew on, so you’re far less likely to pay to remove the same mold twice.
Mold Remediation →Reviews
What Chicagoland Customers Say About Restore Construction
Service Area
Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Throughout Chicagoland
From our Melrose Park office, we send crews to homes and businesses throughout the city and suburbs, at any hour.
Restore Construction
2035 N 15th Ave, Melrose Park, IL 60160 · Open 24/7
Communities we serve most
- Chicago
- Melrose Park
- Oak Park
- Elmhurst
- Maywood
- Cicero
- Park Ridge
- Schaumburg
- Naperville
- Oak Lawn
- Orland Park
- Joliet
Fire Damage FAQs
Chicago Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration FAQs
Can you repair my property after a fire, or will it need a full rebuild?
Usually, we can repair it. We fix what the fire damaged and bring your property back to its pre-fire condition. When too little of the building survives, we manage the full reconstruction, including the drawings and permits.
When are fire-damaged walls and ceilings too far gone to save?
When the fire has charred them or the heat has weakened the framing behind them. We inspect each wall and ceiling, replace the burned sections, and clean the ones with only smoke stains, so you keep as much of your original structure as possible.
Who clears out all the burned debris?
We do. We haul out the charred drywall, flooring, framing, and anything else the fire ruined, and we document what we remove for your insurer. Then we clean the structure that’s left so the rebuild can start.
Will the smoke smell ever go away?
Yes. Smoke odor comes from soot that settles into your walls, furniture, and fabrics, so we clean out that soot instead of masking the smell. Then we deodorize the structure and your belongings, and the odor is unlikely to come back when the heat kicks on.
Which of my belongings can be restored after a fire?
Often more than you’d think. We field-test your belongings, then clean the clothing, furniture, cabinetry, books, and documents we can restore at our 50,000-square-foot facility. We keep your items there until your property is ready, then bring them back to you.
How long does fire damage restoration take?
It depends on how much of your property we can clean and how much we have to rebuild. Before work starts, we lay out a timeline for each stage of your job, and we let you know if a permit delay or anything else changes it.
Will the water from putting out the fire cause more damage?
Not if we get to it quickly. Water from fire hoses soaks into walls, insulation, and subfloors, so we extract it and dry the building as part of the fire cleanup, before the water warps your flooring or leads to mold.
Not An Emergency?
Tell Us About Your Disaster
Answer a few short questions about the fire, and a project coordinator will call you to talk through your cleanup and rebuild.
Fire damage right now?
Call us, and we’ll have a crew on the way to secure the building and start removing soot before it etches your counters, fixtures, and glass.
We answer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Tell us about your situation.
We will call you back the same day during business hours.