Water damage drying
Fire & smoke cleanup
Mold remediation
Storm response
Sewage cleanup
ReconstructionFree 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.
Get your free estimateFire Damage Restoration in Fresno: What It Costs and How It Works
Fire damage restoration in Fresno typically runs between $3,200 and $9,800 for a standard single-room kitchen or garage fire, with whole-home smoke and soot cleanup ranging from $12,000 to $28,000 depending on square footage, char depth, and how far smoke traveled through the HVAC system. Most Fresno homeowners need soot removal, structural drying, and odor elimination before any rebuild can begin. Call Tidemark Water Damage Fresno at (559) 354-1680 and we’ll walk you through a written scope and price before any work starts.
Fresno’s mid-century ranch homes sit on expansive clay soil that shifts with moisture, so post-fire water extraction and structural drying must account for slab movement that can crack cast-iron drains and re-introduce Category 3 water into the remediation zone. That’s a Fresno problem, not a generic one. Our Fire Damage Restoration team knows which neighborhoods sit on the worst of it and what to check before we start pulling wet drywall.
Why Tidemark Water Damage Fresno Is Fresno’s Preferred Fire Damage Restoration Company
We’re the independently owned, locally operated arm of the Cedarwell Care Promise, founded in 2006. Rick Sumner leads our Fresno crews, and he runs every job on one rule: a written price goes to the homeowner before a single tool comes off the truck. No surprises, no pressure, no “we’ll figure it out later.” That’s why homeowners in Woodward Park, the Tower District, and Sunnyside call us first after the fire department leaves.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and credentialed through IICRC, RIA, and IFA. They arrive with shoe covers and drop cloths already loaded on the truck. Your floors get protected before our Dri-Eaz and Phoenix equipment comes through the door. We take a photo of the cleanup before we leave, so you see exactly what we did and how we left it.
Fresno response time matters. The fire truck leaves, and you’re standing in a wet, smoky house at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday. We answer live 24/7. A real person picks up, asks the right questions, and gets a crew rolling to your neighborhood. That’s the standard Rick set for every Fresno job we take.
Restoration work we handle






Key Takeaways
- Fire damage restoration in Fresno runs $3,200 – $9,800 for a typical single-room fire; whole-home smoke and soot cleanup runs $12,000 – $28,000.
- Soot bakes into surfaces faster in Fresno’s dry heat, so we treat it within hours, not days.
- Fresno’s expansive clay soil can crack cast-iron drains under slab foundations, which changes how we dry and remediate after a fire.
- We provide a written price before any work starts, every time, with no exceptions.
- Our 365-Day Done Right Promise means if the restoration isn’t done right, we make it right.
Soot Removal in Fresno
Soot removal in Fresno is the first thing we tackle after a fire because the city’s arid heat bakes soot into drywall, hardwood, and ductwork faster than it would in a coastal climate. Fresno summers push temperatures past 100°F, and that heat cures acidic soot into a stubborn film within 48 to 72 hours. The longer it sits, the deeper it penetrates and the harder it is to fully remove without replacing materials. In a typical Fresno kitchen fire, soot removal runs $1,800 to $4,500, depending on how far smoke traveled and how many rooms need treatment.
What Our Techs Actually Do
We start with dry sponges and HEPA vacuums on flat surfaces, then move to chemical sponges for walls and ceilings where oily soot has bonded. Attic insulation in 1950s ranches often hides smoldering embers that restart a fire days after initial mitigation, so we insist on thermal imaging during moisture mapping before we call any room clean.
When You Need More Than a Wipe-Down
If soot reached your HVAC return vents, it’s in the ducts. Running the system spreads contamination to rooms that were never touched by flame. We check this on every Fresno fire job because mid-century ranch homes with single-zone HVAC move air fast through small returns. The cost to clean ductwork and replace filters adds $600 to $1,400 to the soot removal scope.
Fire Damage Restoration Company in Fresno
As a fire damage restoration company serving Fresno, we coordinate the full sequence: emergency board-up, water extraction, structural drying, soot and smoke odor removal, and the rebuild scope. Fresno homeowners face a specific sequence after a fire. The fire department uses hundreds of gallons of water, and that water pools in rooms over slab foundations. Fresno’s rapid evaporation pulls salts into the concrete, spalling the surface before our techs even arrive. We get water out and air movers running on day one.
Structural Drying Built for Slab Homes
Most Fresno ranch homes have no crawlspace, so water sits on the slab and wicks into walls. We use Dri-Eaz air movers and dehumidifiers sized to the room’s cubic footage, not a guess. Our techs map moisture with thermal imaging because what looks dry on the surface is often still wet inside the wall cavity. A typical single-room fire with water damage needs 3 to 5 days of drying.
What Costs What in a Full Scope
Emergency board-up for a broken window or burned door runs $400 to $900 in Fresno. Structural drying runs $1,200 to $3,000 depending on room size and how long water sat. Odor removal with hydroxyl or ozone treatment runs $800 to $2,200. Full rebuild work, like drywall replacement, trim, paint, and flooring, is priced separately after we hand you a written scope. You approve the number before we start. That’s the only way we work.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fresno
We run Dri-Eaz, Phoenix, and XPOWER equipment because these machines hold up to the punishing Fresno heat and keep working through long structural drying cycles. The same brands used by leading restoration specialists, operated by techs who know the equipment’s limits in this climate. We stock common parts locally, so if a dehumidifier fails at 2 a.m. during a summer dry-out, we swap it fast. You don’t wait for a part to ship from a warehouse in another state.
See the difference
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AfterCommon Fire Damage Restoration Problems We See in Fresno Homes
- Spalled concrete slabs. Fresno’s fast evaporation pulls firefighting water salts into the slab surface, leaving a chalky, pitted finish. We address this by extracting water within hours and monitoring slab moisture before any flooring goes back down.
- Ruptured galvanized supply lines. Firefighters repressurize the water system to fight the fire. Older galvanized lines corroded by years of Fresno hard water can rupture behind walls we’re already drying, creating a Category 2 leak mid-project.
- Hidden embers in attic insulation. 1950s ranch homes often have original cellulose or fiberglass insulation. Embers can smolder for days. We thermal-scan the attic on every fire job before we tell you the structure is safe.
- Cracked cast-iron drains under the slab. Expansive clay soil in southeast Fresno and the Fruit Tramp neighborhoods shifts with moisture, and firefighting water accelerates that movement. Cracked drains can reintroduce Category 3 water into the remediation zone after we’ve started drying.
Pricing for Fire Damage Restoration in Fresno, CA
Single-room fire cleanup with soot removal and structural drying typically runs $3,200 to $9,800 in Fresno. Whole-home smoke cleanup and odor removal runs $12,000 to $28,000 when smoke reached the HVAC system and multiple rooms. Emergency board-up adds $400 to $900. The things that move the number: how many rooms smoke reached, whether the attic or ductwork is involved, how long water sat on the slab, and whether we need to coordinate a plumber for drain line repair. Every job gets a written price before work starts. Call (559) 354-1680 for a free estimate. You’ll see the number in writing before anyone picks up a tool.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fresno
We serve Fresno and the surrounding communities including Clovis, Madera, Sanger, and Fowler. If you’re in one of those towns and dealing with fire, smoke, or soot damage, the same written-price-first standard applies. Call us and we’ll get a crew headed your way.
Serving Fresno, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fresno area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Fire Damage Restoration in Fresno
Fresno’s hard water leaves mineral deposits behind as water evaporates from your slab and wall cavities, which can etch concrete and cloud finishes if not addressed during structural drying. We monitor mineral content during drying and adjust our extraction methods so salts don’t spall your slab surface. Call (559) 354-1680 and we’ll explain what we check on your specific home.
Soot removal is more urgent in Fresno because dry, hot air bakes acidic soot into surfaces within 48 to 72 hours, while coastal humidity keeps soot looser and easier to remove for longer. Fresno summers push temperatures past 100°F, accelerating that bond. We treat soot within hours of the fire, not days. Call (559) 354-1680 and we’ll schedule a same-day assessment.
Yes, in most cases we can restore original oak floors after a fire if water was extracted within 48 hours and the finish is still intact. Fresno’s dry air actually helps here, because wood dries fast and doesn’t cup as badly as it would in a humid coastal home. We’ll test moisture content before we recommend refinishing versus replacement. Call (559) 354-1680 and we’ll assess what your floors can handle.
We coordinate with a licensed plumber to line or replace the cracked cast-iron drain before completing soot removal and antimicrobial treatment, because Category 3 water re-entering the remediation zone would undo the work. Firefighting water saturates the expansive clay soil, which shifts and cracks old cast-iron. We check for this early on slab ranch homes. Call (559) 354-1680 and we’ll walk you through the sequence.
It’s generally not safe to stay in the home during active soot removal because airborne soot particles are a respiratory irritant, and Fresno’s heat concentrates them indoors. Once we contain affected areas and run air scrubbers, some homeowners stay in unaffected parts of the house, but we recommend relocating during the first 48 hours of cleanup. We’ll tell you exactly what’s safe for your family. Call (559) 354-1680 and we’ll give you a straight answer for your situation.
Written by Rick Sumner, Owner at Tidemark Water Damage Fresno, serving Fresno since 2006.