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Fire Cleaning

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JerkasaurusRex

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Location
New York, New York
My cousins house was recently on fire but a lot of stuff was salvagable, like his computer but from what i suspect its full of ash/dust and stuff and its keeping his fans and stuff from working properly and its stuck on the heatsinks. He has some Dell comp so i dont know if that helps. Anybody know if there is any special practice i need to do to remove ash and fire related stuff, like the smell? Also i dont know if it got wet from fire hoses or not but if it did as long as its dry it should be fine right?
 
i would first use compressed air to get out all the ash/dust i could. then i'd probably dismantle the comp and soak the main components in alcohol for a day. the fans may be toast if anything got in the bearings/motor.


if the parts got wet from the fire hose they may be ok just let them dry for a good 3 days to a week in a nice warm dry spot
 
mccoyn said:
Hmm, Dell has award winning support right?

true but um...the parts they give out are award wining crap lol
trust me i got a dell computer.


now like above the fans my be shot...how big of fire was this and was it close that it might of melted some of the links on the mobo and stuff?
 
Ok, thanks guys, compressed air and alchohol+q-tips/cloth should work out than. As for the fans, those can be replaced and the heatsink can just be dipped in some alchohol. I was thinking could i use a hair dryer to dry mobo and stuff if i have to dunk whole thing into alchohol if ash is really in mobo like in sockets and stuff?
 
I'm a firefighter. Ash shouldn't hurt it. If they did thier job correctly you should be fine. BUT make sure you clean it out as much as possible. some ash and especially if they used dry cem. can get in place so small water can't even get there.
 
I will closly examine it with some magnyfing glass or something than. I got plenty of time on my hand and i am like his official tech support guy so i should do a good job.

I sure hope the firefighters did a good job, after all they are the best in the world. FDNY (Fire Department of New York) is a group of heros.
 
Were all the same . No one department is anybetter than the other. We all work towards the same goals! They run more calls becouse it's a more populated. We both so the same job. the danger is just as real no matter where you go!
 
Use a vacuum cleaner to get as much as you can, then blow with air. Completely disassemble the computer and wash all the parts with a small paint brush and alcohol. An artist paint brush can be used for small places. Blow it with air and repeat washing if necessary. If the vacuum can be hooked up on the exhaust you can use this to blow with.
 
Just out of curiosity... How much ash is really going to get in his computer if the case is on? As long as the computer wasn't on at the time, there really isn't too much of a chance that the inside is filled with ash. OEM Manufacturers are notorious for minimal airflow, so there shouldn't be too many places for ash to get in, especially if there weren't fans to suck it in.

Did he try turning it on?

If it didn't power up, my guess is that water may be the problem.

-CPFitz-
 
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