Fast, Reliable Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Across Hollywood
If you’ve had a fire in your Hollywood home or apartment, smoke and soot are already working their way into plaster, framing, and fabric. The sooner we get in, the more we can save. Fire and smoke damage restoration in Hollywood typically runs $2,800 to $8,500 for a standard kitchen or single-room fire, and in the 90028’s pre-war courtyard apartments, you’ll also need asbestos and lead testing before any wall comes down. Wade Ferris and his team answer calls live at (855) 915-0646, 24/7, and can be on site in Hollywood the same day.
We know Hollywood’s buildings. The 1920s courtyard apartments off Yucca and Wilcox, the hillside bungalows above Beachwood Canyon, the Spanish Colonial Revivals that line Whitley Heights. Each one hands us a different set of materials and problems. That’s what makes local experience matter here.
Why Wade’s Restoration of California Is Hollywood’s Preferred Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Company
Wade’s Restoration has worked in Hollywood since the beginning, and the work here is unlike any other LA neighborhood. Most of the 90028 housing stock went up between 1920 and 1945. That means plaster-and-lath walls, original hardwood, galvanized supply lines, and California testing rules that apply to every pre-1978 structure. A company that only knows drywall and modern framing will get stopped cold the first time Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety requires asbestos clearance before demo. We plan for that on day one, not when the inspector shows up.
Wade Ferris runs this company himself and answers his own phone. When you call about a fire in Hollywood, you’re talking to the man who signs the contracts, not a call center reading a script. He’ll tell you straight what the job needs, what testing comes first, and what your insurance likely covers.
Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration team has worked inside more Hollywood courtyard apartment buildings than we can count. We know how smoke migrates through common walls, how it hides in plaster, and how the Santa Ana winds push fine soot into every window crack. That local knowledge changes the scope and saves you money.
We also deal directly with your insurance adjuster. You shouldn’t have to relay messages between two parties while you’re trying to figure out where to sleep. Wade handles the adjuster communication, walks them through our documentation, and pushes back with the moisture logs and plaster density readings that insurers often try to ignore.
Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Services in Hollywood
Smoke & Soot Removal
Smoke and soot removal in Hollywood is a different job than it is in a modern condo in West Hollywood. In the 90028’s pre-war buildings, lime plaster absorbs smoke like a sponge. You can’t just wipe walls and repaint. Soot gets behind baseboards, into lath gaps, and through shared wall cavities into neighboring units. We use professional-grade equipment from Dri-Eaz and Injectidry to pull smoke-laden air and moisture out of plaster, then seal the surfaces to lock down remaining odor. In a typical 1-bedroom Hollywood courtyard unit, smoke and soot removal runs $1,200 to $3,400 depending on whether the fire touched one room or spread through common walls.
Odor Removal & Deodorization
That campfire smell that lingers in a Beachwood Canyon bungalow weeks after a small fire? That’s fine soot you can’t see. It’s in the plaster, under the floorboards, inside closet walls, and around original double-hung windows. Odor removal in Hollywood needs more than a few ozone sessions. We remove the source material first, then use thermal fogging and hydroxyl generators to break down odor molecules. For a Hollywood courtyard apartment where smoke migrated from a neighboring unit, expect $800 to $2,200 for proper deodorization. Surface sprays won’t do it.
Contents Cleaning & Pack-Out
Fire doesn’t just damage the walls. It gets into clothing, upholstery, books, photographs, and keepsakes. We offer full contents cleaning and pack-out in Hollywood. We inventory everything, pack it out to our cleaning facility, and return it deodorized and ready to put away. For Hollywood residents, this matters because many of those pre-war units are small and densely furnished. The pack-out gives us room to work and protects your belongings from further soot exposure. Contents cleaning for a single Hollywood apartment typically runs $1,500 to $4,500 depending on volume and damage level.
Emergency Board-Up & Tarping
After the fire trucks leave, your home is exposed. Broken windows, burned roof sections, open walls. Hollywood’s hillside properties above Franklin Avenue catch the Santa Ana winds hard in fall. We board up and tarp fast, usually within hours of your call. This keeps looters out, weather out, and gives your insurance company a clear picture of the loss. Emergency board-up in Hollywood runs $400 to $1,200 for a standard apartment or bungalow.
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hollywood
We service and stock the equipment brands Hollywood’s restoration work actually demands. That includes Dri-Eaz LGR dehumidifiers and Injectidry drying panels, which handle the slow-drying lime plaster you find in 1920s courtyard buildings. Our techs carry IICRC credentials and follow RIA and IFA standards on every job. For Hollywood customers, we keep common parts and materials staged locally so we’re not waiting on a shipment when your ceiling is open. The gear matters less than the person running it, but Wade sends crews who know how to use professional equipment properly, and that shows up in the result.
Common Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Problems We See in Hollywood Homes
- Plaster walls hiding moisture and soot for weeks. Original lime plaster has no vapor barrier. Water from firefighting and moisture from combustion get trapped behind the surface. If you pull drying equipment too early because a drywall-minded adjuster says it’s done, you’ll have mold and recurring odor inside six months.
- Shared walls and plumbing stacks in courtyard buildings. Those 6 to 20 unit Hollywood courtyard apartments share wall cavities and plumbing chases. Smoke from a kitchen fire in one unit travels silently into the next. If we don’t address the shared spaces, the smell comes back in days, not weeks.
- Asbestos and lead testing requirements for pre-1978 structures. Most of the 90028’s housing predates 1978. California law requires testing before any demo. Restorers who skip it risk stop-work orders and fines, and the delay falls on the homeowner.
- Santa Ana wind-driven soot penetration. In the fall, the Santa Anas push ember cast from the Hollywood Hills into the flats below. That fine soot gets into every crack of those pre-war double-hung windows. You can’t just wipe surfaces; you have to address the window cavities and plaster fissures or the smell never leaves.
Pricing for Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration in Hollywood, CA
Here are real numbers for Hollywood’s market. A small contained kitchen fire in a 90028 courtyard unit with smoke damage in one room typically runs $2,800 to $4,500 when you include smoke removal, odor treatment, and minor structural repair. A larger fire that spreads through shared walls and requires contents pack-out can run $6,000 to $12,000 or more. Odor removal alone in a Hollywood bungalow runs $800 to $2,200. Contents cleaning for a single apartment runs $1,500 to $4,500. Emergency board-up runs $400 to $1,200. These ranges assume standard plaster-and-lath construction, which costs more to dry and seal than drywall. Asbestos and lead testing, when required for pre-1978 buildings, adds roughly $600 to $1,500 depending on sample count.
Wade gives you a written scope before we start. Not a phone estimate that changes at the door. You’ll know what we’re doing, what it costs, and what your insurance is likely to cover. Estimates are free. Call (855) 915-0646 and Wade will come look himself.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollywood
Our team serves Hollywood and the neighborhoods around it daily. That includes Universal City just over the hill, West Hollywood to the west, Koreatown south of Wilshire, and Echo Park east of the 101. If you’re in one of those areas and had a fire, call us and Wade will be on the road.
Serving Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hollywood 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 - Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration in Hollywood
Yes, almost certainly. If your building was constructed before 1978, and the vast majority of the 90028’s courtyard apartments were built between 1920 and 1945, California law requires asbestos and lead testing before any demolition or wall opening. We can’t legally cut into a plaster wall until testing clears. We arrange the testing as part of the job, and our techs don’t touch demo until results come back. Call (855) 915-0646 and we’ll walk you through exactly what’s required for your building.
Plaster absorbs smoke like a sponge. A small fire in a tight bungalow can push soot deep into lime plaster, behind baseboards, and into floor cavities. The smell keeps coming out because the source material is still there. Surface cleaning won’t fix it. We remove the affected plaster or seal it after extracting the soot-laden moisture, then treat the air space with thermal fogging. In Beachwood Canyon specifically, the hillside terrain means fire often burns longer before discovery, and wind-driven smoke pushes deeper into the structure.
Plan for seven to fourteen days of active drying, not the two to three days a drywall home would need. Lime plaster holds moisture invisibly. Firefighting water soaks into the plaster and the lath behind it, and without a vapor barrier there’s nothing to slow it down. We use Dri-Eaz LGR dehumidifiers and Injectidry panels to create aggressive penetrating airflow, but you can’t rush the physics. Pulling equipment early saves nothing and costs you a mold problem later.
You push back, and you call us. Adjusters who don’t work Hollywood’s pre-war stock routinely default to drywall drying timelines. Plaster walls need longer, full stop. We document plaster density, absence of vapor barrier, and daily moisture readings from start to finish. Those logs go straight to your adjuster. When the adjuster sees our documentation, the scope fight usually ends. We handle that communication directly so you don’t have to.
Yes, and this is one of the most common scenarios we see in Hollywood courtyard apartments. Shared wall cavities, common plumbing chases, and connected attic spaces let smoke and soot move into adjacent units invisibly. You may notice a smoke smell days later, or see a fine gray film on walls near the shared wall. We inspect adjacent units as part of any courtyard fire job. If smoke migrated, your insurance covers it too. Call (855) 915-0646 and we’ll check your unit, no charge for the inspection.
Written by Wade Ferris, Owner at Wade’s Restoration of California, serving Hollywood since 2007.