Fast, Reliable Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Across Los Angeles
Fire and smoke damage in Los Angeles rarely stays in one room. It moves through old plaster walls, attic framing, HVAC ducts, and shared wall cavities. If you’ve had a fire, a neighbor’s fire, or wildfire smoke push into your home, call Wade’s Restoration of California at (855) 915-0646. We respond fast, scope the full interior envelope, and get soot and odor out of places most restorers never look.
Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration crew works across Los Angeles daily. We know the difference between a 1920s Craftsman bungalow in South LA and a post-war flat-roofed apartment in Westlake. That matters when smoke hides behind plaster-over-wood-lath and inside unsealed wall cavities. We treat the whole structure, not just the soot you can see.
Why Wade’s Restoration of California Is Los Angeles’s Preferred Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Company
Wade Ferris founded this company in 2007 and still answers the phone himself. Not a call center. Not a rotating crew chief. Wade. When you call about smoke damage in Echo Park or fire cleanup in Koreatown, you get the owner’s direct line and straight answers. That’s rare in this business, and homeowners notice.
Los Angeles has no shortage of national restoration chains. Most quote one price on the phone and a different one at the door. Wade publishes his name, address, and license number, and he stands behind every fire job with the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, we make it right. One call brings Wade back.
We’re also IICRC-certified and RIA-affiliated, and we run professional-grade equipment: Phoenix air scrubbers, Injectidry drying systems, Dri-Eaz dehumidifiers, XPOWER air movers, and B-Air filtration. Background-checked, uniformed technicians show up on time. And when smoke damage involves your insurance claim, Wade talks to the adjuster directly. You don’t have to relay information between two sides.
Our Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Services in Los Angeles
We handle the full scope of fire and smoke recovery across Los Angeles, from first board-up to final contents cleaning. Here’s what that looks like for homes in ZIP codes 90001 through 90004 and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Fire Damage Cleanup
Fire cleanup in Los Angeles starts with a thorough damage assessment, not a surface wipe-down. We remove charred drywall, compromised insulation, and structural debris, then stabilize what can be saved. Older homes in the 90001-90010 corridor sit on original framing and plaster, and that material wicks smoke differently than modern construction. We document every step for your adjuster.
Smoke & Soot Removal
In Los Angeles, soot removal is rarely a one-room job. Santa Ana winds push ash through original single-pane sashes and unsealed plaster edges into wall cavities, attic dead spaces, and built-in cabinetry. We treat every surface, not just what you can see. Our Phoenix HEPA air scrubbers run while we wipe, vacuum, and seal, pulling particulates out of the air rather than letting them settle back.
Odor Removal & Deodorization
Getting smoke odor out of a 1930s Spanish Colonial in Westlake or a Craftsman in South LA requires more than a fogger and a bottle of deodorizer. Odor hides in plaster, flat-roof attics, HVAC ducts, and original built-ins. We use thermal fogging plus direct treatment of dead spaces and ductwork. No sticky chemical residues on your original oil-based trim. No smell that comes back next time the wind kicks up.
Contents Cleaning & Pack-Out
In older Los Angeles apartments, on-site contents cleaning isn’t always practical. Tight stairwells, narrow doorways, and 1920s floor plans can make a full pack-out the smarter move. We inventory, pack, clean, and store your contents, then coordinate return when the structure is ready. If the damage is limited, we clean in place. Either way, you get a written list of every item, every step documented.
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 Los Angeles
We don’t sell equipment. We use it. Our Los Angeles smoke restoration work runs on Phoenix HEPA air scrubbers, Dri-Eaz and Injectidry drying systems, XPOWER air movers, and B-Air filtration. We stock the filters, media, and replacement parts our techs need for Los Angeles jobs, which means less waiting when your home needs air scrubbing or thermal fogging now. We also service and run equipment from other major professional lines, so your restoration doesn’t slow down because a machine did.
Common Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration Problems We See in Los Angeles Homes
- Smoke odor that returns weeks later. In 1920s-1940s Craftsman and Spanish Colonial homes, restorers who scrub visible soot but skip attic insulation and HVAC ductwork leave the real odor source in place. When Santa Ana winds shift pressure differentials, that smell migrates back into living spaces.
- Sticky, damaged trim after aggressive deodorizing. Original oil-based painted trim and shellac finishes in Koreatown or Westlake apartments react badly to harsh chemical deodorizers. The finish strips, turns tacky, and attracts more soot, turning an odor job into a full repaint.
- Board-up that doesn’t actually contain the smoke. Standard plastic sheeting over single-pane sashes without sealing the original rope-and-pulley weight pockets lets smoke and embers re-enter during fire season. Containment fails, and the interior keeps taking on airborne particulates.
- Untreated shared wall cavities in multi-family buildings. A single kitchen fire in a Koreatown (90005) or Westlake (90006) apartment building sends smoke through shared attic framing and wall cavities into neighboring units. Treating only the fire unit is a callback waiting to happen.
Pricing for Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration in Los Angeles, CA
In Los Angeles, fire and smoke damage restoration pricing breaks down something like this:
- Emergency board-up and tarping: $350-$800, depending on window count and access
- Soot removal from walls, ceilings, and trim: $900-$2,800 for a typical 1,200-1,800 sq ft older home
- Full odor removal with thermal fogging and duct cleaning: $1,500-$4,200, more when attic insulation must be removed and replaced
- Contents cleaning and pack-out: $800-$3,500 depending on inventory size and whether storage is required
- Structural fire repair and reconstruction: Starts around $4,000 and scales with the extent of framing and drywall damage
Older Los Angeles construction costs more to restore properly because plaster, original built-ins, and shared wall cavities require more labor than modern drywall. We give you a written scope before work starts. Call (855) 915-0646 for a free estimate. We also offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve received, no trip charge inside Los Angeles County.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Angeles
Our Los Angeles coverage includes Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and View Park-Windsor Hills. If you’re in one of those neighborhoods and smoke has spread through your home, call us. We head out fast and treat your building the way it actually needs to be treated, not the way a generic checklist says to.
Serving Los Angeles, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles
You have to treat the attic insulation, the HVAC ducts, and the wall cavities, not just the rooms you can see. Smoke from a neighbor’s fire moves through shared attic framing and unsealed plaster edges in 1920s-1940s Craftsman homes, and that’s where the odor lives. We run HEPA air scrubbers while treating every surface, then seal the attic with an antimicrobial coating so the smell doesn’t come back when wind pressure shifts. Call (855) 915-0646 and we’ll scope it properly, free.
Yes. Wildfire smoke from events like the Woolsey and Thomas fires infiltrates homes through HVAC systems, attic vents, and original single-pane windows across the entire Los Angeles metro, including flat urban ZIPs miles from any burn line. In Koreatown and Westlake, older apartments are especially vulnerable because unsealed plaster edges and original sash windows let ash into wall cavities. We treat the whole interior envelope, not just surfaces with visible soot.
Use anchor points that don’t require drilling into the stucco shell, then seal the original rope-and-pulley weight pockets so smoke and embers can’t re-enter. Standard plastic sheeting over single-pane sashes fails because those weight pockets stay open. We board and tarp with non-invasive fasteners and full perimeter sealing. That keeps the structure protected without adding stucco repair to your claim.
Because the odor settled into the flat-roof attic space, the plaster walls, or the HVAC ductwork, and nobody treated those areas. In older Westlake apartments, flat roofs trap smoke in the ceiling cavity and original galvanized supply lines carry it between units. If your restorer only wiped visible soot, the job isn’t done. We treat the dead spaces with thermal fogging and HEPA air scrubbing, then seal the attic cavity. Call (855) 915-0646 for a free second opinion if you’ve already paid someone.
It depends on access and how much surface area the contents have absorbed. In tight 1920s Los Angeles apartments with narrow stairwells, a full pack-out is often faster and safer than trying to clean everything in place. If the damage is light, we clean on-site using HEPA-filtered air scrubbers and ultrasonic cleaning for smaller items. Either way, you get a written inventory and photo documentation for your adjuster.
When smoke gets into the guts of an old Los Angeles building, a surface wipe won’t cut it. We treat the plaster, the attic, the ducts, and the cavities. Call Wade at (855) 915-0646 for a free estimate, or to get him on the phone right now. He answers.
Written by Wade Ferris, Owner at Wade’s Restoration of California, serving Los Angeles since 2007.