NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
A fire doesn’t just burn what it touches. Smoke travels through HVAC systems, wall cavities, and every gap in the structure — and in a 7,000-square-foot Old Westbury estate, that means soot and odor can reach rooms that never saw a flame. The firefighting water that suppressed the fire creates a second problem. Mold can begin growing within 24 to 48 hours, and in Old Westbury’s older homes with plaster walls and complex mechanical systems, that risk spreads fast if it isn’t addressed immediately.
Old Westbury’s housing stock adds another layer most restoration companies aren’t equipped for. Homes built before 1980 commonly contain asbestos in floor tiles, pipe insulation, and ceiling materials. A fire disturbs all of it — and New York State law requires a licensed contractor to handle abatement before any restoration work begins. We hold the NYS DOL Asbestos License, NYS DOL Mold License, and USEPA Lead/RRP Certification, meaning the full scope of what a fire uncovers in a home like yours can be handled legally and safely without bringing in a second or third contractor.
When the work is done, you’re not just getting a cleaned-up structure. You’re getting a home that’s been properly documented, remediated to code, and rebuilt by a Nassau County licensed general contractor — so your insurance claim holds up, your family can move back in safely, and nothing gets left behind the walls.
We’re a Long Island-based restoration company serving Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens, and New York City. We operate 24/7, year-round, and have completed over 5,000 restoration projects across New York State. That’s not a number we throw around lightly — it means we’ve worked through virtually every scenario a fire on Long Island can produce, from kitchen fires in post-war homes to oil burner puff-backs in the historic estates that define Old Westbury.
For Old Westbury specifically, what matters most is that we hold the credentials to do the full job — not just the cleanup portion. We carry IICRC certification for fire and water damage restoration, the NYS DOL Asbestos and Mold Licenses, USEPA Lead/RRP Certification, and a Nassau County General Contractor License. That last one matters because many restoration companies stop at remediation and hand you off to a separate GC for the rebuild. We don’t. From the emergency call to the final walkthrough, it’s one company, one point of contact, and one accountable team.
When you call, we’re on the way. We reach Old Westbury via the Long Island Expressway or the Northern State Parkway — both run directly through the village — and our target is on-site within an hour. The first thing we do is assess what’s safe and what isn’t, document the full scope of damage for your insurance claim, and begin emergency stabilization: boarding, tarping, and water extraction if firefighting suppression left standing water in the structure.
Once the property is stabilized, the remediation phase begins. This is where licensing matters. If your Old Westbury home was built before 1980 — which covers a significant portion of the estate properties throughout the village — we conduct asbestos and lead testing before any demolition or debris removal begins. Nassau County building permits are required for structural repairs, and the Nassau County Fire Marshal may need to clear the property before restoration work can proceed. We handle that coordination so you don’t have to navigate it while you’re displaced.
After remediation is complete and permits are in place, our Nassau County licensed general contractor team handles the full rebuild — structural repairs, drywall, flooring, millwork, mechanical systems, whatever the fire took. We also work directly with your insurance carrier throughout, documenting every phase to the standard that adjusters and specialty insurers require. The goal is a clean handoff: you move back into a fully restored home, not a partially finished one.
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Fire damage restoration in Old Westbury isn’t a one-size job. The properties here — many of them large, older, architecturally detailed estates — require a level of capability that goes well beyond what a standard restoration company brings to the table. Our fire damage restoration service covers emergency response and stabilization, full smoke and soot remediation, HVAC decontamination, water extraction and structural drying, asbestos and lead abatement where required by law, mold prevention and remediation, contents assessment and restoration, and complete structural reconstruction under our Nassau County GC license.
Oil burner puff-backs are worth calling out specifically, because Long Island has one of the highest concentrations of oil-heated homes in the country, and Old Westbury’s large estate properties with aging mechanical systems are particularly vulnerable. A puff-back coats interior surfaces with a fine, oily soot that behaves differently than standard fire soot — it requires specialized cleaning chemistry and technique. We handle it, including HVAC system decontamination, which is critical in a large home where the system can distribute soot to every room in the house.
We also work directly with your insurance company. We bill insurers directly, document every phase of the work to the standard that high-value policy carriers require, and walk you through the claims process from the first call to the final settlement. For Old Westbury homeowners carrying policies through specialty insurers who handle luxury and historic properties, that level of documentation isn’t optional — it’s what gets your claim paid in full.
Not always — and the answer depends on more than just whether the fire is out. Structural integrity, air quality, and the presence of hazardous materials all factor in. In Old Westbury’s older estate homes, a fire can disturb asbestos in floor tiles, pipe insulation, or ceiling materials, and those particles become airborne during and after the event. Re-entering before a proper assessment can mean breathing in materials that require licensed abatement to handle safely.
The Nassau County Fire Marshal typically needs to clear a fire-damaged property before restoration work — or re-entry — is authorized. We coordinate that process and conduct an initial assessment to determine what’s structurally sound, what’s contaminated, and what needs to be addressed before you or your family sets foot back inside. We’ll give you a straight answer, not a vague one.
The honest answer is that it varies significantly based on the size of the home, the extent of the fire and smoke damage, and what the fire uncovered — including hazardous materials. Nationally, fire damage restoration averages between $12,900 and $27,000 for a standard residential property. In Old Westbury, where median home values sit around $2.95 million and properties often exceed 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, the scope is typically larger and the costs reflect that.
A contained kitchen fire in a standard home might run $15,000 to $25,000 once smoke remediation, water extraction, and structural repairs are factored in. A fire that spreads through a large Old Westbury estate — or one that requires asbestos abatement before restoration can begin — can reach $100,000 or significantly more. The most important thing is getting a thorough, documented assessment early so your insurance claim captures the full scope. We provide that assessment and work directly with your carrier so nothing gets underdocumented.
In most cases, yes — fire damage is one of the most commonly covered perils in a standard homeowners insurance policy. But coverage details matter, and for Old Westbury homeowners carrying high-value policies through specialty insurers, the documentation requirements are more detailed than what a standard policy demands. Insurers who cover luxury and historic properties typically require IICRC-standard restoration reports, itemized scope of work, and photographic documentation at every phase of the project.
We hold IICRC certification for fire and water damage restoration — the same standard that insurance companies use to evaluate the legitimacy of a restoration claim. We bill insurers directly and produce the documentation that adjusters need to process a full claim. We’ve worked through enough Nassau County claims to know where underpayment happens and how to prevent it. If your adjuster’s initial estimate doesn’t reflect the full scope of damage, we’ll help you address that.
Timeline depends heavily on the scope of damage, how quickly permits are issued, and whether hazardous materials like asbestos require abatement before restoration work can begin. For a moderate fire in a large home — say, one wing affected with smoke damage throughout — a realistic timeline from emergency response to completed rebuild is typically 6 to 12 weeks. For more extensive damage involving structural reconstruction, that can extend to 4 to 6 months.
In Old Westbury, the permitting process through the Village’s building department adds a step that some homeowners don’t anticipate. Nassau County building permits are required for structural repairs, and the Fire Marshal’s clearance may be needed before work begins. We handle all of that coordination and give you a realistic timeline upfront — not an optimistic one designed to win the job. Being displaced from your home is disruptive and expensive, and you deserve an honest estimate of how long it will actually take.
Smoke and soot travel through HVAC systems, wall cavities, and structural gaps — and in a home with a central air system, smoke from a fire in one area of the house can contaminate every room within minutes. The soot that settles on surfaces begins bonding within hours, and the longer it sits, the harder it is to fully remove without damaging the underlying material.
In Old Westbury’s estate homes with original plaster walls, antique hardwood floors, and custom millwork, the stakes of incomplete smoke remediation are high. Standard cleaning approaches designed for drywall and vinyl flooring don’t work on these materials. Our IICRC-certified technicians use the appropriate chemistry and technique for each surface type, and our HVAC decontamination process addresses the system itself — not just the visible surfaces. If the system isn’t cleaned, it will continue redistributing soot every time it runs.
Yes — and the older the home, the more important it is to work with a company that holds the right licenses. Old Westbury’s housing stock includes properties built as far back as the early 1900s, and many of the estate homes that define the village were constructed between 1910 and 1970. Homes built before 1980 commonly contain asbestos in floor tiles, pipe insulation, and ceiling materials. Homes built before 1978 contain lead-based paint. A fire disturbs both — and New York State law requires a licensed contractor to handle abatement before any demolition or restoration work proceeds.
We hold the NYS DOL Asbestos License, NYS DOL Mold License, and USEPA Lead/RRP Certification — the complete set of credentials required to legally address every hazardous material that a fire in an older Old Westbury home is likely to uncover. Beyond the legal compliance piece, our team understands how to work with the historic materials common in these properties — original plaster, antique hardwood, custom millwork — and how to restore rather than simply replace where possible. For a home that represents decades of history and significant financial investment, that distinction matters.
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