First General Niagara

12/03/2024

An absolutely beautiful kitchen restoration done by Project Manager Gary after a disastrous grease fire earlier this year.
Great job to Gary and all his sub trades, you guys really knocked it out of the park!

05/16/2024

Awesome job Leo!

03/26/2024

We're looking for general labourers! All applicants must possess a full G license with a clean driving record, and must speak English. Experience in the industry would be ideal but everything can be taught for the right candidate. For a full description of the position please follow the link below, you can also send resume directly to [email protected]

https://ca.indeed.com/viewjob?from=appsharedroid&jk=596606e8b2f63d0e

Any inquiries can be sent to the above email as well.

disaster restoration

03/18/2024

Fire restoration is more than just tearing out the burned building materials and rebuilding. It's a lot more extensive than you'd think, smoke gets into everything, the kitchen fire probably left all your belongings smelling of smoke. The headache of a fire restoration can a lot of times be prevented with the following practices. Most importantly, do not use water to put out a grease fire!

6 common kitchen mistakes that start fires
Posted November 15, 2021 by Red Cross Talks - Red Cross blogger

By Vanessa Racine, social media coordinator

More time at home during the pandemic has led to more kitchen time. Many of us have found ourselves baking and cooking more, from perfecting a classic sourdough bread to preparing lunch now that many of us work remotely. With all this increased kitchen action, there’s also bound to be accidents.

Kitchen fires are the leading cause of home fires in Canada. Take a look at some common habits that may lead to a kitchen fire:

Leaving the kitchen while cooking

Walking away from your kitchen while cooking is the top cause of kitchen fires, according to the Canadian Fire Safety Association. If you need to leave briefly to use the bathroom or answer the door, turn the stove off. Those few moments you’re gone are just enough for a fire to start.

Too many distractions

Multi-tasking can be beneficial in certain situations, but not while cooking. Your full attention is needed, free of distractions from your phone, television or those around you. This helps keep everyone safe, including yourself and your home. Distractions can not only significantly slow down your reaction time, or result in injuries and burns, but can greatly increase the risk of a kitchen fire starting. An unsupervised pan on the stove is a disaster waiting to happen.

Using your stove as a countertop

Cooking can get hectic and messy! Many home cooks run out of countertop space and resort to using their stove as a last-minute option. Sometimes, too, you may have an unconscious habit of placing a towel or utensil on the stove top. Placing a flammable item such as a hand towel, plastic container or oven mitts can easily start a fire, including items you may place a little too close to a hot burner.

Wearing loose clothing

That cute oversized sweater you just bought for winter can also catch on fire if it gets too close to an active burner. While aprons help keep clothing clean, it doesn’t stop loose-fitted clothing like hanging sleeves or scarves from putting the cook at an increased risk of harm. A simple act of reaching over to pick up a pot can lead to an item of clothing catching fire. To protect yourself, it’s always best to switch into something more snugly fitted or roll up your shirt sleeves before you start cooking.

Frying food on high heat

Kitchen fires caused by cooking oil lead to the most destructive and damaging types of home fires, according to the Canadian Fire Safety Association. If you must cook with oil, make sure to use oils that can handle high temperatures. Additionally, regularly cleaning your stove or oven will get rid of any built up grease, reducing the risk of a kitchen fire. If you’re frying food and see smoke, or the grease start to boil, immediately remove the pan from the stove and turn off the burner.

Your kitchen is not equipped with a fire extinguisher

Fire extinguishers are an affordable necessity. Having one within arm’s reach in your kitchen not only prevents fire damage to your home, but it can also save your life. Stop by a store on your way home from work to pick one up so that you can rest assured that you are prepared for a sudden fire, should it ever happen. There are several extinguisher size options available, including apartment-sized extinguishers for those living in smaller spaces. Check your fire extinguisher’s condition and levels often, and refill when needed so that you always have help on hand in case of a kitchen fire.

Whether you’re an accomplished cook or just learning, cooking is a practical and necessary activity that can bring good memories and full stomachs, when done safely. No matter your skill or confidence level in the kitchen, taking precaution from these tips can keep your home safer from fire. Finally, it’s important to test your smoke alarms monthly and make an emergency plan.

Learn more safety tips and to learn how the Red Cross helps people affected by home fires.

03/04/2024

Let's talk about content!
Firstly, if you are a tenant or you have a tenant, tenants contents must be under a renters policy. If you have a rental and your tenants have no renters insurance who's going to move all their belongings if you have a flood? We as your insurance contractor are not allowed to touch tenants belongings. Please double check that your tenants have (and still have) tenants insurance.
Now if it's your own home and you have a lot of belongings, if all those belongings are in an affected area and need to be moved... The time required to move said contents will add up and start chipping away quickly if you have a low limit, like on that ground water claim with only a $10K limit we last discussed.
All things to consider, have a look around your home and if you think you may have a lot of content and not enough coverage to feel comfortable with... Talk with your broker or agent.

We're here to help!

02/29/2024

Another great fire restoration by "the man" Travis... if you have a fire he's who you want working on your claim. Call us first!

02/12/2024

During this past rain storm disaster at the beginning of the year we discovered so many of our clients do not have sufficient water coverage (16c) and there's not enough money to go around at the end of the day after emergency services have been completed. If you have a ground water claim (which is not the same coverage as a water claim from a burst pipe) and you only have 10K limit on your 16c coverage you'll probably end up out of pocket quite a bit of money when it comes to doing the repairs after the emergency cleanup is done. There is a lot involved in an emergency drying project, if you have a finished basement, a $10k limit policy for ground water will not likely be sufficient to pay for everything (you also probably have a 2K deductible coming out of that $10k as well). Speak with your agent or broker about ground water coverage and seepage coverage, discuss what a realistic limit should be based on your finishes so you know you'll be protected sufficiently.
We're here for you!

02/08/2024

We recently did a makeover for a client that we'd like to share. I think it turned out lovely and hope they love their new family room as much as we do!

01/19/2024

Identify and remove ice dams before they become a problem. Your insurance policy may or may not cover damage due to ice damming and you may not even know what it is.

How do you spot Ice Dam damage?
On the face of it, you may think it’s pretty easy to spot an ice dam on a home. After all, it’s hard to miss a gigantic chunk of ice sitting at the edge of a roof. But uncovering the damage caused by those ice dams is a little trickier. Most of the time the damage is unseen unless the ice dam has gotten to the point of causing leaks in the home. Even then, while you can easily pinpoint where the leak is, you can’t always tell where the water is coming from.

Ice Dam Damage
Ice dam damage comes in many forms. It’s much more extensive than just the excessive weight that ice puts on the roof. The most common forms of damage from ice dams on homes include:

Water Damage
Water is arguably the biggest threat to homes that have ice dams. As ice backs up under the roof and comes in contact with warm air from the inside of the house and it melts. The resulting water can cause damage to ceilings, walls, floors, and insulation. Serious water damage can lead to buckled floors, collapsed ceilings, and weakened walls.

Mold
Water that sits for extended periods of time can cause mold. In some cases, it may lead to Black Mold, which is a more dangerous type of mold that is difficult to get rid of.

Roof Damage
As ice backs up under the shingles, they can get damaged or even torn off. Ice dam removal on a Boston roof is necessary before the resulting water exposure affects the structural integrity of the roof. If serious, the homeowner may need a roof replacement.

Gutter Damage
Ice dams are notorious for causing gutters to rip right off the house. Even if they manage to stay in place, gutters often get warped and bent out of shape from supporting ice dams all winter.

Exterior Damage
Soffits, fascia, eaves, and even siding can all suffer water damage before ice dam removal has been performed. If gutters have been torn off, you may have damaged wood to repair. If the gutters stayed on, but held ice dams, the moisture could have weakened or eaten through any wood behind the gutter.

06/23/2023

Another great restoration by Travis and the crews! This one was a doozy! You might think "it's just a kitchen fire" but fire & smoke damage go through the entire home, they are huge long term projects and I'm sure by the time the entire process is complete everyone is exhausted... but happy with the final result ☺️☺️