Lastase pills. Some people don’t know it’s a thing. I wouldn’t be able to eat so many good food like butter, poutine, cheesecake, yoghurt, nachos… I know there are alternatives but they are not the same as the real thing.

Such is life of an EHO. But you do get some amazing places where you think it’s an absolute dive, but the kitchen is spotless. If not… I have videos and photos that live rent free in my head forever now.

Oh boy… I’ve got a few. There is always one that comes to mind, but I’ve had somewhere I just get the creeps when I walk in, and it’s confirmed crawling with cockroaches: In the walls, ceiling panels, floors, under benches, under the ticket machine (RIP), but surprisingly not actually IN food… That I could see. But I’ve always been during the day with people getting food all the time, so it was probably too risky for the cockroaches to get the food.

The one: I walked in, and things get worse and worse. First: Bag of chicken on the floor beside the oven with boiling stock to the left. To the right, someone cutting up cooked meat. Down the back: Back door is wide open. I also get the familiar cockroach feeling.

I turn back to the left and the chicken has gone in to the stock. The person uses a skimmer to skim off the herbs, spices, fats off the top of the stock, and the strainer goes in to the bin… And back in to the stock.

I look back to the right, someone is taking out the rubbish. Ties the dirty bag, drags it out the back door. Comes back, rinses hands for 2 seconds, goes back to cutting meat. No soap.

Cool room is filthy (walls, floors, containers), smells rotten, it’s too warm. I find cockroach nests inside the cool room, and outside of it.

I walk outside the back door to take a breather, and I find rats in the overflowing rubbish bins. Walk back in to the front area (small display case) and it’s warm.

I shut the place for almost 3 weeks. The owner had no idea, I’m sure he got his kids to do the training I ordered him to do because there was no way he could have gotten 98% when I asked him to demonstrated the skills. They tried to move to another Council area, but we gave the EHOs a heads up.

Worst ever.

Environmental health officer, aka health inspector.

Most people don’t know who we are, but we play a huge role in the background on education and prevention for public health issues like food safety, communicable diseases (gastro, outbreaks, pandemic, tattooing, beauty parlours, mosquitoes, rodents, flu, covid, etc.), health of the environment (soil, air, water),… We are a jack of all trades kind of profession.

I gotcha. Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense now. I hope at least most of your home is as it was when you left it. Let us know how you go. Fingers crossed for you!

If the specialist says the canned goods are okay, it may be worth giving them a good wash with warm, soapy water before opening. The can opener blade will bring the stuff on the outside of the can to touch the food inside.

This is all assuming that there has been some level of smoke and/or heat penetration. I have seen some bad places, so without knowing what you’re going back to, I always err on the side of caution!

If your house is sealed, great! There may or may not be some small openings to allow the house to breathe a bit. I know I do in Australia. I don’t know your set up for central air, but I’ve got central heating and both central AC and split system. All have openings outside, so depending on what filters you have in place or wind direction blowing particulates and ash around, ask how best to flush/clean it without contaminating your house insides.

Water pressure - sinks, taps, tubs, showers. Let it run a few minutes before using. It may have been turned off or may have dropped while you were gone.

You may also have a boil water notice placed on the area. Buy bottled water before you go home. If you have electricity, have a kettle.

Do you have electricity and/or gas? Gas may be shut off temporarily for safety reasons. I imagine authorities would have checked before letting people go back to their homes, but just be vigilent of gas smells in and around your home.

Bring what flashlight, and emergency things you have. You may or may not have disruptions while things get back to normal.

Wear mask (and gloves if it’s thick) when cleaning. The soot/ash will have settled everywhere, so depending in what authorities have recommended, you’ll still want to protect yourself when you’re washing the outside of your house. Maybe keep an eye on the weather forecast and pick the sides of the house on the days carefully until good AQ is consistent. Spray affected surfaces down before scrubbing to keep the airborne-able stuff from flying around, and easier to manage.

Keep an eye on utilities and government websites to stay updated on everything. They know your area better than I do, so I can only speak generally about things.

There are too many acronyms in your response (NAS? UPS?), haha but I get the gist of it. If you’re unsure about the freezer food, I’d throw it. It’s not worth getting sick over on top of everything else you have to manage right now. Health services might be overwhelmed, shops may not have the medication you need, and who knows what the road is like if it’s bad enough to need an ambulance.

I’m typing stuff as I remember them (wrote the other reply when still groggy after nap), so I may have more through the week, if you’d like me to keep responding!

First of all, I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through this. It is devastating overall, and especially to your own mental health. I’ve lived in wildfire zones, and it is scary coming up to summer every year.

I do secondary impact assessments, so I look at things outside of structural. More things that look at public health concerns: Mould, food, smoke damage (to food, limited air assessment), septic systems.

How long has it been since power was out?

• All perishables will likely have to go

Heat and smoke damage:

• Some pantry foods will have to go as well, even the canned goods. Excessive heat can affect the integrity of the packaging, and smoke could have penetrated non-vacuum sealed items as well.
• Smoke and ash are hazardous to your health. Who knows what else other than wood smoke might have gotten around (plastics, etc.). Definitely wear a well fitted mask when you go in to the house for the first time, or follow guidance of the authorities.

Will clothes, bedding, mattress be salvageable?

• Depends on how smoke-affected they are. This part, I am not 100% sure on, as it would be case by case. If you have insurance, I’d just go with insurance claims. Trying to wash all the particulate matter might not be great for your laundry machine, either. You also can’t wash a mattress. Unsure how well a commercial vacuum will handle smoke and ash.

Are there things that 100% should be discarded?

• All food in fridges, freezers
• Clothing, bedding, etc. that may have been left outside, I’d get rid of.

Can the house just be cleaned and aired out?

• This is something that the sanitarian (I think that’s what we’re called in the US) and air quality specialists can advise you. The AQ specialist can test the air to see if the house requires further remediation works, or if airing out is fine.

And is there anything specific structurally inside and outside I should look out for that might not be obvious?

• Sorry, I can’t help with this one, but are you on septic or community sewer?
• For septic, you’ll want a sanitarian and/or plumber to assess any damage. I’d ask the sanitarian if they’re going to be out anyway to look at the rest of the place, and you won’t have a plumber telling you that you need to fix/replace things that don’t needing fixing or replacing. You’ll not want sewage anywhere except where it’s supposed to go. Plastic tanks and water tanks melt easy - you don’t want it in your drinking water.

Things to keep in mind:

• Anything with a fan/condenser may need a proper clean, like fridges, freezers, kitchen exhaust canopies, portable and central AC and heaters, microwave, etc. Not only could it push the particulates around, but they could be accumulating particulates and could be a fire risk.
• Clean all surfaces including walls, ceilings, floors.

I haven’t been called out to do SIA’s in a while, but these are the things that have come to mind. I’ll give it a think over the week and get back to you.

Postcards and coins from travelling.