# Firefighting water damage in Myers Park homes > Drying large Myers Park homes after firefighting: plaster ceilings, paneling, hardwood floors, basements and humid Charlotte air. URL: https://firedamagerestorationcharlotte.com/firefighting-water-damage-myers-park/ Section: Home > Service areas > Myers Park > Firefighting Water Damage in Myers Park Last updated: 2026-10-31 Disclosure: Fire Damage Restoration Charlotte is a call-in referral service. Your call is connected to an independent, licensed local contractor who speaks with you on that call; we do not perform the work ourselves. Large Myers Park houses can take in a lot of water during firefighting, and it spreads through plaster ceilings, paneled walls, hardwood floors and basements or crawl spaces. Old materials dry slowly in Charlotte's humid air. Our page on [water damage from firefighting](https://firedamagerestorationcharlotte.com/services/water-damage-from-firefighting/) covers the general approach. Call and an independent local contractor will be with you on that call to talk through drying your house. ## Key facts - The EPA recommends drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours to help prevent mold [1]. - CDC guidance advises discarding items that cannot be cleaned and dried [3]. - Myers Park was planned beginning in 1911 as a garden suburb [6]. ## Water moving down through a Myers Park house In a large two- or three-story home, water from upper floors runs down through ceilings and walls. Plaster ceilings can sag under the weight. Nobody should stand under a sagging ceiling. Crews support or remove loose sections and start drying. Firefighters often have to use a lot of water on fires in attics and upper floors of large houses with complex roofs. That water travels down through every floor below, so a fire in a third-floor room can leave the first-floor ceilings and the basement wet as well. ## Wet paneling and built-ins in Myers Park Wood paneling and built-ins can swell, warp or lose their finish when wet. Drying them slowly and evenly helps prevent cracking. A furniture or millwork specialist can advise on finishes. Panels and cabinet doors that are removed for drying should be numbered and stored flat, so they go back in the same place and do not warp while they dry. ## Drying a Myers Park home A typical sequence. 1. **Make the Myers Park house safe:** Check power and ceilings. 2. **Extract water across Myers Park floors:** From floors, rugs and lower levels. 3. **Set drying equipment through the Myers Park house:** Fans and dehumidifiers throughout. 4. **Record Myers Park moisture readings daily:** Until materials are dry. ## Wide-plank floors after Myers Park firefighting Wide-plank hardwood floors absorb water and can cup. Slow, even drying gives the boards the best chance of lying flat again. Some boards may need replacing. Old wide boards were often nailed directly to the joists or to a plank subfloor, and water can sit between the layers. Drying from below, where the basement or crawl space allows it, helps both layers dry evenly. ## Myers Park basements and crawl spaces after a fire Water can collect in basements or crawl spaces. Removing it and drying these areas keeps humidity down. Wet insulation should be removed. Some Myers Park houses have full basements with old furnaces, boilers or storage rooms, while others sit over crawl spaces. Either way, water that drains down from above should be pumped out promptly and the area dried, since damp lower levels keep the whole house humid. ## Drying Myers Park homes in humid weather Humid summers slow drying. Closed windows and dehumidifiers usually work better than airing out. Moisture readings guide the work [1]. Big houses with high ceilings hold a large volume of air, so drying them takes more dehumidifiers than a small house. Charlotte's long, muggy summers make it worth sealing off the wet areas so the equipment does not have to dry the whole house at once. ## Wet wiring in older Myers Park houses Power to wet areas should be shut off and checked [2]. Permits for electrical repairs come from Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement [4]. Do not use wet outlets. Some older homes still have sections of early wiring in walls or attics. These systems are more easily affected by water and should be checked before power is restored to wet rooms. ## Signs of trapped water in a Myers Park home Mention any of these when you call about a Myers Park home. - **Plaster ceilings bowing in Myers Park rooms:** Water above. - **Floorboards curling at the edges:** Moisture in wood. - **A damp, musty smell from below:** Possible mold. - **Paint blistering on plaster walls:** Water in walls. ## Protecting Myers Park contents from water Valuable contents should be moved out of wet areas. Porous items that cannot be dried should be discarded [3]. Specialists can dry rugs, books and art. Wet books and papers can be frozen to stop further damage until a specialist dries them. Wool rugs should be lifted off wet floors quickly so dyes do not bleed and the floors beneath can dry. ## Cleaning that follows Myers Park drying Once dry, cleanup begins. See [smoke damage cleanup in Myers Park](https://firedamagerestorationcharlotte.com/smoke-damage-cleanup-myers-park/). The [Myers Park](https://firedamagerestorationcharlotte.com/areas/myers-park/) page covers approvals. Fine plaster and paneling should only be cleaned and sealed after moisture readings show they are dry, to avoid trapping water behind new finishes. ## Slate roofs, attics and water from above in Myers Park When firefighters open a slate or tile roof to fight an attic fire, rain can keep entering through the opening until it is covered. Water from the hoses and the weather together can soak attic insulation, which then holds water against the ceilings below for days. Wet attic insulation is usually removed and replaced. Getting a tarp on the roof quickly, as our [board-up and tarping in Myers Park](https://firedamagerestorationcharlotte.com/board-up-tarping-myers-park/) page explains, stops new water from undoing the drying work below. ## Mold risk in large Myers Park homes The EPA explains that mold needs moisture to grow and that controlling moisture is the key to preventing it [1]. In large houses, it is easy to miss a damp closet, a wall cavity behind paneling or a corner of the basement. Systematic moisture readings room by room help catch these spots. If mold does appear, CDC guidance explains how to clean it safely and when materials should be removed instead [3]. Porous items with mold growth are generally discarded. ## Firefighting Water Damage in Myers Park: questions ### My Myers Park ceiling is sagging. What should I do? Stay out from under it and let a crew handle it. ### Can paneling be dried? Often, with slow, even drying. ### Should I open windows? On humid days, dehumidifiers work better. ## Sources 1. [U.S. EPA: A brief guide to mold, moisture and your home](https://www.epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home) 2. [U.S. Fire Administration: Home fire prevention and safety](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/) 3. [CDC: Mold cleanup after a disaster](https://www.cdc.gov/mold/) 4. [Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement](https://code.mecknc.gov/) 5. [Wikipedia: Water damage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_damage) 6. [Wikipedia: Myers Park (Charlotte)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers_Park_(Charlotte)) ## Talk to someone Call (704) 386-9209 (+17043869209). Your call connects to an independent local contractor who speaks with you on that call.