Fire & Smoke Restoration Cleaning — Kalispell & Flathead Valley
Summit Cryo is the mobile dry ice blasting crew that restoration contractors across Kalispell and the Flathead Valley call for fire and smoke damage cleanup. We work alongside your restoration GC as a B2B soot-removal subcontractor — low-abrasion cleaning of salvageable wood, steel, and masonry with scope based on substrate, contaminant, access and site controls.
Fire and smoke damage restoration in Kalispell and Northwest Montana runs on a tight clock — the faster soot is off framing, steel, and masonry, the better the salvage outcome and the lower the claim cost. Summit Cryo works as a specialty subcontractor to restoration GCs and adjusters at our published Flathead Valley rates, with scheduling confirmed on enquiry based on crew availability and travel across the Flathead Valley.
Our service footprint covers Montana, Idaho, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota — see the full Mountain West service area map for market coverage. July is peak wildfire season in Montana, so restoration timelines get compressed fast — see how dry ice blasting handles 2026 wildfire smoke and soot damage — and call early so we can hold response capacity for your loss.
For structural soot on wood, steel, and masonry, dry ice outperforms every water-, chemical-, or media-based alternative — read why dry ice beats soda blasting for soot before you spec the scope, and how to line-item dry ice soot removal in Xactimate when you write the estimate.
Surfaces, substrates, and equipment
- Soot-damaged wood framing
- Smoke-damaged masonry
- Fire-damaged equipment
- Char on structural steel
- HVAC and ductwork
Technical, not marketing
Restoration timelines are unforgiving. The faster soot is off the surface, the better the salvage outcome and the lower the claim cost. Dry ice blasting is the fastest, most documentation-friendly soot removal method available — it strips the soot layer from wood framing, brick, masonry, and structural steel without added process water (which drives soot deeper into porous materials) and without added cleaning chemicals (which complicate the IICRC documentation).
We work as a subcontractor to restoration GCs and partner with adjusters. Mobilization timing depends on crew availability and travel and is confirmed on enquiry; for losses inside our standing service area we typically aim for 24–48 hours. Crews work alongside your demo and content teams and leave a documented per-area record that drops directly into Xactimate or your job-management system.
We're not a retail restoration company — we don't compete with our restoration partners. We're a specialty subcontractor who shows up, executes the soot removal scope, documents it, and goes home.
What a soot and smoke scope actually covers
Written for restoration GCs and adjusters specifying the soot-removal line before the crew arrives.
- Which surfaces and contaminants?
- Soot and char on compatible salvageable materials: wood framing, joists and open studs, structural steel, masonry and brick, and equipment exteriors. The method lifts the soot layer mechanically without adding process water or cleaning chemicals; porous materials vary, so a test patch on a representative area comes first.
- Is this coating or stain removal on log and timber homes?
- No. This is soot and smoke-residue removal after a fire loss. Stripping stain, varnish or finish from log and timber homes is a coating-removal scope, and abrasive or soda media is usually the appropriate method for it — we will tell you that rather than take the job.
- How do you work with our crew?
- As a specialty subcontractor under your contract with your client, sequenced with your demo, contents and drying crews, working to your documentation standards with a per-area photo and scope record.
- What do you need to quote?
- Loss location and access, the affected materials and areas, photos, whether power is available and isolated, and your target window. Mobilisation depends on crew availability and travel and is confirmed on enquiry.
Not included in this scope
- Coating, stain, varnish or paint removal — including log-home and timber refinishing, which is a different method and scope
- Odor elimination as a standalone service; residual odor in porous materials is coordinated with your odor-mitigation specialist after the soot scope closes
- Demolition, contents handling, structural drying and structural repair
- Sanitising, disinfection or any compliance certification
- Hazardous materials — lead, asbestos, silica, PCBs, biohazard — without a licensed abatement contractor engaged
- Guaranteed mobilisation dates, salvage outcomes or claim values
How the estimate is produced
We do not sell instant online pricing. Every job is confirmed in a written estimate after we review the scope.
Flathead Valley: 2 hrs $800 + $250 mobilization · 4 hrs $1,400 · 8 hrs $2,400 · Outside the valley: $350/hr plus travel, 1-day minimum.
Every written estimate confirms travel and mobilization, dry ice, access, ventilation and CO₂ controls, isolation, containment, teardown, site controls, exclusions, and the total.
Next: Dry ice vs. soda, sand and pressure washing — how the soot scope compares before you spec the method.
What working with us looks like
We walk the assets with you before quoting, then send a written scope so there is no ambiguity about what is and isn't included.
We run a test patch on the actual substrate before committing to the full job, so you can see the result before we proceed.
We work inside your maintenance window, subject to site access and ventilation requirements — not the other way around.
Every job closes with a photo record and a time log, so you have documentation on file for your own records.
Photos from Summit Cryo crews
Aircraft cabin sidewall panels
More photographs from Summit Cryo jobs, plus illustrative examples of where the method is used, are on the gallery.
Full galleryPredictable. Documented. Fast.
How a fire, smoke & restoration cleaning day runs
- A self-contained mobile rig — compressor, blaster, dry ice supply, hoses and PPE. We need parking and a route to the work area.
- A pre-start walk-through with your maintenance, safety or site lead to confirm the asset list, access and work window.
- Your lockout/tagout, permit and site rules apply. Isolation of equipment is decided by your people, not by us.
- Containment set around the work zone, with ventilation and CO₂ monitoring planned in for indoor or enclosed areas.
- Blast noise near the nozzle, so adjacent staff are briefed and the area is controlled while work is underway.
- Displaced contaminant is collected and handled per your site's waste protocol; the dry ice itself sublimates to CO₂ gas.
Photo logs and scope sheets
- Photo log — before, during and after photos of the assets and areas cleaned.
- Scope sheet — the assets, inclusions, exclusions and site requirements agreed before work begins.
- Notes on anything observed during the clean that your maintenance team may want to follow up on.
CO₂, noise, PPE and site controls
Dry ice sublimates to carbon dioxide, so ventilation and CO₂ monitoring are part of the scope for any indoor, enclosed or low-lying work area. Crews wear insulated gloves, eye and face protection and hearing protection, with respiratory protection when the contaminant calls for it.
Hazardous materials such as lead, asbestos, silica or biohazards are not disturbed without a licensed abatement contractor engaged.
CO₂ exposure and OSHA safety guideFire, Smoke & Restoration Cleaning: questions buyers ask us
Where this work lands
Available across the Mountain West & Northern Plains
Call Emergency Response
Send the asset, buildup, location and photos. We review the details and follow up with a written scope.