Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Exactly! If a room experienced 1200° it would look like the remains of a bonfire - soot and ash.

Alby144 Loc: Northern Nevada

1200 degrees may be a flash of heat heat...I do not know, I am not the expert, but it's what an expert told me. That same person told me he has no experience with photography equipment, but he does know the chemicals and acids in the smoke create havoc for electronics.

I only came with the question for those that may have experienced something similar.

deanfl Loc: Georgia

I suggest talking to your insurance claims adjuster about how they will handle the damage to your camera equipment. Then you can decide on repairs vs. replacement. I just bought a used Nikon 18-140 from KEH for less than $200.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

GLSmith Loc: Tampa, Fl

Consider accepting the claim from your insurance company for "contents" & replacing the body & lenses. Think of this, would you want to be out on an important shoot....say your sons or daughters wedding and have the electronics tart out. Water damage from fire hoses is another thing I would consider, if the camera body &/or lens got wet, you might have mold issues starting.

jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

Sorry about your loss.

My first job (in 1992) as an engineer was to salvage a big steam power plant which burned to the ground. A very successful job, because just 50 million $ and 3 years later, it was working like new.

Smoke, specially created by burning plastics (like carpets, wiring, etc.) creates chlorhydric acid (HCl) which corrodes metals e.g: electric and electronic components.

If smoke got into your gear, it is probably not salvageable... but it should not be thrown away before even trying.

These are the steps I'd recommewnd:

1) Take all batteries out, NOW

Corrosion is an electrical phenomenon, if there is HCl and moisture inside, electrical fields will significantly boost corrosion.

2) Send the gear to Nikon for a damage assessment and ask - if salvageable at all - for a budgetary proposal on the repairs.

I very doubt that Nikon will even try to repair the gear if there is evidence of smoke, because the should use a chemical process to neutralize the acid (NaOH + HCl -> NaCl + H2O) and then rinse everything in distilled water.

*BUT* at least you will know if smoke got in-

3) If (2) fails, use Nikon's statement on non repairability to cash you insurance

Hope it helps.

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

Sorry for your loss! I can identify with it. You will think of things for years, that you missed while doing the inventory for insurance. And almost nothing costs the same as when you bought it. And sooo many things have no direct replacement. I agree with GLSmith, consider accepting the insurance offer for contents.

JBRIII

Any fire, I would suspect is not good, but if materials were heated to high temperatures without actually burning, they would be subject to decomposition, both with and without oxidation involved. The non-oxygen process is called pyrolysis and produces a wide range of nasty materials not good for anything or anyone. Plastics can release hydrochloric acid which corrodes stainless steel and lungs. Wood yields acetic acid, phenolics and many, many other compounds.
If this crap is in the camera, probably needs a complete tear down and cleaning even if nothing actually melted.
Never worked on cameras, but did do pyrolysis.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Nikon is your best bet to find out the condition. Sorry about your terrible tragedy.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

That is horrible. Sorry to hear you had a fire.

Alby144 Loc: Northern Nevada

This is the kind of heat they dealt with in this fire...the last photo is a screen shot from a local TV station.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

So sorry for your loss.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Salvageable, why? If insurance will replace them then do it..you don’t know what’ll happen a few months out, file the insurance. Truly sorry for your loss.

Alby144 Loc: Northern Nevada

If they deem it non-salvageable, that's fine with me. I was interested in the possibility that it may be repairable, in the even it is not considered non-salvageable.

Alby144 Loc: Northern Nevada

This fits with what Belfor has told me from the start. Pretty much all electronics are a loss. It's too early in the game right now but 10-1 I'll be replacing all of my camera gear.