I had a call to check a piano that had been in a home during a severe
house fire.  The piano itself was at the opposite end of the house from
the fire.  There was very little smoke damage to the piano.  Everything
seemed to look fine within the piano, but I estimated that the piano
was a total loss.   The owner felt that I was not the least bit
accurate, and questioned my statement.

There seems to be some chemical which comes from a fire which coats
metal parts within a piano.  I am not certain what this chemical might
be.  The damage may not show up immediately, but within a few years,
all metal parts which were exposed to the smoke corroded so badly the
piano was not usable.

Has anyone had experience with this phenomenon?

Bruce Clark