3 Steps to Prepare for Disasters like Floods, Fires and Hurricanes

In Long Island New York, we are all aware of flooding and high tides. Here’s some helpful information when it comes to preparing for disaster. 

The top 3 steps for preparing for disaster are:

1. Identify Likely Threats for Disaster
2. Plan Your Disaster Response
3. Practice

In an emergency, every second matters. Does your business have a disaster response plan in place that can enable it to make the most of this crucial time? While everyone hopes to dodge disaster, being prepared for the worst increases the odds that your entire team can be ready to ride it out safely and take action quickly to address the situation. As a leader in the industry, SERVPRO OF AMITYVILLE / LINDENHURST has frequently been called on to assist with the aftermath of a catastrophe. We have seen first-hand the difference that having a disaster response plan in place can make. How do you make one for your business?

Identify Likely Threats for Disaster

What threats are likely to menace your commercial property and the people who spend time there? That depends on several factors, including your region and the nature of your business. Are you located in an area prone to flooding when severe weather hits? Are hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or heavy snows likely to be a problem? What about human-generated threats like violence or toxic chemical releases? Are there features in your building that are vulnerable to damage or likely to present a threat to the building’s occupants in an emergency?

Plan Your Disaster Response

After identifying the threats most likely to cause problems for your business, consider what steps you’ll need to complete to respond effectively. Planning while you have a cool head and time to research various strategies can help you make better decisions when you’re under pressure. Now is the time to develop lockdown and evacuation procedures. Determine how you will maintain communication with your employees, your clients, and your suppliers, and where your vital information and important contact numbers are stored. Who can take charge of dealing with what in the wake of a disaster? Who can you turn to for professional restoration services during your recovery? Ensuring that the answers to these questions are common knowledge before trouble hits reduces confusion and prepares your team to make the right decisions at crunch time.

Practice

Drafting a disaster response plan for your business is a good start, but it’s not enough. To be truly effective, preparedness planning must be an ongoing process. Make time to practice with drills so that everyone who needs to know what to do is aware of the plan. Review the plan periodically to ensure that all the information listed remains current. Update it if necessary. Revisit and refine the plan as needed so that your business is always ready to achieve the best result in a worst-case scenario.

How can SERVPRO OF AMITYVILLE / LINDENHURST help your business survive a disaster? We know what it takes to deliver an effective response in a disastrous situation. With 24/7 emergency services and a team of highly trained restoration specialists who thrive on using professional-grade equipment and resources to deliver exceptional service and dependable results quickly, we’re always ready to put our knowledge to work on your behalf. We’re proud to offer a wide range of commercial restoration services that can help you overcome damage from severe storms, water, fire or mold and get back to business faster. To explore our services or request our assistance, contact us today.

Roof truss in flames

Pulling Back the Curtain: Revealing Long Islands Fire Damage Restoration Process

When a fire damages your commercial or residential property, our Amityville staff knows what it takes to make it seem “Like it never even happened.” It’s not magic. No wands, white rabbits or cabinets with trick bottoms are involved. Instead, it’s the precise use of specialized tools and techniques by restoration experts who are committed to restoring your property to its pre-damage condition that makes the damage disappear. How exactly do we do it? While stage magicians may refuse to reveal their secrets, we’re happy to give you a peek behind the curtain and explain the fire damage restoration process.

Contact

When disaster strikes, a fast response is vital. After all, putting out the fire doesn’t halt the damage. The water used to extinguish the flames and the lingering chemicals from the ash, soot, and smoke can continue to cause damage until they are properly removed. That’s why we make it a point to be faster to any disaster. We start work on water removal even before we arrive on the scene. When you reach out to our experts for assistance, we’ll begin asking questions and collecting information immediately so that we can get the right resources to you as quickly as possible.

Assessment

Once on the scene, our team inspects the damaged area and other relevant locations to determine the scope of the problem and identify all fire, smoke, soot, and water damage. Our technicians are highly trained and armed with the tools needed to spot both the apparent damage and the hidden issues that others might overlook. While the immediate impact of a fire may be contained to one location, water, smoke, and soot can travel far from the initial trouble zone to damage other areas of your home or business. By determining the full extent of the problem immediately, we’re able to develop a comprehensive plan to safely and effectively return your property to the way it was before the fire.

Mitigation

Roofs, walls, floors, and windows are often compromised after a fire, leaving your property vulnerable. Mitigation efforts are designed to secure the site and prevent further damage from the elements. After the initial assessment is completed, our team can board up missing doors, windows, and walls and cover battered roofs with tarps.

Removal of Water, Smoke, Ash, and Soot

Whether it’s from rain, broken plumbing, or the efforts to suppress the fire, water lurking in places never intended to hold it can cause significant problems. Professional-grade pumps can be used to remove any standing water, and dehumidifiers, fans, and other equipment can be brought in to ensure that everything is properly dried. Then, we’ll set to work removing smoke, ash, soot, and any other destructive substances that the fire left behind. When left on walls, counters, ceilings, appliances and other surfaces, these residues can wreak havoc. Stained fabrics, tarnished metals, yellowed plastics, and etched glass are likely to be permanent reminders of the fire’s wrath unless professional techniques and tools are utilized to remove the damaging residues in a timely fashion properly.

Cleaning and Sanitizing

A fire rarely damages just a building. The contents housed within it are also impacted. Unfortunately, improper cleaning can lock in that damage. Restoration companies know how to clean and sanitize a wide range of materials effectively. We also prioritize restoration over replacement. If there are things that are beyond repair, we know how to dispose of them properly. Thanks to our arsenal of both time-tested and cutting-edge techniques and professional-grade tools, our highly trained team is capable of restoring fire-damaged items that others would discard. While we cannot save everything, putting restoration first allows you to retain more of your personal property and keeps your total restoration costs lower. What about the stubborn smoky odors that often persist after a fire? We’ll utilize industrial air scrubbers and specialized fogging equipment to remove them. Also, we can apply sanitizers and antimicrobial cleansers when appropriate to ensure that your space is clean and healthy.

Final Restoration

After what cannot be saved has been removed and what remains has been cleaned and sanitized, it’s time to finish the restoration process by returning your home or business to its pre-loss condition. Depending on the damage done, this may entail minor repairs like painting or installing fresh carpet. Alternately, it may call for significant renovations that involve rebuilding certain areas of the property.

If disaster strikes your property, don’t face the aftermath alone. A trusted leader in the industry our business is always ready to respond to requests for assistance. We know trouble rarely waits for a convenient time. That is why our crew provides 24/7 emergency service. Whether the problem is impacting your entire community or just your residential or commercial property, we have the resources to tackle it. Our team of restoration experts is extensively trained in reversing fire damage, water damage, storm damage, and mold issues and armed with the right tools for the job. Don’t wait. Reach out to us today to learn more about our services, discover tips for creating a disaster response plan, or request our assistance.

Prepare Rather than React: Be Ready for the Challenge

You work hard to build your business, earning a reputation as a trustworthy and responsive product or service provider in your industry. The strong relationships you forge with customers depend both on the quality of your offerings and your reliability when supplying them. As long as nothing interferes with your flow of goods and services, reinforcing the connection benefits both you and your patrons.

If a disaster brings your operations to a halt, however, the goodwill and loyalty customers feel toward you, and your business can evaporate swiftly. No matter how robust your efforts and sincere your intentions, it is likely, your clientele begins to search for a successor if you cannot deliver on your promises. Statistics bear out that half of the companies forced to close temporarily due to significant water, fire, storm, or other damage find it impossible to reopen promptly and prosper.

This shocking fact need not cause despair. Instead, focus your energy on preparing for the effects of a commercial crisis with SERVPRO, a nation-wide leader in disaster mitigation and recovery. Our presence as a full-service restoration resource dates to 1967. During the 50 plus years of experience accumulated since we have helped businesses just like yours face and overcome losses ranging from the inconvenient to the catastrophic. Our highly-qualified and extensively equipped teams are ready to make your current calamity “Like it never even happened.”

Long Island New York Disaster Help https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/1623/LIVOAD

Long Island Red Cross https://www.redcross.org/local/new-york/greater-new-york/about-us/locations/long-island.html

The key to utilizing our proven disaster resolution services most effectively is our Emergency READY Plan and Profile (ERP). Long before an emergency derails your day to day transactions and workflow, consult with our experienced project managers. We can help develop practical protocols to minimize potential disruption and get your business up and running again.

We visit your physical premises to view and document the layout of your enterprise. This blueprint-type information is crucial as we devise an individualized approach to stop ongoing destruction from any agents affecting your property. As we assess your commercial spaces, we note the strengths and vulnerabilities of your current configuration. Based on our knowledge of restoration industry best practices and our extensive experience in the field, our field rep is positioned to make recommendations about adaptations you can make now to minimize the impact of a wide range of disaster scenarios.

Share with us your priorities and concerns as we work together on a concise digital document that guides your understanding and dictates our response agenda. Our goal is to fine-tune your ERP to reflect the unique circumstances that make you a sought-after vendor, contractor, or service provider. We take every opportunity to collaborate with you, devising ways you can continue to meet the needs of your customers while we manage mitigation and remediation of any disaster.

SERVPRO OF AMITYVILLE / LINDENHURST ERP clarifies that we are your preferred restoration partner, streamlining the project from inception to completion. The contact information you give us about the installers of your systems and equipment helps us reach out to those in the best position to answer our questions as we return things to normal. You can even plan for situations where you might be unavailable to direct your business’s actions after a disaster. Use the mobile app to designate trusted individuals to act for you and your company until you can take back the reins.

Although a commercial property-damaging disaster can be unexpected in its timing, working with us through the ERP process can make the recovery process predictable. When our experts educate you and your employees about steps to take before and immediately after a disaster, complications are minimized or avoided. Our transparency in communication helps you understand what is likely to occur during restoration, giving you confidence in the actions of our professionals.

We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster. Commit to leveraging our speed and specialized services for the benefit of your company, employees, and customers by starting the creation of an ERP today. Register at https://www.servproamityvillelindenhurst.com/contact/contactus select your preferred provider and follow the prompts. We are poised to answer any questions and eager to help you prepare for and avert a business-ending disaster.