Emergency cleanups require expert help

On a day like March 2, when the heavy ice and snow from previous storms are melted by pouring rain, roofs inevitably bust open, basements flood, and the folks at Insurance Reconstruction Services of Smithfield are busy.
The most frequent cause of property damage the company responds to is water – from broken water pipes, adverse weather or from sprinkler systems and fire hoses putting out a blaze, said company president Jack Anderson.
“It is critical to get to a flooded building quickly to start the mitigation process as soon as possible. An hour can make a huge difference in terms of damage,” said Eric Anderson, Jack’s son and co-founder with him of the spinoff company Water Out Southern New England.
Insurance Reconstruction Services offers 24-hour emergency on-call service with a response within 15 minutes. The company is actually a general contractor, and it handles the process from the emergency response to the complete restoration, Jack Anderson said.
The companies also set up “emergency response agreements” with businesses at no charge. The deals promise that the company will respond to any disaster – whether a fire, a busted water pipe or a pickup truck crashing through a store window – affecting the client before providing services to anyone without such an agreement.
“When something happens to a business, the priority is getting it back open as quickly as possible, because closing means losing money,” said Jack Anderson. “Business owners don’t always know who to call when something happens.”
When a Bryant University dormitory sprinkler head was damaged and flooded three floors of the building, for example, Water Out was able to dry out the affected areas within four days, quickly enough to save all the carpeting.
It is important to dry a property out quickly to prevent mold from growing and taking over, Eric Anderson said.
In the winter, as many local homeowners and businesses experienced firsthand just weeks ago, frozen pipes can be a major cause of floods. An eighth-inch (3-millimeter) crack in a pipe can release up to 250 gallons of water a day, State Farm Insurance says on its Web site.
Water damage also can be caused by appliances such as water heaters, dishwashers, refrigerators and air conditioning units. Water supply hoses on washing machines and dishwashers may develop leaks. Hundreds of gallons of water can escape and significant damage can occur to the building and property inside, State Farm says.
The cost of repairing a business after a catastrophe is often covered through insurance. Companies like Insurance Reconstruction Services work with an insurance adjuster to determine the cost of the damage and reconstruction prior to doing the job.
“We work for the property owners. Price gouging is unacceptable, especially when you are in a partnership with a business,” said Jack Anderson.
Being well prepared for a catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can mean the difference between staying in business and shutting down for good.
An estimated 25 percent of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, a nonprofit in Tampa, Fla., that is financed by insurers and reinsurers to conduct research on and advocate improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.
The best way to avoid being shut down by a disaster is to prepare ahead, said Lori Adamo, president of Code Red Business Continuity Services, in Cranston, which works with businesses to plan for emergency response, crisis communications and operational recovery.
Adamo’s company offers many tips to clients, including, for those in buildings susceptible to flooding and water damage, installing a leak detection system or “water alarm.” Such alarms are inexpensive and easy to install, she said, and there are also systems that stop the water flow in addition to sounding an alarm.
Businesses damaged as a result of a disaster may be eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Any business that is located in a declared disaster area and has been damaged can apply for a loan to help repair or replace damaged property, ranging from inventory to equipment, to its pre-disaster condition. The SBA makes physical disaster loans of up to $1.5 million to qualified businesses.