Long Beach, Ca – The recent rainstorms that inundated Southern California with approximately 12 inches of rain wreaked havoc for many properties, one of which was the Action Management’s West Ocean Association
On January 19th, Project Manager Marc Hepperle of Har-Bro Restoration met with West Ocean’s Chief Engineer, Dan Determan to discuss a separate, unrelated issue at the building. While on the scene, Dan received an urgent call stating that water was flooding the lobby from the front door.
“I’ve never seen anything like it… within 30 minutes, the lobby filled with over six inches of water from the street…” said Marc.
Immediately Dan and Marc took action to reduce secondary damage and to develop a preventative strategy, as they knew the rain would continue to pour relentlessly.
For safety reasons, the elevators were quickly shut down as they were beginning to fill up with water, and furniture was being moved up to the second floor.
Har-Bro immediately dispatched a larger crew that arrived within 40 minutes. They began placing 1200 sandbags, and extracting the water throughout the 10,000 square feet of affected areas consisting of office space, lobby and corridors.
Har-Bro continued to monitor the temperature and humidity levels and set up drying equipment accordingly to facilitate drying of the affected area.
Typically after water extraction, affected drywall in the building is to be removed to facilitate drying. However, since the forecast predicted continuous rain for a few more days, a decision was made to leave the drywall intact so that the drywall on the other side would not get damaged. This was an excellent decision made by Dan Determan and Marc Hepperle as it saved the community money on the reconstruction portion.
After the storms subsided several days later, Har-Bro removed the affected drywall and were able to have the building back to normal humidity and moisture content within three days, ending the emergency phase of the job.
“It was awesome working with the Action Management and Engineers… they were proactive and knowledgeable with the standards of the industry and were not shy in taking the necessary actions immediately…” Says Mia Cruz, Har-Bro Superintendent.
Due to the nature of emergency and restoration business, time is of the essence. Having a Property Management staff that is well versed, such as Action, and is willing to step up rapidly to resolve the situation makes emergency conditions less traumatizing and also saves property. This is not generally the case when working with management companies that are not as proactive and innovative as Action.
Action made quick and accurate decisions, which allowed Har-Bro to come in, and get to work immediately. The entire process of emergency services for a property flood can be daunting, but with the right team in place, Action and Har-Bro, the issue revolved itself to peace of mind quickly.
For more information on Har-Bro and their services please visit twww.Harbro.com or contact Senior Account Manager, Kathy Lawler at 661.754.1315, Kathy.lawler@harbro.com.
