Wolgast Restoration Blog Page

The month of October holds the “longest-running public health observance” in the United States, according to the www.nfpa.org website. It’s the Fire Prevention Week, which has taken place annually since 1922 during the week of October 9^th. President Calvin Coolidge declared the observance to recognize the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This massive fire with many casualties and property loss significantly “changed the way fire fighters thought about fire safety.”

October and fall time in general still remains an appropriate time to recognize fire safety 100 years later. This is when the weather starts to cool and daylight lessens, requiring HVAC units to heat back up, electrical lighting to be used more frequently, and portable heaters to be plugged in across office settings everywhere. For older buildings, these events are all common causes of fires. Other common causes for small businesses include cooking, cigarettes, loose electrical connections, over loaded circuits, or combustible dust build-up to name a few.

In the article What to Remember about Small commercial Structure Fires from www.fireengineering.com, small businesses commonly have large open spaces on the main floor and in the attic or rafter area, which allows a fire to spread rapidly. They point out that when there is a drop ceiling present, it can hide smoke as the fire builds and (depending on the type of business) if shelves are stocked with combustible contents, it makes a fire more difficult to fight.

Protecting Your Staff and Business:

Prevention and preparedness are the keys, especially when many small businesses are less than 5,000 sf and typically aren’t required to have a sprinkler system. Simple practices that you can do to help prevent or prepare for fires include:

• Post microwave safety posters
• Move smoking areas and receptacles away from building exterior and entrances to prevent people extinguishing their cigarette in your landscape or near the base of your building
• Visually check offices for inappropriate electrical strip use
• Frequently wipe down and clean surfaces that may collect combustible dust
• Store chemicals appropriately
• Keep fire extinguishers current and make sure staff members know where they are located
• Keep fire exits clear
• Keep important documents in fire safe boxes
• Keep fire doors closed at all times
• Get input from the Fire Department to make improvements from your building

Extra Precautions for your Server Room:

 Clean Agent or Gaseous Fire Suppression systems are expensive, but they use gas to stifle a fire instead of damaging water or foam. Many business owners would want to save their server or document rooms, which are typically smaller spaces, using a Clean Agent Suppression system. Since it is a smaller area to cover, installing in this area could be a good investment. Additionally, a basement with only one egress could be more cost effective to install a Clean Agent Suppression system rather than removing the building exterior to run a waterline for a sprinkler system. This would be an efficient way to add square footage when you need it. There are several options to fit your needs and Wolgast can help you figure out what will suit you best. As you prepare your budgets for next year, these protections may be something to consider.

Also, for those businesses in the mid Michigan area, store our toll-free number in your phone in the event of a building emergency – 1-855-WOLGAST. We can help you mitigate, clean-up, and restore your building after a fire, flood, storm, or impact. Wolgast Restoration and Wolgast Corporation team together to offer efficient and professional design and re-construction services to get you back in business faster.

Forty to sixty percent of businesses that face disaster, such as a fire, never reopen according to FEMA.gov. To prepare for Fire Prevention Week the beginning of October, we have compiled information about making a business structure more fire resistant.

In 1922, the NFPA originated Fire Prevention Week was a small organizational observance. President Coolidge adopted it nationally in 1925 to be recognized every year during the week of October 9. That date coincides with The Great Chicago Fire, which happened in 1871, killing 250 people and leaving 100,000 homeless (nfpa.org).

This yearly reminder to building inhabitants whether end users or owners is a good practice to help save many lives, homes, and businesses, and we feel that knowing what causes the most fires in a commercial or industrial setting will help business owners protect themselves from hazards, see graphs.

Sources: nfpa.org: U.S. Structure Fires in Office Properties, Aug 2013     nfpa.org: Fires in Industrial and Manufacturing Properties, Mar 2018

For commercial buildings, the majority of fires are started while cooking, so having flame retardant materials and furniture is important in the kitchen area. It’s also important to know that intentional fires are commonly arson caused by a disgruntled person either in the bathroom or an exterior dumpster, therefore, it’s good to be aware of who is in a building when there has been an altercation, empty trash daily, install motion sensor cameras, and keep the dumpster away from the building.   Additionally, most unintentional fires are commonly started by cigarettes in the landscaping or space heaters placed against the wall. Having designated disposal units for cigarettes and a policy about the use of space heaters are great, low cost means to protect from everything going up in smoke (smokeguard.com).

Depending on the size and use of a building, a sprinkler system may be required by code. For example, an office or medical building, AKA light hazard, over 12,000 s.f. is required to be “sprinkled”, but a restaurant only needs to be 5,000 s.f. to require a sprinkler system. I interviewed Bernie with Jimco Fire Protection, Inc. about what materials building owners should use to be more fire resistant and he suggested, “Metal trusses with fire retardant sheeting is the best way to go on a roof.” By using these materials, an attic doesn’t need to be sprinkled regardless of the size even if the rest of the building needs to be. Another option that Bernie doesn’t readily recommend is instead using wood trusses and installing a dry suppression system. It may be less upfront cost, but there will be regular ongoing maintenance of the system that will likely add up to cost more and cause more risky down time. According to sciencedirect.com, other material selections good for fire protection of a building envelope (i.e. walls, ceiling, floors, columns, and roof), are heat resistant materials and/or metal choices, such as concrete, coated steel, brick and mortar, treated wood, glass, and other metals to name a few.

Also, depending on the size and use of a building, an owner may be required by code to incorporate the following into the structural design, fire curtain, a minimum number of fire alarms, emergency lights and exit signs, and a minimum number of fire extinguishers. Bernie reminded us that if adding on to a building, it could trigger the additional expense of some of these requirements.

Low cost ways to protect staff, customers and assets from fire damage include good housekeeping inside and out of the building, maintenance, having a disaster response plan, and a contingency plan. The best practice is to take the time to train staff on fire safety and how to use an extinguisher, and discuss a disaster plan with staff including where to meet outside the building to be accounted for in the event of an emergency.

I asked Bernie what was new in the fire protection industry and he said, “Sprinkler heads are the only thing changing. In the 70s there were only 4 options, now there’s an unknown number of options.” He shared that on the market are single heads that can reach 30 ft. one way and 30 ft. the other way, essentially covering entire rooms with its spray. A head of that strength of spray requires only one main line in a room, rather than using more materials to branch out with piping through the space and also needs less labor saving on cost.

Wolgast Corporation and Wolgast Restoration are in a unique position to be able to assist business owners to rebuild during a disaster. We have the insurance restoration expertise to help with clean up along with the design and construction expertise to rebuild the structure if it’s needed. In the event of an emergency call 855-WOLGAST for our 24-Hour emergency hotline, or 800-WOLGAST for other building needs.

Property owners of Michigan, this map, credited to redcross.org¹, suggests that Michigan has insignificant threat of any natural disaster compared to all the rest of the states.  Sure, we aren’t much effected by earthquakes, although we have felt aftershocks from time to time, and it’s unlikely that we will ever have hurricane force winds hit us, but the rain and lesser significant winds of hurricanes do reach us causing damage.  Though someone looking at the map may pat themselves on the back for choosing to live in the Great State of Michigan, there are definitely natural disasters and other mayhem for which we need to be prepared.

According to michigan.gov², Michigan’s primary natural threats include floods, thunderstorms, tornadoes, wild fires, and of course winter weather.  Knowing a few details and statistics can help us prepare for disasters, even though most disasters are completely unpredictable.

Thunderstorms are the “primary source of summer rainfall” in Michigan according to (weather-us.com)³.  They are a heavy hitter possibly bringing heavy rain, flash flooding, wind, hail, tornadoes, and/or lightning.  Each of these hazards bring their own havoc to property, which we will discuss more below.  They occur mostly from May to September.  Michigan averages 28 – 40 thunderstorms per year in the Lower Peninsula and 20 – 30 in the Upper Peninsula (michigan.gov)². Building owners also have to be prepared for power outages during these storms.

Ninety percent of damage caused by natural disasters in the US is from a flood event (iii.org)⁴. There is not a “flooding season” per say, but they historically have happened in the spring and summer in Michigan.  Additionally, Michigan’s potential for early spring flooding is higher because of the thawing of winter ice and snow makes lake and river levels rise.  Floods cause damage to foundations, drywall and contents within a building, and if not cleaned or dried properly can result in microbial growth that makes inhabitants sick.

In Michigan, most tornadoes occur between April and July.  Experts have even predicted that a tornado is more likely to occur between 3PM and 7PM.  An average of 16 tornadoes occur in Michigan each year (michigan.gov)⁵.  Tornadoes can cause massive damage to property through heavy winds and force.  Depending on the strength of the wind a tornado can break heavy branches or uproot trees that land on a building, push mobile homes off their foundation, tear off roofs, level well-constructed walls, or lift homes off their foundation.  Power outages are prevalent during tornado storms due to tree limbs and debris falling on power lines.

Hail is common in the spring season in Michigan (weather-us.com)³.  Most Michigan counties see an average of 2 hail events per year.  Hail can cause costly property damage to roofs and siding, resulting in insurance claims and restoration construction.

Wild fires have happened historically between March and October, and most commonly “during the driest part of the year”.  More than 75% of Michigan is covered in forested land in Northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula.  We see an average of 550 minor wild fire events a year (michigan.gov)². Most people think that lightning is the main cause of the fires, but it is actually more commonly caused by debris burning.  The Michigan.gov document “MHA 2019 Full Update Natural Hazards” discusses creating a vulnerable structure to be “Firewise” to protect it from wildfires, which includes non-flammable exterior materials and removing vegetation surrounding the building to provide a barrier from wildfire flames and ash.

Winter weather is more hazardous to automobiles and the health of individuals driving or walking/recreating in Michigan.  However, our winter weather causes damage to property through ice dams, frozen pipes and heavy snow on roofs.  The Lower Peninsula averages 90-180 days of below freezing temperatures (michigan.gov)².  Insulating pipes near outer walls and keeping the heat above 55 can help prevent the pipes from freezing.  Flooding from frozen pipes only occurs once the pipe starts to thaw creating quite a mess causing restoration of your pipes and the water damage remediated.  Ventilating your attic will help regulate the temperature and moisture in the space to prevent ice dams and water infiltration at the roof barrier. And flatter roof styles will need to remove snow built up on their shingles to protect from the weight, ice, thaw, and damage.

The unpredictable behavior of Mother Nature makes it difficult to prepare your structure in some cases and still live daily life, so it’s most important to have a plan to protect yourself and have phone numbers ready to call your insurance provider and restoration contractor immediately after.  It’s a good practice to have needed items ready in case the power goes out, for example: a light source, charged energy source(s), communication device(s), food, drink, and important papers in a safe place.  Call Wolgast Restoration when a disaster hits your property.

Sources:

¹ www.redcross.org

²  https://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/MHA_2019__full_update_natural_hazards_653708_7.pdf

³ https://www.weather-us.com/en/michigan-usa-climate?f,in,in,mi#climate_text_4

⁴ https://www.iii.org/article/facts-about-flood-insurance

⁵ https://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp-tornado_tips_8781_7.pdf

In a high stress situation of a Catastrophe (CAT) Loss, it’s easy to forget that insurance carriers and restoration companies are working toward the same goal: restoring a property to a pre-loss condition while satisfying the policy holder efficiently.  Meeting the customer’s needs can be taxing for both ends of the spectrum whether it’s matching coverage expectations or the speed and manpower expectations, all while numerous other customers are also calling to notify you of their needs.  Wolgast has a plan in place to support insurance carriers during this harried time.

We know the importance of moving quickly to reach the optimal number of policy holders and following through with quality service to keep them happy.  As a systemized company, we use a carefully constructed and laid out CAT protocol/process and are prepared to reach a wide variety of property owners in a short amount of time, plus we have the capacity and resources to effectively handle their restoration needs by drawing from our general construction division and its staff when necessary.  This system guides us to know the manpower that we will need, the responsibilities of each staff member and the communication necessary to remain responsible, accountable and organized.  Also, with two locations in Michigan, one near the center of the state in Freeland and one in the southwest in Kalamazoo, we’re ready to cover a large portion of Michigan to readily help you serve your clients.

Our specialty restoration services for quick reference:

• Board-ups
• Content Clean-up and Storage
• Restoration of water, mold, fire, smoke, wind, vehicle, and/or vandal damage
• Rebuilding (General Construction Division)

We are specialized handle any size claim for both commercial and residential property owners.  Please contact our 24-hour hotline at 855-WOLGAST in the event of an emergency.

Download our White Paper, “Reduce the Effects of a Disaster on Your Business” at: www.wolgastrestoration.com/reduce-the-effects-of-a-disaster-on-your-business to learn the details about how we do this for Businesses.