SERVPRO's 1-4-8 Response Guideline

4/8/2021 (Permalink)

Faster to Any Size Disaster

This isn’t just a catch phrase for us.  When we say that SERVPRO is faster to any size disaster, we mean it.  No other damage restoration company will arrive faster to any disaster restoration job with the capability to start cleanup immediately.  

How do we know we’ll always respond faster?  All SERVPRO franchises in the nation uphold the 1-4-8 policy.  

SERVPRO 1-4-8 Response Guideline

1 Hour: Service Arrangement

When anyone calls our business, we are committed to responding within 1 hour.  Our office has a live on-call manager 24 hours a day ready to answer the phone as soon you call.  We ask you pertinent questions about your emergency and then relay that information to our staff.

In our office, every customer is assigned to one administrator and one remediation manager.  These two individuals are charged with making sure you are taken care of from beginning to end.  Within the hour, they receive your information, understand what has happened, and are preparing crews of technicians to respond.

Within the same hour, we will also have technicians dispatched to your property or have scheduled your job for a future time and date of your choice.  

4 Hours: Arrival

Within 4 hours of your call, a crew of technicians will arrive at your property ready to work. In most instances, we are able to arrive within 2 hours of your phone call.

While you’re waiting for our arrival, take these safety precautions to mind:

Water Damage Safety

• If the water is contaminated, do not allow any person or pets in the affected areas.
• Contaminated water comes from sewage backups and storm flooding.
• Do not handle any compromised electronics.  
• If the water is not contaminated, you may want to pick up objects off the floor to prevent them from getting permanently damaged.
• Consider picking up rugs, clothing, and toys. If you’re unable to, please wait for our technicians to arrive.
• If you do pick up items off the floor, be mindful that the water absorption makes items much heavier. Do not strain yourself! If you’re unable to pick up an item comfortably, please wait for our technicians.
  
  

Fire Damage Safety

• Do not handle any compromised electronics.  It is possible for the smoke particles to have breached inside the machinery and compromised its integrity.
• Do not stay in an affected room without proper ventilation.  
• In the event where there is a lot of smoke, do not run your air conditioning unit.  This may cause soot that settled in the air ducts to blow out and circulate around your property.
• If the ceiling or walls were damaged, stay away from that area.
• Do not load soot affected clothing or textiles in your washer and dryer.  Household washing machines are not equipped to handle this type of cleaning, and the soot will likely permanently damage your clothing.  

Mold Cleanup Safety

• If you or anyone in your property is experiencing mold symptoms, stay away from the mold affected area.  
• Do not attempt to clean the mold yourself.  Improper cleaning will disturb the mold which causes its spores to go airborne.
• Do not run a fan or the air conditioner in the room with mold.  This will cause the mold spores to go airborne.

Biohazard Cleanup Safety

• A biohazard is a biological agent that poses a health hazard to humans.  These include blood, vomit, and feces.
• Do not touch the biohazard with your bare skin.

8 Hours: Response Plan Briefing

If you are filing a homeowners insurance claim, we will start your claims process and make initial contact with your insurance adjuster to let them know we’ve received your information.  Within 8 hours of your call, we’ll provide them with the restoration plan our technicians have created, and they will start the beginning documentation of your claim.

As your restoration project continues, our administrators will continue to keep in touch with your insurance adjuster.  In many instances, we will communicate with them on a daily basis.

While we will guide you through your situation, it’s sometimes comforting to know what to expect.  

Water Damage Restoration

While every situation is different, the water damage restoration follows a general process.  This includes:

• Inspection.  We will inspect for the extent of the damage in your home and prepare a plan to extract all water and dry your property.
• Disinfecting.  If the water is contaminated, we will disinfect the affected areas.
• Water removal.
• Carpet removal.  We will try to save your carpet, but in almost every case, the carpet itself will have to be elevated to allow us to remove the padding underneath.  If the carpet is not salvageable, it’ll be completely removed. A small sample of your carpet will be saved to let your insurance company replace it.  Carpet restoration services are possible after your property has been dried.
• Drying.  We will set professional drying equipment to remove excess moisture.  
• Drying monitoring.  We will visit your property once a day to take moisture measurements and remove equipment as its no longer necessary.  Removing excess equipment as we meet our drying goals will reduce your bill.
• Documentation.  We will send all measurements, photos, and the restoration plan to your insurance company.  This will help them know your property is being taken care of properly.

Fire Damage Restoration

Just like water damage, the process for fire cleanup will be different for every property.  The general process is as follows.

• Emergency roof tarping and board up.  This will prevent precipitation from entering your property and will also help deter theft.  It’s especially important to do this as soon as the fire is out to prevent secondary damage. Many insurance companies will not cover the cost of secondary damage as they consider it preventable and the responsibility of the homeowner to take care of.
• Water damage restoration.  Many times, a fire and water damage go hand in hand since firefighters use water.  We will extract all the water to help prevent mold.
• Inspection.  Before work begins, many insurance companies require an estimate of the damage the fire caused.  Many adjusters will want to approve our work before anything actually begins. For this reason, we will inspect your property and send the estimate as quickly as possible.
• Demolition. If any portion of a property is permanently damaged, we will perform demolition.
• Moving and storage services.  In almost every case, an entire home’s contents have to be packed and moved out of site in order for the home to be cleaned.
• Fire damage cleanup.  Cleanup includes the removal of all soot, air duct cleaning, and odor removal.
• Odor removal.
• Cleaning household items.  When items are taken out of a home, they are transported to our cleaning facility where they are also cleaned and deodorized.  
• Reconstruction.  If any portion of the home needed demolition, we will reconstruct it.

• Containment.  To prevent mold spores from traveling to other parts of the property, we will set up floor to ceiling containment as remediation occurs.
• HEPA vacuum filtration.  During mold remediation, we may run HEPA vacuum filtration to clean the air.
• Cleanup.
• Demolition and Reconstruction.  If the mold was on an item long enough, it may have damaged it permanently.  In this case, that part of the property is taken out and replaced.

Response During Flooding

Our 4-hour policy holds true in almost every case.  Please note that in extraordinary circumstances where widespread storm damage is happening, we may not be able to arrive within 4 hours.  While these cases are rare, we will give you an estimated time frame for our arrival and call you as we’re on the way.

During storm situations, please be vigilant of ill reputable water damage companies or individuals claiming to be disaster restoration experts.  It is understandable to want help to arrive as fast as possible. During storm situations, our office activates its Storm Protocol to reach as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time.  Our crews work around the clock to make this possible. Just as important as receiving quick service is receiving the proper service. Improper water damage cleanup can lead to more property damage, including mold growth.  

When a community is in need, it’s an unfortunate fact that some people are taken advantage of by unknown companies claiming to help.  These people typically solicit work door-to-door and ask for a cash down payment before promising to begin work. With money in hand, they often leave town after either doing a poor mitigation job or not beginning work at all.  

Please be mindful of fake disaster restoration companies during storm situations. 

Fire and Water Damage Restoration

SERVPRO of Baldwin and Monroe is a leader in the restoration industry. We are based out of Milledgeville, GA, and we have helped restore communities in our home of Central Georgia for over 20 years. With our crews responding immediately to jobs, we are faster to any size disaster. 

Our crews are available dispatch for 24 hour emergencies every day of the year. We can be reached 24/7 at 478-452-8000. Call us any time!

We are a family owned and operated business.

“Like it never even happened,” only happens here.