The Solution
Once our team of technicians arrived on scene, they got to work to start extracting the standing water from the halls, offices, bathrooms, and lobby. Due to the amount of water and the fact that it was full of sewage, all carpets and baseboards within the office needed to be removed in order to prevent future health and safety risks for the staff and their clients.
There were several inches of standing water upon ServiceMaster's arrival. Crews immediately disconnected the electrical supply to the building to prevent any safety hazards. Our team removed wet objects from the floor, including important papers and documents that were in standing water.
We then began the stabilization process by installing air movers and dehumidifiers after the water was extracted and the building was cleared for the power to be turned back on. Our technicians used moisture sensing/detecting equipment to establish a drying plan and to track any hidden moisture. This was crucial to not only dry the building structure and materials, but the affected contents within the office space as well.
Flood water is considered a Category 3 water loss, so additional steps are required during the restoration activities due to health and safety concerns. In Category 3 losses, porous items are not salvageable, semi-porous items of value can be saved depending on the severity of the situation. ServiceMaster by Glenn's uses protocols using the IICRC S520 Standard Guide for all of our projects. Like always, we provided documentation of damaged, discarded, and or removed items, and drying continued until the drying goals were met.
