Disaster management means looking after people

Fire, flood, faulty workmanship, an electrical fault, high winds, lightning strikes, and accidental damage to residential buildings are just a few of the things which can result in people being left homeless, whether for a few hours, a few months, or longer.

During the last year alone, the company re-housed 1,700 people following minor and major incidents, including in the aftermath of the explosions at Buncefield, which rendered properties uninhabitable for more than 24 hours. The company was also a lead operator in the wake of the floods at Carlisle and Boscastle.

Since the emergency relocation service was launched eight years ago, it has handled many thousands of cases, working with insurers and loss adjusters; recently, the service was extended to developers faced with occasional construction problems on part-occupied sites.

As someone once said, ‘stuff happens’, and it is best to be prepared. This is my motto!

It is not, unfortunately, the motto of many businesses. While property management companies, housing associations, developers, and big name landlords generally have disaster recovery plans in place for themselves, they do not plan for the unexpected which may impact on their sites and residents. I believe that senior management need to have a greater awareness of how to deal with these situations.

For example, just months ago high winds stripped cladding off an apartment block, rendering it unsafe with council officials and the fire service demanding immediate evacuation of all residents and threatening to condemn the building. In another case, a fault was identified with electrical wiring, and on yet another occasion, a site flooded. That adds up to three whole apartment blocks needing urgent evacuation within the last year, and these are every day events. In the UK, alone, there are over 600,000 house fires annually needing attendance by the Fire Service.

We focus on rapid response, prioritising those in greatest need, co-ordinating individual or mass migration into alternative accommodation without fuss or panic, and with strict attention to cost control.

Our arrangements with hotel chains across the country enable us to quickly move people to safety, giving time for our experienced trained teams to liaise with individuals, identifying their particular concerns, whether it be young children or elderly relatives with special requirements, pets, or specialist medication lost in the stress of the evacuation.

Anyone who can’t return home within a few days will have temporary accommodation arranged within 24 hours; we handle all the negotiations with landlords and letting agents, and rehouse pets if necessary. People’s personal effects and furnishings can be removed from their homes and stored, furniture hired for the temporary accommodation, and subsistence payments made.

We have organised mobile homes for families wanting to stay on site, when fire or flood has ravaged their homes, because they are happier in familiar surroundings, near friends and family, and can keep dogs and cats with them. They are also on hand to discuss repairs or rebuilding, saving builders and insurers time.

The emergency services do a fantastic job, but when that’s done, someone has to pick up the pieces and look after the people affected. That’s where we come in. We look after people professionally at one of the most difficult periods of their lives, and we don’t stop caring when the job’s done – our staff are on hand to discuss any worries and offer advice for months afterwards.