www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 4, 2014 | 12 Advertorial H O L I D A Y H E L P E R S Lessons From the Burlington Flood, Part 1 As professionals working in the business of water damage mitigation, we are always looking to improve our performance. The key lesson from the Burlington Flood was the urgent need for timely responses. Initial estimates were that a few hundred homes and an unknown number of businesses had been affected. Those numbers very quickly exploded into the thousands. When dealing with flooding and grossly contaminated water, a quick response is essential in order to minimize damage and to ensure safety: the longer it's left to sit, the worse it gets. Being able to mobilize a co-ordinated response is absolutely critical in a disaster situation. While many individual restoration providers flocked to Burlington to solicit business, SERVPRO® had the resources and experience to implement a proven systematic response. Local crews were on the ground and helping with the cleanup immediately. SERVPRO's meteorologist provided weather updates and helped assess the potential impact. SERVPRO's STORM Team mustered additional help from the USA, with key experts arriving within the first few hours. SERVPRO's closest Large Loss Extreme Team (Detroit), was put on alert and closely monitored the situation in case their expertise would also be required. In addition, we had a tractor-trailer load of additional equipment ready and available for use, if required. It's not just about mobilizing expertise, equipment, and labour; it's also about providing a consistent approach, removing obstacles to the timely completion of service, and ensuring that all the paperwork is completed efficiently, so that insurers can pay homeowners as soon as possible. Insurers provide a valuable service and most insurance professionals really want to help make the process as painless as possible. While we have heard grumblings of people complaining about the slow response of some providers, we are happy to report that all of our customers received an immediate response, with most having the job completed and full insurance payment received within days. This is at least partially due to SERVPRO's detailed procedures for making sure that homeowners, SERVPRO franchise professionals, and the insurance companies were all on the same page every step of the way. Even so, things were not all smooth sailing in Burlington. A formal State of Emergency was not declared, making it more difficult for insurers and providers to mobilize additional resources from the US. Our thanks to all who assisted in expediting things with the Canadian Border Services Agency, including Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring, City Manager Pat Moyle; Mike Wallace MP, his Constituency Administrator Dorothy Lundy; Michael Chong MP, his Legislative Assistant Madeline Gibson, and his Constituency Assistant Karen Townsend. These people all worked very hard behind the scenes to help us help you. The Optimist Club of Oakville kicked off its annual Christmas tree sale Saturday. The event has been taking place for nearly 50 years and is now held at Dorval Crossing, at Dorval Drive and North Service Road. Once again the service club received a helping hand from the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps 178 Oakville. Cadets helped unload the trees and carry them to the sales area. The tree lot offers balsam, Fraser fir and Scotch pine. Sales will continue until the trees are gone, which is usually about Dec. 22. Proceeds help the Optimist Club's support of local charities involving youths. Above, Sea cadet Adam Nicol, 13, carries a Christmas tree over his shoulder. | photo by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) COMPLIMENTARY TEETH WHITENING* Dr. Vanessa Milich & Associates Family Dental Care Encouraging Healthy and Happy Smiles Queensbury Dental Caring for Oakville Families for 10 years Welcoming New Patients Evening and Saturday Appointments 905.849.8449 Dundas St. Oakmead n Trafalgar Rd. River Oaks Blvd. Upper Middle Rd. Sixth Line 1534 Queensbury Cres., Oakville (on Upper Middle Rd., just west of Trafalgar Rd.) www.queensburydentalclinic.com QEW FIRE & WATER DAMAGE Commercial and Residential Trained, Uniformed Professionals Complete Move-Outs Restoration Vendor for Insurance Companies Nationwide Martindale SERVPRO® of Milton & North Oakville 905-864-9544 Independently Owned and Operated 24 Hour Emergency Service. Bradley Cook is the owner at SERVPRO of Milton & North Oakville, 905-864-9544. Services in Canada provided by Independently Owned & Operated franchises of Servpro International, LLC. Like it never even happened.®