Value Delivered
When a wildfire spread dangerously close to the property of this shopping center client, EMCOR Facilities Services (EFS) provided emergency services to help keep the building and its occupants safe, while working around the clock to help support the site, and the community.
As the fire first approached the mall, we helped to ensure that critical facilities management tasks, necessary for the safety of the building, were completed. Even after the building had been evacuated, our dedicated staff stayed on to help create an incident command center for emergency response personnel. Over the course of a week, we supported these agencies.
After the emergency passed, we helped breakdown the command center and convert it into a space for a charity organization to work on community recovery. In recognition of their incredible efforts, our Plant Manager and Maintenance Lead, were presented with Marshall Fire Certificates of Appreciation.
Client Objectives
When disaster struck, this shopping center client needed a facilities management team with the flexibility, commitment, and sound judgment required to adapt to an emergency situation.
Solutions
For over a week as the wildfire spread, we provided our client, local and federal agencies, and volunteer organizations emergency support services well beyond our traditional scope of work.
When our Plant Manger first heard of potential danger from the wildfire, he immediately took action to ensure all critical facilities management tasks were taken care of and then evacuated most of the team to help ensure they could get home safely. As response personnel arrived, our Maintenance Lead stayed onsite to help them establish an incident command center in the mall—letting them in the building and helping set up the space and setting up emergency lighting.
By the next day, the fire had been declared a federal national disaster, and the command center stayed in operation for a week. Our team helped set up emergency heating for the center and was able to help obtain an internet connection strong enough to support all of their network requirements.
As other volunteer teams arrived, EFS also helped accommodate them, providing additional tables, chairs, and a microwave to heat their meals, as well as setting up and lighting sleeping quarters.
That evening a winter storm rolled in which, because gas utilities were shut down due to the wildfire, threatened to freeze the building’s water lines and fire suppression systems. We acted quickly to put the buildings under a 24/7 fire watch so that both domestic water systems and fire risers could be drained and avoid damage. Then we got the property’s snow removal contractor onsite to help ensure access to the command post.
As the threat to the immediate area lessened, our team began preparing to reopen the building. Emergency replacement filters and charcoal filter media for the building’s HVAC system were installed as we assessed wind damage, made restroom repairs, and replaced floor tiles.
We also coordinated with the utilities company and building tenants to help restore gas across the facility. Before the mall officially reopened, we used K-rails, delineators, and caution tape to completely close off two parking lots to help ensure emergency responders wouldn’t be encumbered by mall visitors.
A week after the initial threat, the fire was fully contained. For our final piece of support, we helped the command center close and moved in a local charity organization that would be using the same location to distribute donations of essential supplies to community member, as part of the disaster recover process.
Client Background
This client owns more than 50 properties compromising over 50 million square feet of space, making them one of the largest shopping center owner/operators in the nation.