Earthquakes in the Midwest, flooding along the shores of the Mississippi River and tornadoes ravaging different states are just some of the latest disasters to strike in the United States. There have been fires in Southern California and hurricanes in the past that have battered Florida and the Gulf states such as Louisiana and Mississippi.
After every disaster, it is the rental industry that plays a huge role in cleanup and rebuilding, but at times like those, rental companies have to remember to properly instruct customers on how to safely operate equipment such as pumps and portable generators.
In April, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning to those affected by floods, reminding people to never use portable generators inside the home, in an attached garage or in any other partially enclosed space when there is a power outage.
From 1999 through 2006, the CPSC said 334 people died from generator-related carbon monoxide poisoning. Most, if not all, of those deaths could have been avoided if the generators were used properly. While many of the life-saving tips included in the CPSC warning are obvious, it never hurts to remind customers who might not be accustomed to renting portable generators that the equipment never should be used indoors, that consumer-grade generators are not weatherproof and that you shouldn’t connect the generator directly into your home’s electrical system through a receptacle outlet because it poses a fire hazard and an electrocution hazard to utility workers and neighbors who are served by the same transformer.
Other byproducts of floods are wet carpets and furniture, which can create health dangers such as allergic reactions and infections. The CPSC says things like mattresses, wicker furniture and straw baskets must be discarded because they cannot be recovered by washing or cleaning procedures.
However, there are items such as rug dryers, whole-room dryers, dehumidifiers and moisture extraction equipment that can work wonders on wet carpeting and wood. If there are odors, ozone generation machines can help get rid of the offending smells.
This type of restoration equipment has become a wonderful addition to a rental store’s inventory because the different machines can solve problems and meet the needs of contractors and homeowners. Most of the products are easy to maintain and can have a longer rental life with a greater return on investment.
While rental companies can help people and businesses recover, what about when the rental company is damaged by a disaster? The ARA Foundation is helping the rental industry prepare for the unexpected with the recent launch of a new disaster resource kit on the Foundation’s Web site at www.ARAfoundation.com.
The online kit has two sections. One is for disaster preparedness and includes a sample emergency plan, checklists on insurance and steps to take before a disaster strikes, a crisis communication plan and links to ARA and ARA Insurance Services risk management products. The other section is for disaster recovery and includes a checklist of how to proceed following a disaster, insurance steps to follow, how to set up a business temporarily and links for government aid agencies and equipment manufacturers.
If you’re prepared, your customers will thank you for it. |
