Newsletter - September 2008

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Call the Cleanup Team that's faster to any sized disaster.

YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID TIME and time again: Time is money.  The old adage especially hits home when it’s your business, your home or the home of a customer that is smoldering or under water.

After all, every minute your doors are closed is a minute of lost revenue. Every hour you spend trying to return your home or a customer’s home to normal is an extra hour of stress, worries and work. That’s the reason SERVPRO® Franchise Professionals are pleased to offer emergency services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Let’s face it – floods, leaks and fires just don’t abide by normal business hours, and fire and water damage can strike a home at any time, night or day. So whether disaster strikes at 5 p.m., 8 a.m. or any time in between, don’t waste valuable time waiting for daylight. Just call 1-800-SERVPRO or contact your local Franchise Professional.

Utilizing our 1-4-8 Service Response Guidelines*, your Franchise Professional strives to:

• Contact your or your insured within 1 hour from notice of loss to arrange for service. 
• Be on-site to begin mitigation services within 4 hours of notification. 
• Provide verbal briefing of scope to the appropriate agent, resident or business owner within 8 business hours of onsite arrival.

Your time is precious. Let us help you make it “Like it never even happened.”

10 Key Fire safety Tips

IN 2006, THE MOST RECENT YEAR STATISTICS are available, 1,642,500 fires were reported in the United States, a three  percent increase over 2005. These blazes caused 16,400 civilian injuries and cost more than $11 billion in damage.

Though some fires are unavoidable acts of nature or unpredictable accidents, many fires in the home and workplace are avoidable. The following tips, courtesy of the National Fire Protection Association, can help reduce the likelihood of a fire in your business or home.

1. Watch your cooking. Stay in the kitchen if you are frying, grilling or broiling food.
2. Give space heaters space. Keep space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. 
3. Smoke outside. If you must smoke inside, have a sturdy, deep ashtray. Never smoke in bed.
4. Keep matches and lighters out of reach. Keep matches and lighters in high cabinets, preferably under a child lock.
5. Inspect electrical cords. Replace cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs or have loose connections.
6. Be careful when using candles. Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn. Blow them out before you leave the room or go to sleep.
7. Have a fire escape plan. Make a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.
8. Install smoke alarms. Install alarms on every level of your office or home and inside bedrooms. Interconnect
   them so they all sound at once.
9. Test smoke alarms. Test alarms once per month. Replace batteries once per year or as needed. 
10. Install sprinklers. Sprinklers can help maintain and sometimes even extinguish fires, giving your local Fire Department a better chance of saving your property.