DAMAGE MANAGEMENT
CUMBRIAN COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Towards the end of last year, Cumbria was hit with some of the worst flooding that has been seen in recent times, with some parts of the county still recovering to this day. Here, ServiceMaster Clean tell us how they were on hand to help residents in Appleby, one of the worst hit areas, to get back on their feet.
As the rains began to fall across Cumbria on Friday 4th December 2015, the effects of Storm Desmond were just beginning. With a record-breaking 341.4mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period, according the Met Office, the rivers began to swell and the residents of Appleby in Westmorland woke up to water lapping at their front doors.
As the day progressed and with the rain still falling, the water rose even higher and started to reach first floor windows by the afternoon. By sunset, Appleby town centre was completely inundated. The local fire and rescue team described the conditions as ‘the worst in 30 years’ and as homeowners and businesses tried to rescue their belongings and move them to safety, yet more rain fell.
Around 180 miles away in Leicester at the ServiceMaster Franchise Support Centre, disaster restoration teams from ServiceMaster Clean were preparing to travel into the worst hit areas including Cockermouth, Carlisle, Keswick and Appleby. As the yellow vans rolled into town to work with insurers, loss adjusters and homeowners and businesses, the restoration work began.
Malcolm Holmes, Head of Commercial Development for ServiceMaster said: “We deployed a number of teams of ServiceMaster Clean technicians to help support the people of Cumbria, with one team from Liverpool heading into Appleby in particular. The majority of the town was underwater when they arrived; the bridge had already been closed for safety and the vans had to make a long detour to actually reach the town centre.
“Once the connection had been made with our clients in Appleby, the technicians began working their way through the town to mitigate the damage for its members as much as
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possible. With power outages and the risk of germs from the stagnant water, we were able to send mobile phone chargers and hand sanitisers for residents. We knew it wasn’t a lot but it could have helped a little.
“After a few days, the water level began to drop and the teams were able to start installing dryers and dehumidifiers to help restore properties as quickly as possible. Or so we thought.”
On Tuesday 22nd December, the day after Prince Charles has visited the town, the river burst its banks again and the town was flooded for a second time.
“Our team was still working in the town when the second flood hit and they had to react quickly to lift all of the machinery and equipment up out of the water. Having been camped in Appleby for more than two weeks, they now felt like part of the community. Such was the community spirit that although residents were exhausted and fed up, and Christmas was only days away, everyone dug deep and helped one another recover again.
“The Army arrived a couple of days before Christmas to provide even more support to residents following the second flood. Our insurance partner told me that the weather had caused the Christmas tree in the centre of the town to lean over and in the busyness of the recovery process, no one had even thought about propping it back up. When the Army arrived, the first job they did was to fix the Christmas tree and by doing so, made a statement that meant ‘Christmas was back on in Appleby’.”
ServiceMaster Clean was called in to help dry and restore around 40 properties in Appleby, many of which
are still undergoing work six months on. Having supported an insurance partner, loss adjusters and uninsured homeowners, the team was in the town for more than three months.
“Drying and restoring properties after this amount of flood water and cold weather is a difficult task but the technicians we had on site not only worked tirelessly pumping out water, drying properties and moving belongings to safety to help members and residents get back to normal life quickly, they were also accepted into the community. It was a team spirit that won this battle against Storm Desmond; professionals and residents working together.”
www.servicemasterclean.co.uk Tomorrow’s Cleaning July 2016 | 43
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